acoustic

Nickel Creek | Scotch and Chocolate

“These are not veterans of bluegrass – these were three young people who drove their string machines like race cars … they have an appeal for the average ear just short of a confection – but never too sweet,” (Americana Highways). “They have the skill to play impressively and rollick in a bluegrass-commercial flavor that’s tasty … Their recordings are well-made and the group possesses a pearl of musical wisdom to perform with agility, passion, and creative beauty.

… Nickel Creek manages to balance these genres with each performance. It’s obvious the trio could play adeptly alongside such traditional mainstay contemporaries as the classic English ensembles Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Curved Air, the Acoustic Strawbs, Steeleye Span, Dando Shaft, Amazing Blondel and the Incredible String Band.”

After a soft-spoken, meandering intro, “Scotch and Chocolate” (2005) solidly settles into A major at 0:51. At 2:05, with the tempo now at a gallop, D major takes center stage for the balance of the track. This performance is from the COVID-cancelled series Live From Here, the more music-centric successor to A Prairie Home Companion. The series was hosted by Nickel Creek’s mandolinist, Chris Thile.

David Wilcox | Rusty Old American Dream

“Around the mid-to-late ’80s, major labels started to notice a new group of folk artists,” (Popdose). “They were more diverse than the Seegers and Guthries of decades past; the ‘new folk’ label could apply to traditionalists like Ellis Paul or Jonell Mosser just as easily as it could to the more overtly commercial Shawn Colvin. And the new folkies could be obvious direct descendants of living masters, like the Richie Havens-channeling Cliff Eberhardt, or they could head off in new directions entirely, like Patty Griffin. Though it’s doubtful anybody in a record label boardroom ever thought the “new folk” would be a huge commercial success, having an “Americana” imprint was sort of prestigious — it meant the suits hadn’t been entirely blinded to the meaning and appeal of music at the root level. A&M Records, recognizing this … signed David Wilcox.

Wilcox had been plying his trade in and around Asheville, North Carolina, for some years, and had become a favorite fixture at the legendary Bluebird Cafe. The Bluebird’s proprietor, Amy Kurland, was instrumental in the development of his career — even after the release of his second A&M album, the label was referring publicity calls to her — and it’s easy to see why she took such an interest. Other artists may have been more implicitly traditional, and thus more representative of ‘true’ folk, but Wilcox’s smooth vocals and emotional lyrics hinted at bigger things.

It’s no Born To Run, but for a folk musician in 1989, How Did You Find Me Here came fairly close — the album won him a modicum of critical attention on the national stage, nearly unanimous in its praise, and A&M realized it had a potential moneymaker on its hands.” One of the album’s standout tracks, “Rusty Old American Dream,” might be about an old car which has seen better days. But propelled by Wilcox’s intricate fingerstyle technique and impeccable time, an unprepared half-step key change (1:47) “gives that old starter a spin.”

James Taylor | Line ‘Em Up

“He’s seen fire, he’s seen rain,” (Santa Barbara Independent). “He’s seen sunny days he thought would never end, and lonely times when he could not find a friend. And James Taylor is in the ongoing journey of a career spanning six decades and stoking a reputation as a pioneer singer-songwriter known for hiring a good band and putting on an engaging live show.”

At a show in Santa Barbara this month, “He also joked, ‘From the beginning, I’ve been writing end of my life in show business songs.’ Thankfully, those were not self-fulfilling prophecies. He has also been writing songs taking on many subjects, not just recovery or romantic concerns: his tune ‘Line ‘Em Up,’ for instance, takes as its thematic angle Richard Nixon’s fateful departure from his White House tenure. Introducing the song, Taylor half-joked, ‘I never thought I’d hear myself say, I miss Richard Nixon.”

Hourglass, Taylor’s 1997 album, saw strong commercial success, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200. The album also won Taylor a Grammy (best Pop Album, 1998), his first since the 1977 smash hit JT. Built primarily in G major, the tune shifts to D minor for its early bridge (1:37 – 2:09) before reverting to the original key.

Maria Rita | Maltratar, Não é Direito

“As the daughter of two Brazilian musical icons – legendary singer Elis Regina and acclaimed pianist Cezar Camargo Mariano – it’s no surprise that Maria Rita has followed in their footsteps to become one of her native land’s best selling artists,” (BBC). “After studying at New York University and working as a journalist, Rita didn’t release her first album until the age of 24, but over a million sales worldwide for her eponymous debut and a host of Latin Grammy awards soon established her at the pinnacle of the MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) scene.

