CD Odyssey Disc 1567: Lord Huron

Apologies for the long absence, dear readers. It has been a busy week. So busy that I couldn’t even squeeze in a music review (or much of anything else). This means this next record got a lot listens. Good thing I like it. It is almost like this music collection was hand curated to my own tastes…

Disc 1567 is…. Lonesome Dreams

Artist: Lord Huron

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? A cowboy desert scene. This cover captures how vast the sky must seem when you are in the middle of a desert. Unfortunately, with this kind of “diffuse” art you can’t make out many features of the cowboy. Let’s call him ‘Earl’. The horse, of course, has no name.

How I Came To Know It: If memory serves my friend Casey played some Lord Huron songs at a gathering of our music club one night. If it was someone else, my apologies. In any event, I liked what I heard which led me to buy both this album and 2015’s “Strange Tales” which dates about when I heard about both records.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Lord Huron albums. This one and “Strange Tales” are in a dead heat for best of the bunch, and I didn’t want to pick until I’ve had a chance to review them both. However, since I don’t have a choice to delay (or more exactly won’t give myself a choice) I am going to put this album in at #2. I was going to put it #1 but after seeing a live performance of the band on KEXP, I changed my mind. More on that later.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Lonesome Dreams” has a haunting lilt to it that draws you in like a lucid dream. Each song flows gently into the next so seamlessly that before you know it the album has restarted for the fifth or sixth time without you even noticing. Like I said, I got a lot of listens in on this one.

Despite all those listens I was never restless or eager to move on to something else, which may be the best things that can be said about a record. It has re-listenability, and while I didn’t necessarily get something new on every iteration, I enjoyed them all.

Stylistically, Lord Huron doesn’t sound like any other band I can think of. They operate a space between folk and rock, but within a soup of diffuse production. I usually like a lot of space in my production decisions, but “Lonesome Dreams” showed me you can do it differently and still make it work.

The arrangements lend themselves to the dreamy production. Most of the songs have some form of a light gallop guitar strum, often with some other instrument (strings, tambourine, etc.) filling in the gaps. Lead singer (and songwriter) Ben Schneider’s vocals sit back in the mix with a lot of harmony in the background (either looping or another band member, not sure which) which makes it feel symphonic. This “chorus” sound is on virtually every single track which holds the record together. It is a lot of the same sound, and the songs tend to cycle within themselves as well, but strangely it never gets tiresome.

My favourite song on the record is “Ghost on the Shore,” in part because of how that sonic approach works so well for telling a ghost story. The other part is this some of Schneider’s best work lyrically. Here’s the second verse:

“Under the waves and the earth of an age
Lie a thousand old northerner’s graves
Deep in the night, when the moon’s glowing bright
They come rising up into the light.
I’ll die if I must, let my bones turn to dust
I’m the lord of the lake, and I don’t want to leave it
All who sail off the coast evermore
Will remember the tale of the ghost on the shore.

That is some creepy brilliance, packing shipwrecks, and dirt and bones up with the breathless excitement at wondering “was that just a trick of the moonlight, or did we see a ghost?” For the song at least, it’s pretty clear it’s the latter.

Connectivity plays a big part in the record’s themes. The ghost is connected to the landscape, and elsewhere we see characters chase after lost loves (“She Lit a Fire”), while others stand steadfast in the strength of the love of brothers facing adversity together (“Brother”).

“Ends of the Earth” is the most famous of those “let’s stand together” tunes. While it has not benefited from being overplayed in a million TV commercials over the years, but it is still a great song. Immeasurably better when not shilling for a product.

My only beef ended up being with that thing I had earlier forgiven, the production. That lush atmospheric sound had me under its spell until I heard a few of these songs played live. When I realized how shortchanged I’d been of the dynamics and tone of Schneider’s voice, which is a amazing when it isn’t so layered over, I became somewhat irked. For the first time I began to notice all the excess. The steel drums in “The Man Who Lives Forever” was particularly off-putting.

However, it was not so off-putting to interfere with the joy I get from “Lonesome Dreams.” It is a quality album, and the joy I experienced never flagged across multiple listens this week.

