I've known Bonnie Rideout as an amazing fiddler for years. But when I received a copy of Gi'me Elbow Room for review, she caught me off guard. This isn't her usual instrumental virtuosity on display (although her playing is certainly beyon reproach); instead, Bonnie has put together a delightful collection of 20 songs and tunes for children.

She employs a variety of musicians, many also from the Maggie's Music catalogue, to flesh out the production. Guests include Rod Cameron (narration, vocals), Chris Caswell (wire-strung Celtic harp, Highland bagpipes, pennywhistle, recorder, bodhran), Al Petteway (guitar), Betty Rideout (piano), Douglas Rideout (ocarina) and Maggie Sansone (hammered dulcimer). Bonnie plays fiddle and viola, and sings.

If that's not enough, she also brings in the vocal talents of the University Park, Maryland Elementary School chorus, who turn the recording into a child's sing-along, and Nicholson Pipes & Drums for occasional bursts of Highland sound. There are also various sound effects, where appropriate.

Some tracks are songs Bonnie heard as a child; others, she wrote or adapted from existing material. For instance, the title track was a Galloway rhyme about a tailor, but Bonnie penned new lines to introduce young listeners to a variety of traditional instruments. She uses a nursery rhyme about a biting fish to lead into a rousing "Morrison's Jig," while "The Hen's March" is a straight instrumental, musically imitating the sounds of barnyard foul. "Fiddler from Dooney," a famous poem by W.B. Yeats, gains a chorus and melody. For "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," child singer Clarice Medrano joins forces with Cameron for a charming duet. Cameron closes the album by reciting Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "Northwest Passage," which, coupled with "Cradle Song" on fiddle and harp, is a fitting lullaby.

Bonnie had a lot of fun making this disc, that much is obvious. Her voice bubbles with laughter from beginning to end; you can feel her smiles from first note to last. And it sounds like everyone else, young and old, enjoyed the experience just as much as she did. Their pleasure comes through clearly, making it impossible not to enjoy the fruits of their labor. So, whether or not you have a child handy, drop Gi'me Elbow Room into the stereo and grab a few grins.

[ by Tom Knapp ]
Rambles: 28 September 2002