This Dance by Teague Alexy (2012. Consider It Correspondence Music.)

So my twenty-four year old son Chris buys me a great locally produced (home-grown if you will) CD by The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank. I write a review and post it on this little blog. One half of the Nephews emails his appreciation and asks me to give a listen to his new solo CD. I agree. And here we are.

There’s much to like on Teague Alexy’s This Dance. First off, if you’re like me, and you enjoy the whimsy of say, Randy Newman, with a bit of Greg Brown growl thrown in for good measure, than you’re gonna love Teague’s voice. If not, too bad. Why? Well, because this new release is so chock full of great guitar licks and well constructed songs, that if you don’t like Teague’s voice (as I said, I do), you might make a mistake and tune out. That would be a shame because, as the title to this review says quite plainly, this is music that even old men will like.

“The Raggedy Hat of John Henry” kicks off this assortment of blues and folk tunes (all originals, which is another damn reason to buy the CD: folks who do their own dirty work deserve to be rewarded). It’s a fine song standing on its own but as a lead in to the rest of this musical adventure, it’s a great choice. You see, making albums (yes, even in these days of MP3′s, I still consider a release by a musician to be, in the parlance of old hippies, “an album”) isn’t just pressing tunes into pieces of plastic and hawking them at your next gig. It’s about pulling out all stops to say something, to create something lasting. That’s the thing: Alexy’s latest effort does that with seamless effort.

This isn’t to say we’re talking vintage Bob Dylan here, though, given the breadth of the playing, writing, and singing on this release, it’s a comparison that could be made. Such praise might not hold up to close scrutiny but, given the strength of most of the cuts on this CD, there are similarities to be noted between the bard of Hibbing and the ongoing development of this young singer-songwriter. A good example of the level of musical prowess that weaves its way through the songs in this collection can be found on “Mainline” where a jangly banjo adds a bluegrass flare to a nice little ditty that, while it won’t change the world or start a revolution, is pleasing to the ears.

All in all, this is a good, solid bit of songwriting and music making from one of Duluth’s up and comers. You can catch Teague live, at the CD release show for This Dance at the new saloon in town, Tycoons, on April 28th. The time hasn’t been set (at least as of the writing of this review) so keep an eye out for updates and head down to Old Downtown to get your bogey on.

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5.

Traveling Show by the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank (2009. Consider it Correspondence Music.)

Little Duluth is on fire when it comes to music. I’ve already profiled the latest album by that Duluth-based icon of slow rock, Low (see review archives for a full review). Next up will be my take on Duluth roots musician and guitarist, Charlie Parr’s 2010 effort, When the Devil Goes Blind. But today, I’ll let you in on a secret: The Hobo Nephews can write and play authentic roots music, pulling out all stops in a musical compendium that includes aspects of John Prine’s vocals, Wilco’s musicianship, and The Band’s grit. Really. These guys are that good.

My son Chris has talked quite a bit about both the Nephews as a band and Teague Alexy (one of the two Alexy brothers who make up the trio know as the Hobo Nephews) as a solo act. Chris has tried (without success) to drag me to see Teague at Beaner’s or other local venues. For whatever reason, I haven’t made it out to see Alexy or his brother, Ian, who joins Teague in the Hobo Nephews. Now I know what I’ve been missing: The two Alexy brothers play some mean guitar and write some mighty fine songs. Add percussionist Paul Grill to the mix and you’ve got a fine, fine trio. Filling out the album is also a fine constellation of players, adding pedal steel, strings, mandolin, banjo, horns, and keyboards when the songs demand.

From the opening cut, “Traveling Show” to “Daddy’s Coming Home”, this disc is full of lyrical genius and just plain home-cooked playing. “Old Friends and Rent Checks” is such a spot on tribute to John Prine (including the mandolin playing of Erik Berry) you’d swear it was Prine himself behind the lyric and the voice. “Memphis in Your Head” brings to mind Levon Helm and The Band, especially with the Wurlitzer adding texture to the driving beat of the song. The country flavor of “A Long Time to be Gone” makes the grade as either a terrific road or country song: you decide. And “In the Morning” has got that toe-tapping feel of the best of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco.

The production of this album doesn’t match the lushness of Low’s latest, but given the rockabilly leanings of the Nephews, one wouldn’t expect the same level of sonic artistry. My only criticism? At times the vocals twang a too much and thin out some. But that, in the end, is part of the charm of the group.

The CD comes with a DVD which is a bit odd in pace and direction but has one great scene of the band busking on a stairway in Brooklyn. That cut is worth sitting through the rest of the video and redeems the project, in my eyes. For those of us who don’t know much about the Nephews, a more straight on documentary of their touring and their recording sessions would have been welcome.