Best tracks: Ends of the Earth, Time To Run, The Ghost on the Earth, The Man Who Lives Forever, Brother

CD Odyssey Disc 1566: Brandi Carlile

For the second time in a row I’m reviewing a record from 2009 that I overlooked when it was first released. For readers who think no one is making good music anymore, it may be that you are just missing it. Open your ears and open your hearts – you’ll find what’s right for you.

Disc 1566 is…. Give Up the Ghost

Artist: Brandi Carlile

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? A backlit Brandi rocks out on the guitar. I love the warmth of this album cover. Usually references to ghosts come with gloomy and dark album covers (or in the case of the band, “Ghost” a boatload o’ Satan). Here we have the bright light of day, as we give up the ghost, and turn to the light.

How I Came To Know It: I’m a late convert to Brandi Carlile. I only got into her in 2018 through her album, “By the Way, I Forgive You” (reviewed back at Disc 1135). Afterward I started digging through her back catalogue, but I wasn’t initially taken by her earliest three records, including this one. For some reason I revisited these records (encouraged by a cover album of “The Story”). I recently saw “Give Up the Ghost” used at a good price in my local record store and took a chance.

How It Stacks Up: I now have six Brandi Carlile albums. I have a hard time ranking them, partly because they are all so good, partly because they are all different, and partly because I’ve gotten to know them all in only four years, instead of the 15 year span over which they were released. However, since you don’t read this section for empty equivocations, I’ll say this record slightly edges out “Bear Creek” for #4.

Ratings: 4 stars

Back in 2018 I passed over “Give Up the Ghost” after one listen, but after four more consider me both converted and chastened that I ever passed it over in the first place.

“Give Up the Ghost” came out two years after Carlile’s breakthrough album “The Story” and despite charting higher than that record, it feels like it lives in the shadow of it when Carlile’s discography comes up in conversation. “The Story” may be slightly superior, but it is only slightly, and all the things that make Carlile great are on full display with “Ghost” as well.

We are treated to the fine songwriting that is borne from her longstanding collaboration with the Hanseroth twins, exceptional musicianship throughout, and above it all that one-in-a-generation voice. Carlile’s vocals cut through sunshine and darkness with equal power, delivering songs that are triumphant, tragic and always tell a story. It is hard to understand just what makes one voice draw you under a spell and another fade into the background, but Carlile is the former.

Fitting for an album titled “Give Up the Ghost” many of these songs are stories about letting the past go, although usually only after first coming to terms with its lessons. The standout “Pride and Joy” is a song of parting and forgiveness, I think about a departed parent. Lines like:

“That’s the problem with the days
They’re never long enough to say
What it is you never said
All the books you never read.”

Leave you with unresolved regret, and images like:

“All your mountains turn to rocks
All your oceans turn to drops”

Demonstrate how our strongest convictions can tumble down into the chaos of uncertainty. Both sections also show how great she is at the power of the rhyming couplet (and yes, I know that last one doesn’t rhyme. This is a song not Alexander Pope, people).

The song ends with soaring strings that add a lovely emotional flourish without crowding the production. The album has a full sound but with a lot of space in between elements. It was brilliantly balanced, and I was not at all surprised to discover it was produced by Rick Rubin.

Another standout is “That Year”, also a song combining forgiveness and reminiscence. Carlile belts out a lot of tunes, but “That Year” opts for a light sweet tone, that still cuts through the air in the room with easy power.

The record is not perfect. “Dreams” had a sort of manic showtune quality that didn’t appeal to me, and the old timey “Caroline” is marred by a jumpy “Old West barroom” piano style that felt hokey. I looked to see who was playing, and it turns out it was a guest spot for…Sir Elton John. Sorry, Elton, but I write ‘em like I hear ‘em.

Fortunately there is lots of good piano, notably Carlile’s own graceful playing on “Before It Breaks”. The tune rides right up to the edge of overwrought, but the vocals are so powerful they are like a centrifugal force that holds everything steady. In moments like this Carlile’s natural talent and phrasing pulls the song through hairpin emotional corners with the grace of a biker leaning close to the road and hitting the throttle.

