[FM] review of Tim Harrison's CD "Tim Harrison"
Kevin
celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Fri, 18 Feb 2000 21:57:40 -0800
Below is my review of Tim Harrison's CD "Tim Harrison".
To see the review nicely formatted in your web browser, please view
the version on my web site at:
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html
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A Review of the CD
"Tim Harrison"
by Tim Harrison
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"Tim Harrison"
by Tim Harrison
copyright 1999 - SAS2005
Second Avenue Records
12 Aldergrove Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4C 1B2
ph: (416)686-1616
fax: (416)686-0439
http://www.interlog.com/~second/tim.htm
mailto:second@interlog.com
This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 12/99
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
The good news is that Tim Harrison is back with a new release. The even
better news is that he has returned with an assortment of laser-like
portraits of the innerscapes of human beings. His insights into the human
condition, our heavenly ascents and our hellish descents, are as remarkable
as is his talent for putting them into enjoyable song.
He opens with a double dose of celtic-flavored cuts, the fiddle-fueled
"Maguire" and "In Dark Irish Kitchens." The latter is an imaginatively
descriptive tale about about a young Irish woman's self realization through
the absorption and appreciation of her environment and culture . Harrison
sings:
"In dark Irish kitchens
Upon grandfather's knee
She heard the reels go 'round
And felt the lilt and melody
There were stories from the darker side
Of famine and of war
Black Kilkenny stones and peat-kept bones
Bards from Sligo gone before...
Then one day out walking
A fire was in her head
She heard a whistle sound so clear
Angel choirs upon a thread
Hot breath into the whistle
She played to the moon and sun
She played until the sounds inside
And the sounds outside were one
Now each day her fingers dance
She breathes her joy and her pain
In the new mown hay or the winter's fray
She finds her own refrain
The whistles sang and the fiddles flew
The pipers piped in the morning dew
The more she heard the more she grew
In dark Irish kitchens"
The only song not written by Harrison is Billy Edd Wheeler's rhythmic "Coal
Tattoo." Seemingly an escapee from fellow Canadian James Keelaghan's
songbook, this fiddle and guitar backed tune is an angry lament of a miner
feeling sold out by both the mine owners and his own union. It closes with:
"...When I die and go to heaven
The land of my dreams
I won't have to worry about losing my job
To hard times and big machines
I'm not going to pay my money away
On dues or hospital plans
I'm going to pick coal where the blue heavens roll
And sing with angel bands, boys
Sing with the angel bands"
"Healing Power," with its mantra-like chorus, is a soulful directional on
how to break old, usually self-imposed bonds, and regain life. Harrison
sings:
"Get back to the healing power
Back to the healing power
Back to the power in your soul
So you've been twisting in a black wind
'Cause you got hurt somewhere in the past
You've made a script to live by
Something you believe will last
It's the story for a lifetime
There's always someone you can blame
It's well rehearsed and gotten so slick
Day after day it's always the same
Get back to the healing power
Back to the healing power
Back to the power in your soul
One day you'll forget to remember
What your old plot was all about
You'll be caught in a spotlight
And there will be no way out
Someone sailed a deep ocean
Where they'd never been before
Someone climbed a big mountain
And never looked back anymore
You are a child of your god
It doesn't serve if you stay small
Don't be afraid to let your light shine
Don't be afraid to stand up tall
Get back to the healing power
back to the healing power
Back to the power in your soul"
The literate "Philosophers' Dreams," aided by dobro and concertina backing,
is a wistful but still awkwardly optimistic presentation with a gentle
salute and a reminder to always heed the call:
"On a plane across the ocean
Philosophers' dreams don't fly at home
You get caught by those who know you
Mystery sinks like a stone
You all work for common wages
Of our most secret heart
Life goes on, some may see it
Maybe heed the craft or art
If you care they treat you like a fool
Like you're not wise to all of the games known
Still you seek towards a vision
Maybe more than bread alone
Here's to those who keep the lamp lit
Trying to find some other truth
Here's to all the ones in garrets
Who pass them on to me and you
When we move on some music may remain here
Something of use may be revealed
On giant shoulder we are standing
Now Titan hearts must take the field..."
Presenting the disintegration and aftermath of a couple's relationship in
"Inside This Song," Harrison reflects:
"You have opened up the door
Your bag in hand and we embrace
But you won't live here anymore
Or even want to leave a trace
You did not find the things you seek
Your shadow puppets did not play
I can't find the words to speak
Or even ask if you could stay
It's funny how a passion's fire
Can make flames that burn as ice
And how love makes us a liar
An alchemy to sacrifice
You can see inside this song
We once embraced as lovers do
And the pictures that went wrong
Are mirrors inside me and you
The years go by the stories end
The we start all over anew
And if you ever ask a friend
Yes sometimes I think of you"
Harrison is an impassioned performer whose clear, clean vocals communicate
feeling and emotion. He paints both haunting and healing images, always
fancifully but honestly cloaked. Do yourself a favor and give him your ear
for a short while--in fact, make that one of your New Year's resolutions.
This one you'll easily and happily keep.
Harrison on lead vocals, 6 and 12 string guitars, piano and mandola is
backed by Dennis Pendrith on bass; Al Cross on drums and percussion; Gary
Craig on drums and percussion; Joao Carvalho on mandola; Chris Quinn on
banjo; Kim Deschamps on dobro and steel guitar; Zeke Mazurek on fiddle;
Rick Fielding on mandolin; Rick Whitelaw on flat-picked guitar; Loretto
Reid on penny whistle and concertina; Chris Whiteley on trumpet; Chris Gale
on saxophone; Jack Breakfast on piano; Kevin Gould on accordion, hammond
organ and background vocals; Beverly Kreller on background vocals; Dee
Potter on background vocals; Liane de Lotbiniere on background vocals; and
Mose Scarlett on background vocals.
"Track List"
* Maguire (3:31)
* In Dark Irish Kitchens (5:54)
* Two Hearts Beat In Galena (3:35)
* What's Already Gone (4:41)
* Coal Tattoo (4:10)
* Train Going East (4:18)
* Healing Power (7:05)
* Philosophers' Dreams (6:11)
* Inside This Song (2:52)
* In The Barroom Light (4:53)
All songs written by Tim Harrison, except "Coal Tattoo," written by Billy
Edd Wheeler.
Please read the "Terms & Conditions" section on my web site for information
about using, quoting, or reprinting this CD reviews.
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At my web site you can also read other reviews for:
The House Band, Cry Cry Cry, Ed Miller, Jez Lowe, Lui Collins,
Richard Berman, Kate Wolf, Cheryl Wheeler, Richard Shindell,
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer, Chuck Brodsky, Utah Phillips,
Andrew Calhoun, Mustard's Retreat, Al Grierson, Ralph McTell,
The Battlefield Band, Mary Black, Dick Gaughan and Jack Hardy.
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Kevin McCarthy
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html