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5. One of the best out of Duluth I’ve ever listened to!

In 2002, a group of talented Iron Range journeymen was assembled by Terry Miller and Mark DeMillo to back singer-songwriter Roxie DeMillo (Mark’s wife) on her debut CD. The lineup, Terry Miller on keyboard and bass; Jeff Rantala on lead guitar; Mark DeMillo on drums, and Roxanne DeMillo on vocals, guitar, and flute, is preserved for posterity on To Spain, Roxie’s debut recording. Though Roxie’s voice is a tad thin on some of these tunes (though always evocative), her songwriting (and the expression she puts into her own songs and those of others), along with the phenomenal guitar work of the late Jeff Rantala make this a treasure of a recording that few people outside Hibbing and Grand Rapids have ever heard. Take a listen to “Crow River”, which has a sweet, Irish-Canadian lilt to its melody and lyrics that reminds one of Joni Mitchell at her best. Or turn up the volume and shake your money maker to “Coffee Time” a piece on which Rantala’s Steely Dan guitar riffs soar. Of the ten tunes on the disk, 6 of them are Roxie DeMillo originals and all of them are as good as the stuff that Mitchell, King, Dement, and Chapin Carpenter turned in during their primes. For the past five years or so, Cloquet River Press has featured this CD as a product option both online and at various craft shows. Now, as the economy stagnates, and the last To Spain is shipped out of CRP’s inventory, it is time to say goodbye to two friends who have passed on. I’ve been selling the CD mostly to honor Roxie and Jeff, both of whom died far too young of cancer.

With my inventory of To Spain sold out, I’ve decided to concentrate on my writing and my books. Not an easy choice since I still love, and still play, To Spain when I’m on the road. But though CRP will no longer carry the disk, you can contact Mark DeMillo at 1330 13th Ave E. Hibbing, MN 55746-1220 if you’re interested in buying a copy of this great album for your collection. It is, as I’ve said, a wonderful piece of local recording history and your purchase would honor the memory of two very fine musicians.

Here’s the track index of the CD:

Crow River (R. DeMillo)

Can’t Let Go (R. Weeks)

River (J. Mitchell)

Believe It (R. DeMillo)

Coffee Time (R. DeMillo)

Run (R. DeMillo)

2 Cool 2 B Forgotten (L. Williams)

Kiss me (R. DeMillo)

To Spain (R. DeMillo)

Shearin’ Song (Traditional)

Peace.

Mark

C’mon by Low (2011. Subpop Records)

Lush. Elegant. Original. Ethereal. Orchestral.

These are adjectives that come to mind when listening to the latest studio effort by Duluth’s beloved home grown slow rock group, Low. I’ll be honest. I’ve always liked Low: Years ago I watched them do a live radio show for KUWS at the Marshall Performing Arts Center on the UMD campus and I knew the group was special. But I also realized, given my native Duluth fatalism, that Low was likely too good for us. And until I bought the group’s current CD at the Fetus, I didn’t own any of their music. Maybe I was skeptical of their loyalty; convinced that they would leave us for bright lights and a bigger paycheck. After all, Duluth ain’t the Twin Cities and whenever someone with talent begins to make a name for himself or herself as a writer, musician, artist, athlete, or whatever, they rarely stick around. Oh, folks not from Duluth, now they’ll move here and put down roots and keep making music or art or dancing in the Duluth Ballet. But native Duluthians with talent? The legacy of such folks has been a constant migration to places where the weather’s warmer and the money’s better. Not so with Low. They, along with our other truly national musical talent, Trampled by Turtles, still call Duluth home. So it’s with a certain amount of chest-puffing pride that I proclaim: This album is the best of 2011. Hands down. Any genre. Any language. Anywhere.

Mimi Parker, Alan Sparhawk, and Steve Garrington have cobbled together as good a musical moment as you’re going to experience. Comparing C’mon to another album by another artist just doesn’t do the effort justice. From the opening strains of “Try to Sleep” to the closing bars of the Wilcoesque “Something’s Turning Over”, the vocals, arrangements, and musicianship on this effort shine through. The lyrics are simple. There’s nothing about the words on C’mon that will have Dylan or Young or Chapin-Carpenter (or any other noted lyricist) shaking in his or her boots. But you know what? It doesn’t matter a lick. A great example of this is “Nothing but Heart”. There can’t be more than twenty different words tops used in the tune but Sparhawk’s guitar work, Parker’s background vocals, and Garrington’s bass playing create a sensory experience that more than makes up for the sparseness of the lyrics.