The album ends with a light-hearted tune backed by a ukulele which is a bit too dear but by this point it was too late to ruin anything. I was hooked. I love this record, and my biggest criticism is leveled at myself; I should’ve bought it years ago.

Best tracks: Looking Out, Dying Day, Pride and Joy, That Year, Before It Breaks

CD Odyssey Disc 1565: Frank Turner

After successfully escaping my desk to eat my lunch outside I sought a bench nearby that was both out of the wind, but in the sun. Alas, it was not to be. I chose a bench that was partly out of the wind, but wholly in the shade. Believe me, dear reader, when I tell you it was the only option.

Disc 1565 is…. Poetry of the Deed

Artist: Frank Turner

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? Guitar art (guitart?) Here we have Frank Turner’s guitar (identified by its signature F/T/H/C punk logo), surrounded by a flock of birds with the strings in their beaks.

The birds might be playing a tune, as birds are wont to do, but given that the birds all have an “x” on their heads, it is also possible they are ‘muting’ the strings.

How I Came To Know It: This album came to me early in my love of Frank Turner as I began to dig backward from my first Frank album, 2013’s “Tape Deck Heart”. My first stop was 2011’s “England Keep My Bones” and my second was…right here.

How It Stacks Up: I have eight Frank Turner albums and competition is tough at the top, but “Poetry of the Deed” still manages to land at #3.

Ratings: 4 stars

If you ever want to feel great about life, but you don’t want your hopeful tunes to be empty calories, then Frank Turner is the artist for you. Turner is the master of joyful anthems that have all the uncertainty the real life offers, but that are reassuring all the same. If anything, the edge is what makes the reassurance believable.

This is still early Frank Turner, and a lot of his work is wrapped up in the power of art, but for Turner that creative spirit is reflected in action and intent. Nowhere is it more evident than on the title track, where Frank expresses poetic expression as:

“Before we get bored, let's be inspired
Let's ignore the applause and set the theater on fire
Fight every war like the drunks in the choir
Put our art where our mouths are poetry of the deed”

There’s a reckless abandon in his delivery throughout the record. The piano get banged with gusto, and the guitar chords threaten to break strings with their hefty reverberation. Turner is a new generation’s Billy Bragg, filled with a mix of wisdom and conviction that is infectious.

My favourite song on the record is “Try This At Home” where exclaims that “we write love songs in C, do politics in G and sings songs abut our friends in E minor.” The song demonstrates the musical filter through which Turner sees the world, although I am always curious as to why songs about our friends are in Em. Feels a little sad, but the song belies that notion and is a joyous celebration of getting on with living.

As on many records, Turner speaks highly of his friends. Drinks in the park on “Dan’s Song” switch later to the quiet introspection and fellowship of “Sunday Nights”. Turner loves companionship and his infectious open heart makes it easy to imagine you are on of those lucky fellows chilling with him late into a Sunday evening when the sensible thing would be to go to bed.

But to go to bed early would be anathema to the energy of “Poetry of the Deed.” This is a record for living, and celebrating each adventure that life brings. The record trips along with a relentless pace and energy and even though it is 13 songs and close to 50 minutes of music, the whole of it is over in the blink of an eye.

The record’s final song, “Journey of the Magi” is the summation of Turner’s philosophy of living life to its fullest and being self-aware and thankful as you do it. In the song, a series of famous characters recount how they regret nothing in choosing adventure over comfort. Its slow deliberate delivery makes you feel like you are being regaled with wisdom around some mythical campfire. The whole record feels like this, exhorting the listener to action while never feeling like a lecture.

