Dear Aber, Dear Jaber,
There are holes in your bucket,
And it leaks like a sieve...
I'm sorry, this wouldn't be here at all if they hadn't included some really awful attempts at playing various traditional tunes, including from Ireland. But, Welsh melodies are also full of holes, airy, with little substance and a heady dose of affectation - "see what I can do!" - with poor results. This is another my sweet wife made me turn off and won't let me play in her presence.
There is a hint of some hope in, of all things, the harp accompaniment of Delyth Evans. I can hardly believe I said that. The lead, the winds, is just that, wind, whistling through the holes and spilling out all over the place, sloppy, with little understanding of 'tradition' from what I hear, and that includes his 'compositions'. And this is the 'leader'?! In this case the wind hasn't enough substance to hold the results together and they are, to my ears and senses, all over the place, pretty dire.
So, it's not good trad. It's not good jazz. It's not good music. But that is my personal opinion. The focus here hasn't so much been on the melodies and their traditions as on those executing them. The dance is missing, the life has drained out of these melodies in their rough handling...
In order to attempt to be fair, for contrast here's a 'Living Tradition' review by Tony Hendry, which, of course I don't agree with ~
To confess my irritations further, also a reason for adding this here, it is, for me, one of the worst examples of flute playing on a commercial recording I've ever heard...
You can catch other parts of a listen here too, including some of the flute taking on "The Rambling Pitchfork", after a bit of the harp. The link above only offers an MP3 sample of the harp's take on it...
"Aberjaber: Y Bwced Perffaith / The Perfect Bucket"
SAIN - SCD2157 - 1997
& the musicians are ~
Peter Stacey - flute, soprano sax, gaito galega (gaita) & pibau Cymreig - bagpipes: Galician & Welsh
Delyth Evans - harp
Ben Assare - cello & percussion
# Posted on February 5th 2012 by ceolachan
There are holes in your bucket,
Dear Aber, Dear Jaber,
~
There are holes in your bucket,
And it leaks like a sieve...
I'm sorry, this wouldn't be here at all if they hadn't included some really awful attempts at playing various traditional tunes, including from Ireland. But, Welsh melodies are also full of holes, airy, with little substance and a heady dose of affectation - "see what I can do!" - with poor results. This is another my sweet wife made me turn off and won't let me play in her presence.
There is a hint of some hope in, of all things, the harp accompaniment of Delyth Evans. I can hardly believe I said that. The lead, the winds, is just that, wind, whistling through the holes and spilling out all over the place, sloppy, with little understanding of 'tradition' from what I hear, and that includes his 'compositions'. And this is the 'leader'?! In this case the wind hasn't enough substance to hold the results together and they are, to my ears and senses, all over the place, pretty dire.
So, it's not good trad. It's not good jazz. It's not good music. But that is my personal opinion. The focus here hasn't so much been on the melodies and their traditions as on those executing them. The dance is missing, the life has drained out of these melodies in their rough handling...
In order to attempt to be fair, for contrast here's a 'Living Tradition' review by Tony Hendry, which, of course I don't agree with
http://www.folkmusic.net/
http://www.folkmusic.net/htmfiles/webrevs/scd2157.htm
# Posted on February 5th 2012 by ceolachan
"Aberjaber: Y Bwced Perffaith / The Perfect Bucket" ~ to be fair
You can catch bits and pieces of it for your ears here:
http://www.sainwales.com/
http://www.sainwales.com/store/sain/sain-scd-2157
To confess my irritations further, also a reason for adding this here, it is, for me, one of the worst examples of flute playing on a commercial recording I've ever heard...
# Posted on February 5th 2012 by ceolachan
http://www.sioplawrlwythosain.com/
http://www.sioplawrlwythosain.com/buy/y-bwced-perffaith-the-perfect-bu-1/
You can catch other parts of a listen here too, including some of the flute taking on "The Rambling Pitchfork", after a bit of the harp. The link above only offers an MP3 sample of the harp's take on it...
# Posted on February 5th 2012 by ceolachan
C: Peter Stacey
1. ) Taith Madog
2. ) The Singing Line / Can Y Garreg
4. ) Darren Uchaf / Maisie Smith
5. ) The Winds of Change
10. ) Fferm Cadwgan / The Bread Man
11. ) Y Bwced Perffaith (The Perfect Bucket)
# Posted on February 5th 2012 by ceolachan