After further success with 2005’s Segundo, Samba Meu (My Samba, 2007) sees the São Paulo-born star paying tribute to the traditional music of Brazil, featuring acoustic reinterpretations of works by some of the country’s great songwriters. Backed by some impeccably tasteful musicianship and arrangements, Rita meanders politely through 13 pleasant, yet distinctly unmemorable, tracks; her note-perfect vocals never threatening to break into anything more taxing than a breezy trill.”

Beginning in D minor, Rita’s “Maltratar, Não é Direito” (which translates approximately to “mistreating others is not right”), shifts to D major at 1:00 for its chorus. At 1:36, it returns to D minor for an interlude centering around a wordless vocal before shifting back to the next verse. The pattern continues from there, propelled by a saturated instrumentation (layered percussion and the small yet mighty cavaquinho, in particular).

James Duncan Mackenzie | Fibhig

“With a superb piping pedigree and an equally fine touch on the wooden flute, this Lewis multi-instrumentalist and composer focuses on his island heritage and his own compositions on Fìbhig,” (Living Tradition).

“Fine new tunes, a dozen musicians and singers, and bewitching production by James himself bring the rugged beauty of (Scotland’s) Hebrides to life. Birthdays and weddings, mountains and sea, and an animal menagerie – there’s no shortage of excitement here. For an island album, especially one from Lewis, Fìbhig is surprisingly cheery and upbeat, enjoyable from start to finish … the charming title track (is) named for a tiny hamlet in the back of beyond … “

The first long section of “Fibhig” walks the line between Ab major and its relative F minor. At 2:19, an unprepared key change jumps us up to Eb major, which similarly shares the spotlight with its relative C minor.

Bruce Hornsby | What the Hell Happened

“Relevancy is an ambition that countless artists strive for, yet so few actually achieve,” (Glide Magazine). “Iconic pianist Bruce Hornsby can proudly count himself among those fortunate few. With a storied musical career that has spanned (50) years, the Williamsburg, VA native continues to be a prominent influence on many modern artists – from Spike Lee to Bon Iver – that seemingly encompasses nearly all aspects and genres of the music industry.

Starting in 1974 … he formed the Grateful Dead cover band Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids with his older brother Bobby Hornsby … By 1980, Bruce and his younger brother John Hornsby moved to Los Angeles, where they spent the next three years writing songs together for 20th Century Fox. In 1986, Bruce, along with his newly-formed backing band The Range, released the multi-platinum album The Way It Is for RCA Records. It was that album’s eponymous chart-topping title track that propelled the group towards receiving their first Grammy Award, for Best New Artist, in 1987.”

Since then, Hornsby has continued to perform extensively — with his band The Noisemakers, touring solo, and supporing the Grateful Dead on keys and vocals. His writing style hasn’t really pivoted away from the pop-friendly sound of his days with The Range; it might be more accurate to say that his musical palette has expanded exponentially. A wonderful example of Hornsby’s relentless eclecticism is “What the Hell Happened” from 2004’s Halcyon Days. “Self-deprecating humor has always been a hallmark of Bruce’s lyrics, and the polytonal ‘What The Hell Happened’ might be his greatest example … (a) Randy Newman-esque piece.”

The tune’s intro and verse are built around Eb minor, but not without plenty of ear-bending alterations. At 0:39, the chorus shifts to Gb lydian. 0:56 brings a seams-hidden change to F major for an extended instrumental break, driven by Hornsby’s rock-solid stride technique and fluid right hand runs. At 2:41, we return to Gb lydian until near the end, when Eb minor makes another appearance. The tune’s overall feel might bring to mind one of Randy Newman’s sepia-toned tales, but the harmonic vocabulary is miles beyond — to borrow the title from another track on the album, very “Circus on the Moon.”

Dougie MacLean | Solid Ground

“Dougie MacLean, originally famed for writing the song ‘Caledonia’, has built an international reputation as songwriter, composer and extraordinary performer on his own terms,” (artist website). “He’s taken his performance to concerts and festivals all over the world and to the stages of Carnegie Hall in New York, London’s Festival Theatre, and the Sydney Opera House. Other appearances of note include sharing the stage with Lou Reed and Eddi Reader in the grounds of Culzean Castle at the Burns and A’ That festival, featuring on the BBC Hogmanay programme from Edinburgh Castle with James Taylor, and sharing the bill with the legendary Mavis Staples at Glasgow‘s Royal Concert Hall.

