Monthly Archives: June 2018

Album Review: Dan Israel – You’re Free

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Dan Israel

photo by Steven Cohen; photo courtesy of Dan Israel

by James Morris, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Dan Israel: You’re Free

You’re Free is the new album from Dan Israel, released May 2018.

Dan is a talented singer songwriter with 14 albums behind him; You’re Free is number 14. On this album he sings and plays guitars and is joined by a host of great musicians and singers all bringing an array of musical strengths to his interesting and foot tapping songs.

The songs are mostly about the personal, political and cultural crises that he finds in the world today. In Dan’s own words, “Few of the songs offer explicitly political messages, but many are colored by frustration, anger, and concern over the political situation, environmental degradation, and the alienation that often accompanies our reliance on social media.”

Dan Israel - You're Free

image courtesy of Dan Israel

These inspirations have led Dan to create 11 highly accomplished songs, and whilst you may think the dire state of the world these days would lead to a maudlin bunch of tunes, you would be wrong. There is a jaunty juxtaposition to the songs. Serious matters couched in upbeat musical moods. He certainly has a knack for tuneful, contemplative rock.

The production is also rich and creates a very listenable montage of musical layers. A good mix of jangly guitars and keyboards with tasteful additions of the occasional violin, steel guitar, trumpet, piano and percussion. The sonics match the high quality of the songs. I can’t not draw comparison to Tom Petty as Dan’s voice has similar qualities, and the Americana rock vibe is familiar albeit still fresh to listen to. He has brought his own style to what is a well-trodden musical path, and the music is comfortable but contemporary. Lyrically, too, I am glad to say that he doesn’t fall into cliche, and the words are well though-out and engaging.

His musical influences shine through but don’t drown him out. There are flashes of Dylan and Petty and also, interestingly, I found myself hearing bluesy Stones vibes, especially on the acoustic slide guitar groove “Porch Storm” that ends the album. A similar vibe comes through on “Long Gone Dream” and “Soul Will Be Found,” which have a bluesy retro feel, kind of Canned Heat and Beggars Banquet-period Stones.

Dan Israel, Minneapolis 2018

photo by Steven Cohen; photo courtesy of Dan Israel

The album starts a little downbeat with “Gets You Through It” but is sent hurtling on with track 2, “You’re Free.” I always question whether it’s useful to start making comparisons to other artists. Not sure it’s very fair on the reviewee, but on the flip side it is handy for readers to get a feel for whether they will like the albums based on their own musical tastes. So I’m going with the comparison route, and with that in mind I would say that the title track is very Traveling Wilburys, and that can only be a good thing.

There are nice twists on the next song, “Back To You,” with the introduction of violin and a female backing vocal alongside the main voice. Also some lovely Springsteen-esque organ playing and a bright guitar solo.

“Make This Life Mine” and “Stay on the Run” are softer and bring a beautiful acoustic shade to the album, whilst “Feeling Better” and “If I Didn’t Have You” are back in the Tom Petty groove.

It’s always brilliant to discover an album of music that you dig. Quite out of the blue, I am very lucky to have been introduced to Dan Israel and look forward to continuing listens to this excellent album.

The album is available on LP, CD, and for download. You can find out more on Dan’s website, www.danisraelmusic.com.

Looking Ahead

He is a busy performer, and if you want to keep up to date with his live shows, you should keep an eye on the website, but in the meantime he can be found in June playing the following dates:

Thursday, June 14: Dan plays solo in downtown Minneapolis at 333 South 7th Street, a free show outside on the lawn of Accenture Tower, (in close proximity to Hennepin County Government Center, Capella Tower and other downtown buildings) from noon to 1 pm.

Friday, June 15: Dan participates in the Wooldridge Brothers Starts at Dusk album release show at Eagles 34 in Minneapolis, at 8 pm, along with White Sweater, Lolo’s Ghost, and more.

