[FM] review of Terry Kitchen's CD "Blues For Cain & Abel"
Kevin
celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Sat, 11 Mar 2000 10:43:40 -0800
Below is my review of Terry Kitchen's CD "Blues For Cain & Abel"".
To see the review nicely formatted in your web browser, please view
the version on my web site at:
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A Review of the CD
"Blues for Cain & Abel"
by Terry Kitchen
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"Blues for Cain & Abel"
by Terry Kitchen
copyright 1999 - UC CD 1006
Urban Campfire Music
P.O. Box 440171
West Somerville, MA 02144
http://www.folkzone.com/terrykitchen
mailto:TerryKit@aol.com
This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 12/99
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html
Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Ponder, reason, empathize, tweak, slam--but always speak from the heart.
Such is an apt description of the content and direction of Terry Kitchen's
latest release, "Blues for Cain & Abel." Assembling a group of generally
slower-paced songs, Kitchen has bound them together with the thread of
humanism. Three songs are definite standouts: "Blues for Cain & Abel," "The
Year of Living Lonely" and "Martin Luther."
"Blues for Cain & Abel" is a challenging, some would say heretical,
re-focusing on that familiar bibical tale. Kitchen boldly and defiantly
sings:
"Adam and Eve had two sons
Their names were Cain and Abel
Abel was a tender of sheep
Cain was a farmer
Adam he taught them to give unto God
The best they had to offer
God took the lamb from Abel's flock
But the fruits of Cain he rejected
What was God thinking, couldn't he see
Where it was bound to end
The fruit never falls far from the tree
If the tree never learns to bend - I say
Chop it down, chop it down, chop it down, chop it down
Make a fire, make a feast, make a fable
Sing blues for Cain & Abel
Cain was angry, he felled his trees
He shook his fist at heaven
He came upon Abel out in the field
And Cain rose up and slew him
God said to Cain "I was right about you"
Cain said "it takes one to know one"
God raised his finger, said "you shall be known
By the mark upon your forehead"
What was God thinking...
Now here we are, children of Eve
Brothers but not brothers' keepers
How many Abels until we are free
Of a vengeful god, a hollow tree
Chop it down..."
Presented with serene but realistic aplomb, the insightful "The Year of
Living Lonely" is a determined homage to becoming knowledgeable about and
comfortable with oneself, rather than seeking self-assurance from others.
Kitchen sings:
"It's the year of living lonely
It's the year to get things done
It's the year for me to not look back
And count only up to one
It's my time to face the mirror
To accept all that I see
Stop my running from one lover to the next
Just to get away from me
And in this year I will have no expectations
I just know what I won't do
I will not leave here without knowing who I am
And I can't learn that from you
Only me
And the year of living lonely
The year of living lonely
So this year I'm living lonely
Just to prove it can be done
I pour myself a glass of dry champagne
Raise a toast, "it's all for one"
So go ahead and try and seduce me
I'll say better luck next year
I told my pillow I would sleep alone
Til I overcome my fear
So this year I will make no invitations
I just know what I must do
I will keep digging til I find out who I am
And I can't learn that from you
Only me
And the year of living lonely
The year of living lonely"
"Martin Luther" questions and debates the purposes of church and religious
practices--are they to comfort, challenge or both and to what degree?
Kitchen proffers:
"Martin Luther was a rebel
He had a hundred questions
He wrote them down and nailed them to the front door of the church
He wrote them out in German
The language of the people
So they'd know the keys to heaven are not kept
down here on earth...
So we gather on the Sabbath
in our finest fashion
Whiter than the lillies, well-to-do and well-behaved
We stand up for the Gospel
We sit down for the sermon
And we never have to kneel for we are certain we are saved...
What have we forgotten on the way
Now that we have got so much to lose
Hide inside the mighty fortress or open up the gate
What would Martin Luther choose
Now imagine if next Sunday
We found the church door covered
With a list of angry questions in a hundred different tongues
in Portuguese or Haitian
Would we even listen
Continue the tradition Martin Luther has begun
Now I look around this church that bears the name Martin Luther
Stained glass window, purple velvet, silver bell to ring the truth in
Thick oak doors kept closed to seal the heat
But it's cold out on the street
Where would you look - it's cold out on the street
Where would you look - oh it's cold out on the street
That's where I'd look for Martin Luther..."
The most moving and emotional chorus is contained in "Heimaey," about a
1973 volcanic eruption around the fishing port of Heimaey, Iceland. At one
point, the lava threatened to seal the mouth of the harbor which would have
doomed the existence of the town and its inhabitants. But the villagers
were able to divert and dam up the flow. Kitchen, backed by penny whistle
and bodhran, sings:
"Ring all the church bells and pound on the doors
Gather your sons and your daughters
Deep in the mountain the bellows of Thor
Are melting the stone into fiery water..."
Also worthwhile of mention is "Atlas," a look at givers, caretakers and the
childhood lessons carried over to adulthood that sometimes have us living
under false premises; "Come Back to Me," about the unexpected departure of
a partner; and "Noah," a take on the biblical parable about those with
greater consciousness and capacity having a greater responsibility for, but
not a greater ownership of, others in this world. "Bethelem" is a hymn
about intergenerational connections to a place.
This is Kitchen's most iconoclastic and strongest release to date. He has a
particular talent for being able to transform diverse subect matter into
softly presented but dynamic and challenging ideas. This release is
simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking.
Kitchen on acoustic and classical guitars, bass, piano and vocals, is
assisted by Michael Holland on back vocals; Brice Buchanan on electric and
slide guitars and back vocals; Phyllis Capanna on back vocals; Norm Zocher
on electric guitar; Seth Connelly on fretless bass; Laura Wood on
percussion; Larry Finn on drums; Alison Lissance on piano, organ and
synthesizer; Elizabeth Kinney on cello; Eric Gerber on mandolin; Billy
Novick on penny whistle; and Tricia Gill on bodhran.
Track List:
* Atlas (4:35)
* Come Back to Me (4:00)
* Noah & the Selfish Son (4:11)
* Bethlelem (4:06)
* Blues for Cain & Abel (4:26)
* The Year of Living Lonely (4:00)
* Martin Luther (3:14)
* A Perfect Rose (3:58)
* You Always Got There First (5:04)
* Heimaey (3:59)
* Good Friday (3:15)
* The Quiet Earth (4:04)
All songs by Terry Kitchen except for the hidden cut "Let It Be" by John
Lennon and Paul McCartney.
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Kevin McCarthy
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html