MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: PHARIS & JASON ROMERO - A WANDERER I'LL STAY

For those who find Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings too modern! Horsefly, B.C.'s pride and joy are immersed in the folk tradition, searching out rare old stuff, or writing vintage-styled work themselves. Then there's the whole banjo business, Jason being a master craftsman, Pharis handling the inlay and graphic design. You couldn't make this couple up if it weren't perfectly true.


This is their third album, and a little broader than the previous two, as they have welcomed some guests, adding a bit of fiddle, bass, drums and pedal steel to the proceedings, usually just their own guitar, banjo and harmonies. Fear not, it just adds a dimension really, and doesn't place them anywhere near the 21st century. Pharis certainly has the knack for old-time lyrics, plain-spoken and powerful: "It's a wicked world when you're all alone/It's a wicked and mean old place." Her lonesome and sad voice cuts across your heart in her timeless tales.


The older material leaves some room for fun. It's also more obscure than your usual covers, the Romeros digging a little deeper than most. It's a Sin to Tell a Lie they picked up from the Steve Martin movie Pennies From Heaven, although it's an old Fats Waller and Billie Holiday song, among others. Best is Cocaine Blues, credited to one Luke Jordan back in 1927, possibly the first-ever coke song, and a real toot, er, hoot. This makes me really uninterested in the new Mumfords album.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: MICHAEL FEUERSTACK - THE FORGETTABLE TRUTH

Since putting his long-time alias of Snailhouse out to pasture, Mr. Feuerstack has concentrated on more conventional, pop-acquainted singer/songwriter fare, to fine results.  Now, nobody is rushing to the dance floor here, but there's a beat you can sway to, if the music is largely calm and contemplative.  Still, numbers such as Receiver and The Devil have some indie spark.  But there are far more pleasant sounds here than noisy ones, and a refreshing gentleness.  The whole thing sounds like a hug.

The insights inside are a little more edgy, with his slightly askew lyrics:  "Mother tongue, she always eats her young."  You're never quite sure if Feuerstack is positive or negative, particularly about love.  In his song, he has to point out that Cupid's arrows aren't meant to kill, but that doesn't mean they don't hurt, and the dude is a bit sadistic:  "He just wants to see you dance."  In all this pleasing music, there are a lot of negative words, almost to balance out the pretty.  So there you go, it sounds great and makes you think.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ROBIN BANKS - MODERN CLASSIC

A great voice, great producer, great band, great material, what could go wrong?  In this case, not a thing, as Toronto's Miss Robin Banks shows her stuff with the help of the masterful Duke Robillard.  Modern Classic is an apt title, as Banks' compositions harken back to days when a vocalist owned the bandstand and your ears.  There's some swing, some blues, some R'n'B, jazz, even country, all vintage.  Robillard brought along his stinging guitar, and his stellar band mates, especially those great Roomful of Blues horn men, and long-time baritone sax specialist Doug "Mr. Low" James.  You don't want Banks to stop singing, but when she does pause, it's just as sweet.

The secret weapon here, and what's perhaps even more impressive than her vocal chops, is her songwriting.  Jumping effortlessly from style to style, Banks hits each retro button bang-on.  Some Day Soon is small combo jazz that swings up a storm, with such a spark you just tipped the cigarette girl five bucks.  I'll Meet You There takes us into 70's Memphis soul, as the horns channel the Hi guys.  A Man Is Just A Man is a fun mash-up of styles not unlike what Nick Lowe does to 50's sounds, with an equally-clever lyric:  "Much like a bus, another one will be right along."  This is sophisticated, fun and expertly performed by all.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: DIANA KRALL - WALLFLOWER

Thumbing her nose at the Jazz Police, Krall has made a full-on, orchestrated pop album, almost entirely of 70's radio hits, piano ballads for the most part.  And she doesn't even play that piano; instead, it's the producer...(pause for the sound of jaw-dropping), David Foster.  Jazz?  Not a drop of it.  There's even a Buble duet.  A Carpenters song.  And two Eagles tunes.  And no, she wasn't captured by aliens or Stephen Harper, Krall says she wanted to make this album, these songs are as much a part of her as jazz.  We're not far apart in age, and I get that, I have just as big a soft spot for 10cc's I'm Not In Love, Desperado, and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.  But she is crossing a big line, and not just the one placed by music snobs and jazz purists.  There's a commercial one as well, and this is the kind of album that seems more in line with Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook series, grand money-makers that those were.