Saturday, June 16: Dan plays solo at the Stone Arch Bridge Festival in Minneapolis, 3:15 pm on the City Pages stage under the Central Ave bridge; earlier in the day, Dan plays a show at 11 am at a family farm, for the Friends & Family Day event at Tangletown Gardens, in Plato, Minnesota.

Friday, June 22: Dan plays solo at Flat Earth Brewing in St. Paul, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Thursday, June 28: Dan opens (solo acoustic) for Peter Himmelman at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis; the club website lists showtime of 7:00 pm.

Friday, June 29: Dan plays solo at the Trempealeau Hotel in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, 8 pm to 11 pm.

Saturday, June 30: Dan plays solo at Chankaska Winery in Kasota, MN, 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

[Publisher’s Note: Of course, I also reviewed Dan’s last album, Dan, in January 2016. If you’re interested in reading that, too, here’s the link. -GW]

Album Review: Meand’er – This Magic Path

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by James Morris, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Meand’er: This Magic Path

This Magic Path is the first album from Devon based English duo, Meand’er.

Father and daughter, Graham Crocker and Hannah Power have been playing acoustic music together for many years although only recently as a duo. In previous incarnations they have been a support act for many well-known artists, including Martin Carthy, Seth Lakeman, Al Stewart, Roy Harper, Julie Felix and Roy Wood, to name a few.

Meand'er - This Magic Path

image courtesy of Meand’er

The new album is a beautiful, gentle, acoustic affair. The 12 tracks are self-penned with lyrics by Hannah Power (apart from the instrumental in the song “Service and Bond,” which is a medley of three traditional Irish tunes: “The Eavesdropper,” “Saddle the Pony,” and “East at Glendart”).

Hannah and Graham play all the instruments on the album but have assistance from James Crocker, who adds guitar, mandolin, bass, and accordion on the tracks “Service and Bond” and “There Will Be A Spring.” They are also joined by the wonderful violin playing of Morwenna Millership on “Ed’s Song” and “The Boat That Brought Me Home.”

All the album’s songs are highly accomplished and have taken many years to reach the point where the duo were ready to commit to recording them. As the pair say on their Bandcamp page, “This album has been a long time in the making, partly because the arrangements developed naturally as we performed them. We finalised the recording of each track only when we were happy with the way it was sounding.”

Happy they should be, indeed. I really enjoyed the organic quality of the recording from the slight creak of a performers chair on the opening track “The Short and the Long” to the entrancing simple lone voice of Hannah on the final and title track, “This Magic Path.”

Meand'er

photo courtesy of Meand’er

It is worth highlighting the spellbinding nature of Hannah Power’s voice. There is a contemporary resonance to it but it also rests in your soul as if you’ve been listening to it all your life. Warm and calming classic English folk tones but with so much more. A beautiful delivery that reflects her own inner voice. There is a natural tone and accent, a genuineness that makes it unique and appealing. This sense of realness carries through the words of each song and makes the album iridescent with heartfelt and personal experiences. On first listen you get a sense of eavesdropping into a personal world, and you know that further listens will reward you with rich detail.

There is so much lyrical content to try and cover in one short review, but in short I would sum it all up as brilliantly refreshing. They avoid cliche and they spark imagery and intriguing storytelling. So often writers fall back on easy solutions, and you get that feeling that you’ve heard it all before. Not so here; for instance, the biographical intensity of “Ed’s Song” with Hannah wanting to “be more rock n roll” but instead having bus fares and P.E kits to find with a forlorn cry of “I’m an ageing single mother trying to make it good.”

The unique lyrics are gently couched within a melodic tapestry created through a delicate approach of guitar with well thought out acoustic embellishment, be it mandolin, violin, or accordion. The sequencing of the album tracks is also key and effortlessly takes you on the journey. The mix of instrumentation and delivery means you are always met with intrigue and a smile of a new familiarity as one song ends and the next begins. All very beguiling.

A great debut album of sparkling unique, new English folk music.

You can find the album on their Bandcamp page at https://meander1.bandcamp.com/releases or follow them on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/MeanderDevon.