I couldn’t find a weak link in this chain of original, well-crafted music. Not a one.

I always try to imagine which ten albums, CD or vinyl, I’d want with me if shipwrecked on a desert island. Mountain’s Flowers of Evil is an easy pick. Blond on Blond by Dylan is another. Live Rust by Neil Young is a likely “yes”. I’m pretty sure C’mon is now on that list.

You can learn more about Low’s music at: http://chairkickers.com/.

5 stars out of 5.

Ride On by Ring of Kerry (2011. Ring of Kerry Music)

Wow. That’s the only word that I can use to describe the impact of this new effort from the boys (plus one girl) from the Cliffs of the Mississippi (the bandmates call the St. Cloud area of Minnesota home). Ring of Kerry has always been a personal favorite of mine because I consider their “utility player” Paul (aka The Stringman) Imholte to be a friend. This Celtic band’s prior releases (check out http://www.ringofkerry.us/ for details) were musically appealing, well-crafted efforts. But the addition of female vocalist-flutist Karie Oberg has lifted the band from the merely good and brought it into the realms of Celtic musical glory. Oberg’s polished, yet home-spun voice is just what the band needed to bring it to the next level of performance.

When I heard Oberg sing (with the band in complete unity behind her) the title track, “Ride On” at the Duluth Home and Builders Show earlier this year, I knew Ring of Kerry was on to something special. The texture of Oberg’s solo voice, mixed with the gruff vocals of the male band members, is spot on. Most times, hearing a tune live can’t be replicated in the recording studio: That’s not the case here. “Ride On” shines through as a stellar track on the disk, just as it did in concert.

The male members of Ring contribute ably to the totality of the work as well. Charlie Roth’s version of “Utley Mill Song” and “Holy Mother of God” (a hauntingly beautiful piece) also hit the mark as does Paul Blondell’s effort on “Ordinary Man”. And, as with the prior Ring of Kerry albums (to use an old term from my days of spinning vinyl), the instrumental pieces and the musicianship behind all the cuts on Ride On are top notch.

If you’re a fan of Celtic music, don’t miss this one. You won’t be able to put Karie Oberg’s rendition of the title track out of your mind. I hope Garrison Keillor is reading…

5 stars out of 5.

Barn Raising Day by The Tarveys (2010. Cricket Wing Records)

I’ve always been a fan of Minnesota’s virtual one-man acoustic phenom, Paul Imholte, dating back to the days when he lived in the Duluth area. A versatile musician, Paul is accomplished on any instrument that boasts a set of strings: dulcimer, fiddle, cello, banjo, guitar,mandolin, and likely some I haven’t even heard of. He’s been, since leaving the Northwoods, a member of the Celtic band, Ring of Kerry based in the St. Cloud area where Imholte now resides. (More on Ring of Kerry to follow). When attending the recent Duluth Home and Builders Show at the DECC, my wife and I sat in the nearly empty old arena and were treated to some wonderful Celtic tunes and Irish step dancing courtesy of Ring of Kerry and the St. Paul Irish Dancers. Though I have two of Ring’s older CDs, this was the first time I was able to see and hear Karie Oberg, the group’s only female member; a very talented flutist and singer. At the end of the show, I bought a copy of Ring’s latest and Mr. Inholte urged a copy of Barn Raising Days, a newly pressed release from Imholte and Oberg, who bill themselves as The Tarveys, into my hands. I wasn’t disappointed.

Th instrumental playing as background music on the main page of this blog, “The Last Light of Summer”, is one of 15 original Imholte compositions on the album. 3 of the tunes are sans vocals, like “Last Light”. They’re well crafted and run the gambit of acoustical pieces. But it’s on tunes such as “In Another Life” and “Wheels Ever Rolling” where Oberg’s talents as a vocalist and Imholte’s abilities as a singer-songwriter bring the CD to its heights. There’s a depth and fullness to Oberg’s renditions of these Americana-themed tunes that gives them life and makes the songs soar. Add to this Paul Imholte’s masterful musicianship, the mixing and electric guitar of John Hammond and you can’t help but be impressed. Especially magical (as always) is the dobro play of Pat Surface sideman and Grammy Award winner, John Ely, former member of country giant Asleep at the Wheel. Dan Preston rounds out the studio guys with solid bass playing on nearly all the tracks.

If you like Americana, especially bluegrass tinged, original-scripted-homegrown-acoustic music, Barn Raising Days is a good place to start. The CD is available directly from The Tarveys at http://www.tarveys.com/home.html .

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5.