Happy long weekend! I spent my first
day off getting my tattoo sleeve completed. After three sessions over four
months I am glad to be done, and I’m feeling a little badass, truth be told.
What is not as much fun is getting
your elbow ditch tattooed and being unable to fully bend your arm. I had no appreciation
for how often I rely on my dominant hand to fetch things and bring them to the
vicinity of my head (shampoo,
toothpaste, food) until I had to use my off hand to do it. Is this what life is like for right handed people all the time?
On to the music – it took me a
while to write this one. I was enjoying listening to the album so much I
delayed the review.
Disc 779 is….Secret People
Artist: Capercaillie
Year of Release: 1993
What’s up with the Cover? I have no idea. Is it a mike
stand? A Celtic artifact? A cinnamon bun? This cover is confusing and – even
worse – unappealing. Next time just put the band standing there posing awkwardly
in outdated fashions. It’s folk tradition!
How I Came To Know It: I was already a fan of
Capercaillie from their previous three records. I didn’t have much money in
1993, but I found enough to buy this album when it came out.
How It Stacks Up: I have a hard time stacking up
Capercaillie albums; I like each of them for different reasons. However they
stack up, “Secret People” is one of the better ones. I’ll put it second or third
out of the nine albums I have.
Ratings: 4 stars
Capercaillie is the gold standard I hold my Celtic
folk music against, and “Secret People” is one of the reasons why.
Not content with the minor forays into a more modern
sound they started on 1991’s “Delirium,” “Secret People” takes a few risks with
both their sound and their fans, and it pays off at every turn.
The core of the band’s sound remains, anchored melodically
by the angelic voice of Karen Matheson and the unmatched brilliance of Charlie
McKerron’s fiddle.
Yes, I said unmatched. You can pick whatever fiddle
player you like, but for my money there is none better than McKerron. He hits
the instrument with a power that makes you think the bow is going to saw right
through the neck, yet despite being both fast and furious he delivers emotional
energy and precision at every turn.
Sometimes he is just a flourish to the overall
experience, like the hook he plays to start off “Four Stone Walls” and other times he just takes the whole song over
as he does on “The Whinney Hills Jigs.”
Matheson is vocally his equal – the greatest voice I’ve
heard in folk music, and as good as anything you hear elsewhere. Some women
folk singers have a sing-song quality that masks a lack of power throughout
their vocal range. Not Matheson, who soars through every note low and high,
dominating soft and soulful songs like “Oran”
and “An Eala Ban” with the same grace
that she hits the up-tempo demands of songs like “Hi Rim Bo” and “Black Fields.”
Alone, McKerron or Matheson could carry a whole band
on their shoulders, but combined they are a music miracle.
On “Secret People” Capercaillie branches out and
adds rock and world elements to their music. “Seice Ruaridh (Roddy’s Drum)” is a masterclass of vocal precision
from Matheson starting at a measured pace and shifting gears up into the realm
of the ridiculous. Two-thirds of the way through, Capercaillie adds in electric
guitar. It has no business working but it is done so perfectly, and within the
context of the song’s development that it is a perfect fit. “Roddy’s Drum” consistently gets me
thrashing my head around to the sheer energy of it all as much as any metal song
ever has.
Lyrically, half of the songs are in Gaelic. I don’t
speak a word of it but it doesn’t matter. Matheson’s delivery tells you
everything you need to know about the song’s emotional intent.
The songs in English are equally good. Despite a
slight taint of nineties production, “Stinging
Rain” is a song that is both sad and defiant. It isn’t totally clear what
it is about (I suspect spousal abuse) but it doesn’t matter. When Matheson
sings:
“If you think you can hold me
down I beg to differ
If you think you can twist my
words, I’ll sing forever”
All you really need to know is that no one is going
to defeat her spirit, however they’re trying to manage it.
I’ve owned “Secret People” for over twenty years and
I still put it on every chance I get (which is less than I like, since Sheila
doesn’t like Capercaillie). I’ve listened to a lot of folk music, and I haven’t
found many albums I like better.
Best
tracks: Four
Stone Walls, The Whinney Hills Jigs, An Eala Ban (the White Swan), Seice
Ruaridh (Roddy’s Drum), Stinging Rain, Oran, Black Fields
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