Celtophilia

Welcome back, we're glad you're here!

Album: Sands of Aberdeen
Artist: Jed Marum (with Hugh Morrison and Mason Brown)

Bonnie Declares: Jed Marum lives in Texas, and you can really hear Texas influencing some of the tracks on his newest album, Sands of Aberdeen. Other songs lean towards pure Celtic trad, and either type is an absolute pleasure to listen to. Jed’s voice is smooth and polished without falling prey to the trap that ensnares so many people with great voices, that is, concentrating so much on sounding pretty that all the heart goes right out of their music and they’re left with something shiny, but shallow. Much to the contrary, Sands of Aberdeen is deeply layered with excellent songs, and I come away with something new to love about it every time I play it.

Willie Coleman - The Tune Set is a complex and fascinating instrumental arrangement, and I am so into that I replayed it about ten times in a row. It draws you in with the wistful beginning and then before you know what’s happened it’s picked you up and spun you around until you are happily dizzy and entranced.

Flora, The Lily of the West, is the one song on the CD that I just didn’t care for. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it sounds an awful lot like Mad Tom of Bedlam to me. I have such an attachment to that particular song that my brain rebels and won’t process the different lyrics. To be fair, thematically the lyrics are pretty in line with Mad Tom, as far as there’s still craziness and death involved. Someone without my hang ups would no doubt appreciate this tune, it just doesn’t stand up to the rest of the album in regards to awesomeness in my opinion.

Down By The Glenside (which I often see titled as Bold Fenian Men) is my runaway favorite. It’s an old rebel song that is performed by a lot of bands, but this is an outstanding rendition. The guitar is exquisite, I love the wind instrument, (sorry, I couldn’t decide if that’s a flute or a whistle) and to be honest, everything about this track is as close to perfect as it gets. Jed’s vocals are flawless and the harmony on the chorus is especially lovely. I get chills and the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up while I listen - which is pretty much the highest praise I can give to a song that aims to be haunting and evocative.

Sands of Aberdeen is simply a brilliant album, and Jed Marum is a musical enchanter, passionate and tender by turns, and always alluring. I’ll be keeping an eye on this gentleman, and I advise you to do the same. I can’t wait to hear what he does next! In the mean time, check out Sands of Aberdeen, and if you’re in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississippi, you may even be able to catch a live show.

*I have to give a shout out to Hugh Morrison, who provides back up vocals and his signature accordion badassery for Jed Marum on this album. We reviewed Hugh’s CD, Under a Texas Skye, last July.

Mike proclamates: I was first introduced to Jed Marum’s amazing artistry several years ago listening to Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, and developed a love that has stood the test of time. Jed consistently delivers solid work, weaving his American and Irish heritages into a complex tapestry which never fails to leave me wanting more. For “Sands of Aberdeen,” Jed has combined his skills with the considerable talents of Hugh Morrison and Mason Brown to deliver songs from all across the Celtic diaspora, with Ireland, Scotland, the US, and Canada well represented, along with some original works.

The CD kicks off with the title track, a Jed Marum original which I can almost guarantee will be an instant classic. The song delivers the stirring tale of someone left behind when a loved one heads to sea and doesn’t return, and captures all the desperation and emotion of someone standing on the sands, watching for sails on the horizon.

One of my favorite songs on the CD is Flora, The Lily Of The West, a fantastic ballad about a very common Western theme. Our hero travels to Texas, and falls in love with Flora, who happens to be The Lily Of The West, and has several other suitors clamoring for her attention. Then there’s some killing, and a trial, but the fellow gets away with it because apparently the judge just felt sorry for the pathetic in-love creature. Clearly the judge was a bit of a romantic. As the song draws to a close we find that the love-sick fool is still stuck on the girl, but has at least the good sense to ride on out of town before more violence ensues. (Reading over Bonnie’s review, I see that she pretty much panned this song. Obviously she’s wrong.)

As an on again, off again fiddler, I can’t help being drawn into Lovely Leah and the Willie Coleman - Tune Set. Both of these are fantastic instrumental pieces, of the kind that aren’t easy to find. Both great talent and hard-won skill are apparent, and brilliantly put on display.

Easily the most intriguing song on the CD is The Belles of Ontario, written by Brian McNeill, which I had never heard before, and can find hardly any information about, no matter where I look. I’m assuming that it is referring to the Canadian province, and not the Californian city, which are the only two Ontarios that a quick search reveals. The basic premise behind the song is that the girls in Ontario are a lot of fun, and makes me wonder…. (I know you’re reading this Maple Leaf, you have anything to add?)

There are several decent Irish tunes on offer, notably the ever-present Star of the County Down, and The Town I Loved So Well. The one that really grabbed my attention, though, was Down By The Glenside. This song gives me chills when I hear it, and even when I’m sitting here thinking about hearing it again. I’ve teared up listening to it more than once. There’s something about it that reaches deep into my subconscious, and pulls every ounce of my Irish patriotism right to the front. It invokes emotions I can barely even explain. There’s nothing about it that isn’t awesome. (Wow… as I read Bonnie’s comments on this song, I have to note that we did NOT discuss this beforehand, the song just has that effect on people, apparently.)

The one song on Sands of Aberdeen that strikes me a little off is Uncle Joe. It feels rather autobiographical, and maybe it’s just a little too much so, because it remains rather unaccessible to me. I just can’t seem to get into it like everything else on the CD. Still, one track being slightly less stellar than its peers is hardly a harsh criticism, is it? I loved this CD, and can’t wait for the next one.

If you want to find more information about Jed Marum, you can find his website at www.jedmarum.com or hit his Myspace page at www.myspace.com/jedmarum If you want to give Sands of Aberdeen a listen for yourself, you can at CD Baby, or check out the samples on the Amazon player below.

Slainte!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 7:29 pm and is filed under All Reviews, Traditional Celtic Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.