He has received two prestigious Tartan Clef Awards, a place in the Scottish Music Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and an Order of the British Empire award.”

MacLean’s 1988 tune “Solid Ground” is built primarily in G minor, but shifts to C minor at 4:05 as the vocal ends and a pipes solo closes out the track.

Don McLean | If We Try

“Somehow, enough people have kept Don McLean going through the years in a niche all his own,” (MrMedia) “He has never had a press agent and rarely does interview anymore because, rather dangerously it seems, ‘you get what I think.’ Pete Seeger … hailed him as one of the most talented singer/songwriters he had ever met: ‘He has a clear, intense gaze, a clear voice, and a clear head.’ And angst, lots and lots of pent-up angst for some reason.

‘To be remembered at all, to me, is a wonderful honor,’ McLean says. “But to have ‘And I Love You So,’ ‘Vincent,’ ‘Castles,’ ‘American Pie,’ and a version of ‘Crying’ that stands up to Roy Orbison’s – to have a handful of songs like that, to be remembered by any one of them, I would be very proud of that. I think that those songs are damned near perfect in a lot of ways,’ he says of his own output, ‘even in terms of the records that were made … You shouldn’t get the songs confused with the records. It’s like getting a screenplay confused with the film. You might start out with a great screenplay, but you choose the wrong actors, the wrong director and you come up with a bad film (from) a good story.”

Known primarily for his iconic tunes “American Pie” and “Vincent,” McLean has released two dozen albums. His 1972 folk-pop track “If We Try” begins in A major, shifts gradually to G major for the chorus (0:31 – 0:58).

Jitendra Abisheki | Raga Mala in drut ektaal

“The notion of a Raag (Raga) is at the foundation of Indian Classical nusic … a Raag uniquely defines a set of musical notes and their allowed arrangements to form melodies to evoke certain emotions,” (IndianClassicalMusic.com). “In Sanskrit, a Raag means ‘something that colors your mind.’ … Ancient scriptures define a Raag as a composition of sounds capable of bringing joy to the human heart while attaining beauty through specific movements of notes and phrases.”

From first-time contributor Warren S.: “This ‘raga mala’ (1986) is sung by the veteran vocalist Jitendra Abisheki. The shifts from one raga (generative scale) to the next are noted on screen. Interestingly, the song text itself references the name of each raga, literally describing what the music is doing.

To an outside listener it all sounds very similar — to which I’ll just note that a musically uneducated listener hearing key changes will have the same ‘something changed, but I don’t know what’ response.”

Many thanks to Warren for submitting this piece. It presents a musical shift which runs along a different, yet closely related, axis from the Western key changes that are our regular focus.

Gabriel Kahane | Limping Waltz

“Gabriel Kahane is a singer/songwriter, pianist, composer, and musical polymath equally at home in classical, theater, jazz, and adult pop settings,” (Qobuz). “He has written large-scale orchestral works, piano sonatas, string quartets, and song cycles as well as intimate singer/songwriter fare, and has collaborated with everyone from Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright to the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He first came to national attention in 2006 for his playful Craigslistlieder, which set personal ads to theatrical piano accompaniment (he would later take on celebrity tweets.)”

Kahane has gone on to work with artists such as Pekka Kuusisto, Andrew Bird, Chris Thile, his father pianist Jeffrey Kahane, Sufjan Stevens, Sam Amidon, Aiofe O’Donovan, and ensembles including the American Composers Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, and the Aspen Music Festival. He’s served as the Oregon Symphony’s Creative Chair.

According to the notes he includes with this Instagram post from earlier today, Kahane’s “Limping Waltz” has yet to be formally released. It begins with a verse with a subtly but constantly shifting harmonic backdrop. Instagram doesn’t provide timeslates, but the tune’s chorus, starting with the lyric “But hey kid,” and running through “listen, it’s urgent,” provides a comparatively peaceful respite in a straightforward B major before the unsettled verse returns.

NOTE: we’re getting reports that this post won’t play predictably. Very, odd. Please search on Instagram for Gabriel Kahane’s January 22 post. It makes us really appreciate the relative ease of working with Youtube. Our apologies!