Disc 307 is...Livin' On The Edge
Artist: Irish Descendants
Year of Release: 1996
What’s Up With The Cover?: It would appear to be a tree, living on the edge. Get it, get it? Although obvious, it is a fine photograph, and a big improvement over putting the band on the cover. Also, I think the Irish Descendants have a nifty logo, stylish and easily recognizeable.
How I Came To Know It: As I noted when I reviewed "Look To The Sea" way back at Disc 60, I've been listening to these guys since their debut album, so by the time "Livin' On The Edge" (their third record) came out in 1996, it was just me buying their new release as a matter of course.
How It Stacks Up: I have five Irish Descendants records. Of the five, I'd say "Livin' On The Edge" is somewhere in the middle - either 3rd or 4th, depending on my mood.
Rating: 3 stars.
The Irish Descendants are straight ahead Canadian folk music. Putting them on, expect to get liberal helpings of old standards, songs about fishin', and many a fiddle, bouzouki and accordion. If you're like me and you enjoy these things, then you won't be disappointed.
The band's lineup changed a fair bit, even in the early years. This is their third album, and second featuring the additions of Gerard Broderick on drums and Kathy Phippard on keyboards and vocals. By their next record Broderick would still be here, but Phippard would only be a guest vocalist on her way out. It is a shame, too, because the Irish Descendants definitely benefited from her raising the mean attractiveness of the band (for a photo of the boys, check out my post at Disc 60).
On to the music, which is played with precision and no small amount of joy. The love of traditional Newfoundland folk music shines through loud and clear on "Livin' On The Edge", and the band keeps everything tight. The addition of Phippard's background vocals make a positive difference, and the deep vibrato baritone of lead singer Con O'Brien has a distinctiveness that rivals Canadian legends like Stan Rogers.
In folk music I don't look for innovative new themes, but I do want the traditional themes delivered with emotion and skill, and for the most part "Livin' On The Edge" does so. The album begins with "Gypsy Maiden" which tells the tale of a man vainly trying to impress a gypsy maid with his lands and possessions - the very things she has no interest in. It is appropriately wistful, and you find yourself rooting for both characters, despite realizing they come from different worlds, and can never be together.
The Irish Descendants also sing a lot about a common theme in Newfoundland folk - the loss of the fishery and the need for many workers to move to Alberta to find work. While not as good as classics like "The Fisherman's Lament" and "Got To Sea No More" on their debut, "Living On The Edge" features "Days of Giving" and "The Rock And A Hard Place", both good entries in the catalogue.
"Days of Giving" focuses on the environmental damage done to the sea that led to this point. "The Rock And A Hard Place" puts a twist on the carpetbagging theme, with the husband deciding in the end to unpack his suitcase and not go to Alberta, but instead stay with his wife in Newfoundland and struggle through.
The lively songs are danceable and fun-filled. "Shamrock City" is a song about dancing, drinking and making merry and "Uncle Dan" is a humorous reminder that while you're doing these things, you shouldn't make the mistake of taking just anyone home - let alone marry her. As the chorus warns:
"She can dance to the flute, dance to the fiddle
She's as neat around the waist as a cow around the middle
Let her go, let her go, you'll find another
There's a lot of pretty women at the head of the Grand River."
Funny that the Irish Descendants would be making a fat joke, but I guess given their average girth, they can get away with it.
I found it interesting that the band doesn't write most of their songs. Some are traditional, and others are just provided by songwriters. The one exception on the record is "I No More Will Be Passing This Way" by D'Arcy Broderick, a fine song that had me wishing they would do more of this.
My main criticism of this album is that in places it is upbeat and joyful where it shouldn't be. "Black Is The Colour" is a sober, haunting classic, yet on this record, it sounds more like a recital for a vocal performance exam. I would prefer the song have a lot more romantic undercurrent, and maybe a smidge more creepy.
Similarly, the Ewan MacColl classic "Dirty Old Town" is sung with an almost cheerful feel. This is a song that features a factory worker musing on getting a big axe and murdering his girlfriend with it. This time, the song needs a lot more creepy, and a smidge more romantic. I couldn't help comparing this version to the Pogues' rendition on "Rum, Sodomy & The Lash" and finding the former lacking.
No Celtic folk album is complete without at least one instrumental (an air or a reel is fine). Of the two, "The Eavesdropper/The Connaughtman's Rambles" is excellent, and "The Two Ronnies/Broderick's Reel" not as good,but still passable. Together they deliver the requisite tracks, and entertain while doing so.
In conclusion, despite a couple of flat points, the record is strong overall, and it was a joy to reaquaint myself with it. Back in the mid-nineties I played the hell out of all my Irish Descendants albums, and it is fun to revisit them.
Best tracks: Gypsy Maiden, The Rock And A Hard Place, Shamrock City, The Eavesdropper/The Connaughtman's Rambles, Days of Giving, Uncle Dan, I No More Will Be Passing This way
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