Reviews: Heather Alexander, Jonathan Byrd

HEATHER ALEXANDER
A GYPSY'S HOME:
SONGS OF THE ROVING LIFE
SEA FIRE 2001
http://www.heatherlands.com

If you walk a day that is bright and fair, when you kiss the wind you will see me there.

Heather Alexander was vocalist and fiddler in the legendary San Fransisco folk-rock-fantasy band Phoenyx. She now lives up here in the Big O, but her voice, one that initially reminded me of Grace Slick in her Airplane days, is still the same. Pushing the lower limits of alto, passion is the word, not the sultry passion of a Euro-diva, but rather a force and confidence that could electrify even an acoustic band. On A Gypsies Home, Heather sings...and plays a number of instruments...through eight originals and six traditional or cover tracts, including an unusual version of Archie Fisher's "Witch Of the Westmoreland."

A Gypsy's Home is from one alternative universe, in the way of not just seeing magic in mundane things but in actively creating it. In this way, we end up with more magic. The major link in this album is "Gypsies," one of my favorite symbols; there's no attempt here to be dully serious and politically correct and avoid stereotypes. The cover photo is in bright colors and likeways are the musical images portrayed; in truth "Gypsies" aren't limited to an ethnic group, but rather gather in all of us "of sky and land" who at least hope to "live their days from start to end."

The most striking of Heather's originals, which are written in a quasi Celtic partly traditional-tradional style, is "Wooden Toy Sword, a song of some strength about a father who goes off to war and in death appears to his son in the ocean of stars overhead. Her "Laydies Bring Your Flowers Faire" is a pretty little slow tune...in this alternative universe things are allowed to be blatantly pretty...as is "The Star Of May Morning." "Come With Me Sir" is a similar but more perky song. Among the traditional tunes are included, almost predictably, "Heather On the Moor" and "The Whistling Gypsy Rover," but Heather is at her best when she tears it up on "The Hexhamshire Lass." There are also a couple traditionalish instrumental tracks. It is she who handles guitar, fiddle, and mando, some percussion, and synthesizer; Dan Ochipinti takes on a number of percussion items, and Andrew Hare plays bass.

Whilst at times the syntax is a little weird, and some may feel the style a little archaic, this particular alternative universe can be really fun and hopeful, and Heather's vocals are something one can surely hang on to.

JONATHAN BYRD
WILDFLOWERS
self-produced 2000
http://www.jonathanbyrd.com/

You can't grow no peaches in Montana but it's as lovely as a dove in the snow.

North Carolinian Jonathan Byrd isn't creating any new universes, but like Heather he is fitting his own historical lyrics into old traditional patterns of songwriting, hence Wildflowers is an album of songs written in a traditional style. Additionally, as Jonathan's inspiration is in contemporary Ireland, they are all played in DADGAD for a Celtic feel. On the album he also has included some traditional tunes and a very nice version of Molly Dear ( I remember this as Ian and Sylvia's "Katy Dear") accompanied with "claw hammer guitar."

Songs here are about Texas (a lot of people write about Texas) or California maybe, but the nicest couple of songs on the album are North Carolina romances written to a variable dregree like traditional ballads. One is about "Sandy Mush," which is near Asheville and tells of a laborer who comes through and falls in love and happily her father says "yes." "Ashe County Fair" is more of a tragedy; the girl who sells pies dies of a fever and in "Her Eyes" she is shot by her father as a prowler as she escapes away in the night. There are also a couple of more country-ish contemporary songs on the album: I like "Tinytown," in which a couple, maybe about my age, fall in love and escape a small Texas town for Montana; its good to escape at some point or another. Jonathan covers the song with a veil of Appalachian fine prettiness that might not be present if it were merely dedicatedly Texan. Other styles are there too, "Wildflowers" (another Texas allusion), with John Bolding on banjo, sounds like mellow bluegrass. The genealogical "Velma" and "Mama" sound like blues. "Lady's Fancy" is a Celtic tune played on guitar with some fancy finger work.

According to Jonathan, this album is an exercise in writing songs in a traditional manner, with a number of influences chunked in. Some of the influences are older and "more traditional" so the songs themselves are more or less traditional sounding depending where you are, but the instruments are all traditional and wherever you are, the songs themselves are interesting!

gennett at gorge dot net

The Columbia Gypsy