Morning Soup is an eclectic mix of folk, jazz, and other music from all over. You can hear it LIVE on BostonFreeRadio.com Saturdays from 10am to noon Eastern, with a re-air Tuesdays at 10am. The archives are at MorningSoup.com, where you can listen to the current week's show as well as previous shows, view playlists, and read program notes for each show.
Originally aired on BostonFreeRadio.com
NEW MUSIC: none
We're back after a week off for Presidents' Day weekend.
Sometimes radio shows seem to have a mind of their own. This one seemed to veer toward the quiet side -- I'd try to kick things into gear by playing a lively song or two, but it would always return to something more peaceful. Nothing wrong with quiet music, of course, but you'd think the host of the show would have more of a say in the matter. :)
Part of the issue is that BostonFreeRadio.com is only a few weeks old, and the music library has a lot of growing to do. A lot of times a particular piece of music isn't available, so choices can be limited. All of the music you hear on the show are MP3 files -- we're in the process of converting our CD collections to MP3s so the situation is getting better every day.
Anyway, on to the music. There have been several incarnations of the John Renbourn Group and the version heard here is one of the best, rivalling John's other famous quintet, The Pentangle. Featured in the band are three excellent instrumentalists (John, Sue Draheim, and Tony Roberts) on guitar, fiddle, and various flutes and whistles. There are also four vocalists (including Pentangle singer Jacqui McShee), allowing the group to employ some fantastic SATB (soprano/alto/tenor/bass) arrangements like the one here. And on top of all that, this traditional music band from Britain throws in a complete wild card in the form of an Indian tabla player (Keshav Sathe)! Genius -- I marvel at people who have an ear that tells them when disparate instruments will sound wonderful together.
The traditional piece heard here, A Maid in Bedlam, has the whole package, including great four-part harmonies. The harmonies build (after the first verse) from Jacqui's solo soprano down to Tony's bass part. (Listen closely to John's contrapuntal tenor line!) As for the lyrics, you have to wonder about a sentiment like "I love my love because I know my love loves me" -- I mean, what if her lover loves her for the same reason? Talk about a house of cards... Of course, she is A Maid in Bedlam (i.e., an asylum), so perhaps that explains her talking such nonsense.
Buddy Mondlock is best known as a writer for other singers (to the extent he's known at all) -- his most popular song (The Kid) has been covered by Garth Brooks and Art Garfunkel, among others. Buddy has a very engaging and intimate style as a performer -- he sings and speaks in barely more than a whisper. His albums are a bit too overproduced for my taste, but this solo version of The Cats of the Coliseum (taken from an issue of Fast Folk Musical Magazine) is a good representation of hearing him live. Quirky, idiosyncratic lyrics married to a sublime melody.
I distinctly remember where I was when I first heard Beth Orton -- it was a business trip to California. I had the hotel room radio tuned to the great Santa Monica radio station KCRW and its flagship show Morning Becomes Eclectic when this terrific, unfamiliar song came on. It featured a cool steady British female singer backed by a wonderfully jazzy acoustic combo. I thought it was some lovely lost track from The Pentangle, but it was Beth's studio version of She Cries Your Name. Great stuff.
One thing I know for sure -- next week's show WON'T be quiet. Not with two hours of music from New Orleans and Louisiana to celebrate Mardi Gras! I've been putting the playlist together for awhile and am really looking forward to it. Hope you can catch it!
0:00:00 Laszlo Gardony â Ever Before Ever After (truncated)
0:09:09 John Martyn â Excuse Me Mister 0:15:02 John Renbourn Group â Maid in Bedlam 0:20:11 Fairport Convention â Si Tu Dois Partir
0:23:20 James McMurtry â Crazy Wind 0:27:35 John Gorka â The Water Is Wide 0:32:00 Jonatha Brooke â Crumbs 0:36:58 Clive Gregson â I Shake
0:42:00 Beausoleil â L'Amour Ou La Folie 0:47:12 The Blind Boys of Alabama â Amazing Grace 0:51:32 Lucinda Williams â Righteously 0:56:08 Jonathan Richman â Dodge Veg-O-Matic
1:00:49 Bruce Cockburn â The Coming Rains 1:05:30 David Francey â The Waking Hour 1:09:09 Death Cab for Cutie â I Will Follow You into the Dark 1:13:27 Gillian Welch â Beulah Land
1:18:51 Linda Thompson â No Telling 1:23:47 Buddy Mondlock â The Cats of the Coliseum 1:28:34 Beth Orton â She Cries Your Name
1:33:07 Kate & Anna McGarrigle â Goin' Back To Harlan 1:38:04 Loudon Wainwright III â Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder 1:40:30 Greg Brown â Flat Stuff 1:44:32 Creighton Lindsay â If You See My Saviour 1:48:23 Nic Jones â Dance To Your Daddy 1:49:52 The Roches â (I've Got) Nothing to Hide
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