Every Sound Below
Editorial Reviews
Dirty Linen, August/September 2004
"A starkly beautiful journey well worth taking."
Product Description
The commercial and critical success of the "old-time"/bluegrass-drenched music in the 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou," its "Down from the Mountain" tour-film spin off, and recent "Cold Mountain" blockbuster proved that millions of Americans were eager to connect to their country's musical roots. This second solo CD by Tim Eriksen, already a burgeoning cult figure as one of the leading U.S. traditional folk balladeers, should be their next focus.
Eriksen, featured vocalist on three "Cold Mountain" songs and arranger of two "shape note" songs on the soundtrack, sees music as a link between the past and present and between individuals and communities, which has led him to the ten traditional American folk ballads he reanimates here and the four haunting original compositions that comprise this view of pre-20th Century life and its 21st Century resonance. Tim brings sounds of the American past into the "now," starting with the first track, an original a cappella salute to sunrise in the strong, brave tenor voice that has won him awe. He follows with chilling accounts of the Civil War, the lament of a traveling preacher (one of two songs utilizing harmonic, "overtone" singing that imitates the buzz of nature), murder ballads, and sprinkles in a pair of instrumentals. Tim's has a scholar's instinct for uncovering obscure, often unrecorded folks songs, and his liner notes give a fascinating insight into their history and his own sensibilities. Tim's two other compositions are "A Tiny Crown," a tale of imagination, reality and sea monkeys, and the eerie, hovering title song.
Using the same minimal, live-in-the-studio technique as on his first CD, Tim performs alone here, cycling between guitar, banjo, and fiddle without overdubs, an approach in keeping with the direct connection between Tim, his music and his listeners.
Every Sound Below
Every Sound Below,Tim Eriksen,Appleseed Records,Folk,Folk & Traditional,Neo-Traditional Folk,Pop,Second solo CD by one of America's finest traditional folk vocalists, who's also winning acclaim for his "Cold Mountain" soundtrack contributions. Tim is the real deal.
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Every Sound Below
Tim Eriksen Manufacturer: Appleseed Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Folk
| Styles
| Music
Traditional Folk
| Folk
| Styles
| Music
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ASIN: B00020HB4G Release Date: 2004-05-25 |
Tracks:
Album Description
The commercial and critical success of the "old-time"/bluegrass-drenched music in the 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou," its "Down from the Mountain" tour-film spin off, and recent "Cold Mountain" blockbuster proved that millions of Americans were eager to connect to their country's musical roots. This second solo CD by Tim Eriksen, already a burgeoning cult figure as one of the leading U.S. traditional folk balladeers, should be their next focus.Eriksen, featured vocalist on three "Cold Mountain" songs and arranger of two "shape note" songs on the soundtrack, sees music as a link between the past and present and between individuals and communities, which has led him to the ten traditional American folk ballads he reanimates here and the four haunting original compositions that comprise this view of pre-20th Century life and its 21st Century resonance. Tim brings sounds of the American past into the "now," starting with the first track, an original a cappella salute to sunrise in the strong, brave tenor voice that has won him awe. He follows with chilling accounts of the Civil War, the lament of a traveling preacher (one of two songs utilizing harmonic, "overtone" singing that imitates the buzz of nature), murder ballads, and sprinkles in a pair of instrumentals. Tim's has a scholar's instinct for uncovering obscure, often unrecorded folks songs, and his liner notes give a fascinating insight into their history and his own sensibilities. Tim's two other compositions are "A Tiny Crown," a tale of imagination, reality and sea monkeys, and the eerie, hovering title song.
Using the same minimal, live-in-the-studio technique as on his first CD, Tim performs alone here, cycling between guitar, banjo, and fiddle without overdubs, an approach in keeping with the direct connection between Tim, his music and his listeners.
Customer Reviews:
Another starkly gorgeous CD from one of the great ones.......2004-08-04
beauty and terror.......2004-05-31
Eriksen's repertoire mostly eschews familiar titles from the American folk canon. Only "Careless Love," "Two Sisters," and "Omie Wise" leap to easy recognition, though his readings of each are distinctive. The first, however, is one of the rare moments that betray Eriksen's linkage to the modern folk revival. The languid arrangement brings to mind the work of the brilliant (though sadly no longer active) British ballad singer/guitarist Nic Jones. The original "A Tiny Crown" is slightly reminiscent of another British folk guitarist, Bert Jansch (or, for that matter, the early, Jansch-besotted Donovan, before he went all wacky). You need not have heard of Jones or Jansch to be moved -- or, more likely, unsettled -- by what Eriksen does with these songs.
In the purely technical or aural sense the sound is crisp as a gorgeous fall day. Yes, the album was recorded in the basement studio of my old friend, the Twin Cities guitarist and producer Dakota Dave Hull, but I would admire it wherever it came from. If 2004 ushers into the world a superior example of hard-core folk at its most brilliantly flinty, I will be very, very surprised.
Music Review:
Recommended Music:
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I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like
How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb [Import]