Let's look at the choices;  I Can't Tell You Why by The Eagles, the Elton song, Jim Croce's Operator, California Dreamin', The Beatles' In My Life as a bonus cut.  All that's missing is Halle-fuckin'-lujah, and a Hallmark card.  There are a few interesting ones that get us out of the middle of the road, such as the title cut, an obscure Dylan number, and Randy Newman's Feels Like Home, which is done as a duet with Bryan Adams.  What, Sting busy?  Maybe she didn't want to stretch, maybe she just wanted to say, simply, I can do this stuff and do it well.  And it's okay to like it.  Okay, I'll concede that point.  But surely a few more surprises is not asking much.

One thing that does stand out is her voice.  She clearly has a passion for this romantic, melodic style, and hearing her on these very familiar numbers is at times a revelation.  She kicks Buble butt on Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again (Naturally), and even helps point out the sophistication of the lyrics in The Eagles' tunes.  There, I praised The Eagles, what a giveaway.  I'm a 70's pop weenie, and truth be told, get more out of this album than Krall's jazz stuff.  Happy now Diana?  I just shot my credibility for you.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: CHRIS de BURGH - THE HANDS OF MAN

Never a pop singer, despite a couple of big hits along the way, de Burgh doesn't stray too far from his story-telling style, with lots of drama and swelling music, a little romance, and PBS-style Celtic music. On his 20th album, that's still the key, although he also tackles aging as well. Smart move, his audience is doing that as well. That's not a shot, that's the reality, and there's nothing wrong with keeping things real.


A couple of the songs directly refer to families growing up, realizing you're not a kid anymore, and neither are your kids. Where Would I Be? speaks to a lifetime partner, perhaps The Lady In Red now grown older, the singer wondering what would have become of him without her in his life. Empty Rooms takes on the empty nest syndrome, reminding those grown kids the same love follows them out the door. It isn't all tears and retirement though; Letting Go is about the need for them to go crazy still, every once in a while, and it rocks a bit.


On the other side, de Burgh comes up with a couple of his historic tales, in the vein of Don't Pay The Ferryman. The Ghost Of Old King Richard refers to a holy relic stolen from the imprisoned Lionheart. The Holy Grail perhaps? The Bridge is about a pledge between two lovers, brought back together years later. Correctly identifying the period referenced in The Fields of Agincourt will get you an A in Grade 11 history. This is Chris de Burgh as you like it.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: STEVE EARLE & the DUKES - TERRAPLANE

Well whaddya know? Another surprise from Earle, who has thrown us many curve balls over the years. This one isn't as radical as the loops he used a couple of albums back, but sure enough, it's different. It's a full-on blues album, music and themes. But with this one, it feels a lot more natural, another part of his roots background, and the real surprise is that he hasn't done more in the past, because it's that good.


Earle has been exposed to the blues all along, from his Texas upbringing, to the blues side of all the hurt and heartache he's gone through in his life. It's there in songs such as Better Off Alone, a break-up song with the admission "I'm going to miss you when you're gone, but I'm better off alone." Earle understands the mythology as well, conjuring up his own deal with the devil story in The Tennessee Kid, another guitar slinger who gave up his soul in a foolish deal. Then there's the epic King Of The Blues, "descended directly from St. John the Conqueroo." Earle knows the blues in-depth, and knows how to have fun with it too.


Really, he didn't have to change his sound much either. The Dukes let the electricity and guitar flow a bit more, and the bluegrass is put away for the time being. But the blues have influenced Earle's music going back to Copperhead Road, so fans shouldn't have any issues at all. In fact, it's one of his most focused and enjoyable sets, and that's saying a lot.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: WHITEHORSE - LEAVE NO BRIDGE UNBURNED

More pop noir from Canada's coolest couple, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Expanding on the sound of the previous The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss, everything gets drums and bass now, but it's still the centered around the core strengths of the duo: co-lead vocals, big and strong guitar playing, and everything drenched in echo.


Mystery, sadness, hints of worse are dotted throughout the songs. Lead cut Baby What's Wrong? asks the question to a lover who has a dark secret. Downtown is the polar opposite of Petula Clark's '60's version of hip urban living; instead Whitehorse sings "I live in downtown, and it's killing me." Sweet Disaster is a tribute to a bad-news lover. In You Get Older, there's panic, confusion and bruised knuckles.


Amid all the mystery, irony, hurt feelings and worse, these are still love songs, just for a complicated and real world. There is room for some fun though, and the album ends on upbeat numbers. Oh Dolores might feature "the queen of pain," but she sure can rock. Closing track The Walls Have Drunken Ears is a rockabilly number that goes through a few quick phases with some Beatles musical references, kind of like a mini-Abbey Road. This is smart, sexy, superbly crafted and harmony-heavy, an album with so much to enjoy.