Given that I’m on a CD Odyssey, I’ll leave this review with a few lines from “Journey of the Magi” that celebrate Odysseus and remind us to say ‘yes’ each and every time life offers us a dance:

“Now Odysseus sat tired and alone
He'd always held out against all the doubts he would come home
Now he was here, his soul felt estranged
His wife and his dog, his son and his gods, everything changed”

“He sang, ‘I could have stayed and ruled
As an Ithacan prince, could've played safe
But in the end journey's brought joys
That outweigh the pain’”

Best tracks: Live Fast Day Old, Try This at Home, Poetry of the Deed, Isabel, Sunday Nights, Journey of the Magi

CD Odyssey Disc 1564: Soundtrack

This next album extends my streak to five straight that are at least thirty years old. Given that I choose each review randomly, I can assure you this is not by design.

Disc 1564 is…. Harold & Maude Soundtrack

Artist: Various Artists, but mostly Cat Stevens

Year of Release: 1971

What’s up with the Cover? My initial thought was that this was the movie poster, but a quick search reminded me the various movie posters look nothing like this. Instead we get an artist’s rendition of our titular characters cavorting in a field of daisies.

How I Came To Know It: Sheila introduced me to the movie, “Harold & Maude,” when we were first dating. Years later it remains one of my favourite films. Cat Stevens features heavily in the soundtrack, and I recall liking one of the tunes (“If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out”) quite a bit. When I saw this was “newly released” I decided on a whim to buy it.

How It Stacks Up: I have 37 soundtracks, and “Harold & Maude” does not hold up well. I’ll rank it 33^rd and that’s being charitable.

Ratings: 2 stars

I still like “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out” but after a few listens to the Harold & Maude soundtrack my appreciation for that song has been sorely tested. This is because while Harold & Maude has 19 tracks, there is a LOT of filler, and a fair bit of it is versions of that particular song. I’d like to say that the other gems on the record make up for all this bloat but, alas, they do not.

“If You Want To Sing Out” is a pleasant little hippy ditty about feeling free to express yourself, and while the lyrics are hokey as hell:

“If you want to be free, be free
‘cause there’s a million things to be
You know that there are.”

It’ll still warm your cockles if you let it. However, the song is only vaguely musically interesting. Mostly it is Cat Stevens roughly strumming his guitar while delivering his brand of Disney wisdom. And it is on here three times. One of those times is sung by the movie’s stars, Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort and let me assure you, their rendition does the song no favours.

Other filler on the record includes two snippets of classical music, Tchaikovsky’s “Concerto No. 1 in B” and Strauss’ “Blue Danube”. Great songs but they stick out like sore thumbs in their isolation against the folksy Cat Stevens tunes.

There are also six snippets of dialogue from the film that like most soundtracks are fun the first time and provide diminishing returns on repeat listens. Sure there is this exchange on the subject of Harold’s 15 faked suicides:

Psychiatrist: “And were they all done for your mother’s benefit?”
Harold: “No, I would not say benefit”

It’s pretty funny, but outside of the movie’s broader charm, it fades as fast as the sunflower Maude dreams of being in Dialogue #4.

There are a couple of beautiful Cat Stevens tunes here, notably the inspiring “Don’t Be Shy” and the mournful “Trouble”. Stevens’ vocals are gorgeous on both as he draws you into the core emotional truth with simple vocals and acoustic guitar. Even better, these songs appear on the album once which is the correct number of times for a song to appear on a record.

I was also reminded that my only other Cat Stevens record is a Greatest Hits package. I love Cat Stevens, but repeated efforts at his studio albums just remind me I generally only want the hits. The Harold & Maude soundtrack has a couple of songs that should be on that Greatest Hits package, but the rest of them reminded me of any one of his studio albums I’ve passed over, except further bloated by movie clips, and other clutter that ultimately add nothing to the experience.

Harold & Maude is one of my favourite movies, and I heartily recommend it. It is an offbeat love story, an art film, and a thoughtful exploration of how to confront our mortality. While you’re watching, enjoy the lovely backdrop of songs throughout, but by no means assume this means you need to buy the soundtrack.

