First impressions should count for something, and right out of the gate, the look of the disc and inserts is impressive for a self-produced piece. This diligence continues into the rigor with which the music within is engineered, for which kudos go to the good folk at Starbridge Studios.

As in Ages Past, the personnel for Emerald Rose has remained much the same. Larry Morris is still the man on the pennywhistle, uilleann pipes and vocal stylings; Clyde Gilbert is the bassist and rattler of assorted percussive things; Arthur Hinds is the bodhran master and one of two guitarists, in addition to lead vocal duties; and Brian Sullivan pitches in on guitar and mandola. All share backing vocals and instrumental arrangement credits, though Morris and Hinds do most of the heavy lifting with the songwriting.

The first minute of the first song, "Come to the Dance," is as fine of an opening instrumental bridge to a song as I have heard in quite a while. The arrival of lyrics changes the song somewhat in tone, but it builds nicely into an invocation to get to your feet. I imagine it would be especially potent in a live setting with room to get up and move. The slower ballad, "Before the Twilight Falls," takes some interesting turns, especially in the odd melodic transitions in the refrain. Though the lyric is clear and unambiguous, the music is more enigmatic. "Take Me Down (to the Water)" has a restless energy, but is not as fully developed as the preceding tunes. The medley of four jigs that is "Four Doors to Elfland" is an exceptionally deft weaving of the traditional with two original jigs, and the instrumental work here displays a command of the form not previously seen in Emerald Rose's work.

Andy M. Stewart's "Queen of Argyll" is next, one of two covers on the disc. It is pretty handsomely mounted and earnestly performed, but is not quite as edgy as the story told by the song. In the original tune "Three More Drops," there is a nice moment in the bridge as a cappella voices and drums weave in and out. My second favorite tune on the disc, the whistle and guitar-driven "Autumn in Asheville" is next. It evokes just what the title describes, and I look forward to taking a test-spin up that way just to confirm my impressions.

The bilingual English/Welsh "Gwydion's Song to Lleu" is essayed next to good effect by Hinds (though I cannot speak with authority to his Welsh pronunciation, he made me believe in the words spoken, even when specific understanding was wanting). The traditional "Wheel of Fortune" augmented with additional lyrics courtesy of Hinds, was spirited, though I found the choice of snare drum for percussion an odd one in this context. "Four Jacks" gives us a taste of uillean pipes, and also the requisite cowbell (!), but the vocals seem to go astray in places.

In the Van Morrison song "Irish Heartbeat" we have an earnest attempt at a very difficult tune to cover. To their credit, the Rose lads do not attempt to one-up any of the various constructions that Morrison has put on the song over the years. It is followed by "Dagger of the Moon," a dark tale in which lyric and melody are more ideally matched, especially in the weaving of guitar and whistle. "Urania Sings" has a furiously complicated verse lyric, though it smooths out considerably in the refrain, and "Whistler's Farewell" seems to me to be a more comfortable marriage of lyric to music. The last two tunes of the disc are romps, and it's good to see the band relax into a harder-edged groove. "Dance of the Rats" invokes a demented Paul Stookey vocally, and gives us the timeless line "vermin grace and rodent skill" -- who has not thought that couplet at least once a day whilst putting out mousetraps? The spirited rocker "We Came from Monkeys" closes the set and disc out, and it is as fine a paen to the dilemnas posed by the evolution debate as one could wish for.

We have here, then, Songs for an Archive of Ages to Come. Though I have not discussed the matter much, the lyric content of many of these songs is infused with both Celtic and Pagan canon, and the vocals at times remind me of hymn singing at a camp meeting. I say that not to denigrate the efforts of the vocalists, but to underscore the impression that these are folks who may not always sing with technical polish, but they nearly always bring the passion, and really, isn't that the greater part of what shared music should be about? Besides, I expect that these guys will continue to get better for as long as the spirit moves them to compose and perform. I look forward to the archives of the next age.

by Gilbert Head
Rambles.NET
23 December 2006

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