Best tracks: Don’t Be Shy, If You Want To Sing Out Sing Out, Trouble

CD Odyssey Disc 1563: Loreena McKennitt

This next album features a harpist. Fun fact – when I was a kid I wanted to learn how to play the lyre. My mom searched all around for someone who taught the lyre, but all she could find was someone who taught the harp. Being a headstrong teen, I rejected this very reasonable compromise. Never did learn to play the lyre either…

Disc 1563 is…. The Visit

Artist: Loreena McKennitt

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Who is this woman knock knocking on my chamber door?  Why does she seek to gain entry at this unearthly hour? Is she pursued by vampires, or is she just trying to escape the humidity that is playing hell with her hair?

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video (I think it was “All Souls Night”) on a music channel back when those were a thing. I think it might have been Country Music Television. I liked it a lot and went and found the album it was on. This was it.

How It Stacks Up: We have six Loreena McKennitt albums, and “The Visit” is the best of them all. Number one! This is the final review as well, so here’s a recap.

1. The Visit: 5 stars (reviewed right here)
2. Parallel Dreams: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 141)
3. The Mask and Mirror: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 262)
4. Elemental: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 143)
5. The Book of Secrets: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 552)
6. An Ancient Muse: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 282)

Ratings: 5 stars

It has been almost nine years since the CD Odyssey last landed on a Loreena McKennitt album, but there is no question we’ve saved the best for last. “The Visit” is a record I have heard hundreds of times but every time I put it on it still makes my spirit soar.

Since it has been a long time since I wrote about McKennitt, a refresher is in order. She is Celtic folk music, emerging from between the shadows to briefly bubble up into the mainstream consciousness when Celtic folk was a fad back in the early nineties. While there was a lot of junk that came out of that Celtic Renaissance (Riverdance comes to mind) there was also a lot of great music. “The Visit” is as good as it gets.

McKennitt plays both keyboards and harp on the record, and if you’re wondering what keyboards are doing on traditional Celtic folk music, you’d be right – this isn’t purely folk. McKennitt blends in a number of influences, but she does it so artfully you won’t mind.

In any case, it is the harp and her vocals that are the stars of the show. We don’t get many opportunities to hear the harp in modern music, and it is often relegated to a lonely corner at the back of a wedding dinner. “The Visit” brings it front and center. There is none of the fustiness you might expect from such a ‘chamber’ instrument. McKennitt’s harp trills through the album, burbling across songs across the top of the melody like some kind of water spirit.

McKennitt’s vocals have an equally magic quality. High and operatic, but with a rustic delivery that lends itself to storytelling. Modern artists like Marissa Nadler owe much to pioneers like McKennitt, who blended these traditions so artfully.

All the other players on the record are amazing as well, notably the fiddle work from George Marsh, but it is the way they are arranged together that matters most; always creating a swell that propels the story of each song forward.

As for the songs, they are exceptional. A mix of McKennitt’s own compositions, traditional folk tunes and sometimes a mix of English Literature masterpieces set to McKennitt’s music. The best of these is Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott,” Tennyson was always a master of meter and flow and set to McKennitt’s music it will make your heart cry with the great and tragic romance that unfolds. The experience takes almost 12 minutes and at no point will you tire of the journey.

“The Visit” is McKennitt’s third album, and sees her beginning to explore broader Celtic traditions, and bringing in sounds from across Europe and beyond. “Between the Shadows” has a Middle Eastern flare to it and “Tango to Evora” brings in South American traditions. The opening track, “All Souls Night” is a mix of Celtic tradition and New Age mystery. All of it threads together in a grand tapestry of sound, and style.

McKennitt can also play it straight. The traditional “Bonny Portmore” laments the loss of a great tree that is felled to build a ship. I saw McKennitt live on “The Visit” tour back in 1991, and when she played “Bonny Portmore” tears streamed down my cheeks with the Goddamn tragic beauty of it all. This did not leave me looking manly in the eyes of my date, but I regret nothing.  

To this day, that concert was one of the best I have ever attended and to this day, this album is one of the best in my collection.

Best tracks: All tracks, but in particular All Souls Night, Bonny Portmore, Between the Shadows, The Lady of Shalott, and The Old Ways

CD Odyssey Disc 1562: Triumph

For the second time in three reviews the random universe has served up a Triumph album.

Disc 1562 is…. Just a Game

Artist: Triumph

Year of Release: 1979

What’s up with the Cover? Even though we can see playing pieces, dice and a checkerboard depicted, the amount of batshittery going on with this cover feels like a lot more than just a game. I mean, maybe it was just a game until the members of Triumph (depicted here as some sort of Thunder Cat-adjacent aliens) came surfing in on the back of a starship shaped like an eagle.

And lest you think the batshittery ends there, allow me to share with you this full fold-out of the cover which reveals the ship in “full wing”, itself being grasped by a gargantuan hand that makes everything else seem like mere toys!

Oh, wait a minute… I guess based on that it is just a game. Context is everything.

How I Came To Know It: I knew one hit off this record from my youth, but once again this was just me digging through Triumph’s back catalogue after recently watching a documentary about their career.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Triumph albums, and “Just a Game” is the best of the bunch. #1.

Ratings: 4 stars

It is possible that after my 4-star review of Triumph’s 1984 record “Thunder Seven” you raced out and bought it for yourself. This is a good decision, and I encourage you to continue to take my excellent advice. It is also possible you found that record slightly too “metal” for your personal tastes. While your aversion to metal is unfathomable and misguided, I can understand how listening to Triumph might leave you with a hankering for a purer seventies hard rock sound. Lucky for you, there are records like “Just a Game” that will more than meet your desires.

“Just a Game” is a classic in the genre, with power chords aplenty, high anthemic vocals and just enough guitar wankery to leave you wondering if maybe it has crossed the line into too much guitar wankery. I hasten to add that this last observation is not a criticism. Think of the guitar wankery on “Just a Game” like when you ask for pepper at a restaurant and the server twists the mill a couple more times than you’re comfortable with. It is going to be a bit spicier than you intended, but it won’t wreck the dish.

A good example of this is on the blues-rock goodness of “Young Enough to Cry”. This song isn’t one of my favourites, mostly because I’m not a huge blues rock guy, but also because it is six minutes long when it should be five. That said, the extra minute is saturated with some of the guitarist Rik Emmett’s finest solo work. Much as I’d like to squeeze that track down a bit, removing even a bar of Emmett’s brilliance would be a crime.

As with a lot of Triumph albums, “Just a Game” is known for its anthemic radio friendly hooks and forgotten for its more esoteric musical explorations. For the former, we have “Lay It on the Line” which is a rock anthem masterpiece. The riff delays its payoff to the chorus, which just makes the anticipatory thrill all the greater on repeat listens. The song’s subject matter has aged poorly. Charitably, the song is about a man professing his love, and asking a woman to do the same, but lyrics like this one:

“You got no right to make me wait
Better talk girl before it gets too late
I never ever thought you could be so unkind
Won't you lay it on the line”

Sound less like they’re being nobly recited up to a second story balcony, and more like an urgent whisper in the back seat of a Chevy Malibu.

The record is replete with great guitar riffs. Also notable is “American Girls” (similar subject, this time with our narrator going home to meet the parents first). This song has a hook that reminded me of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” but from there similarities end, with the song taking a departure more toward a more general beach party vibe, from back in a time when beach parties featured a lot of pasty dudes in cut off jean shorts. It is equal parts grimy and infectious.

This being Triumph, once again we get some sharp style turns. “Fantasy Serenade” is another of Emmett’s classical guitar interludes that would be at home during a dinner reception following a high brow wedding, possibly played on a harp. It is an odd experience hearing this immediately following the hard rocking title track, but welcome nonetheless. “Suitcase Blues” feels more like a fifties Sinatra tune than a rock and roll song, but in the tradition of Queen’s “Melancholy Blues” Triumph makes it feel natural and welcome.

I had a hard time picking a favourite between this record and “Thunder Seven”, but I think a lot of that was just my favourable teen memories of the latter. Objectively speaking “Just a Game” is the better record, featuring cleaner production and stronger songwriting throughout. If it feels a little “of its time” it also reminds you that 1979 was a pretty great time for rock and roll.

Best tracks: Movin’ On, Lay It On the Line, American Girls, Just a Game, Hold On