[FM] review of Joel Mabus' CD "Six Of One"

[celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com]

Below is my review of Joel Mabus' CD "Six Of One".

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                            A Review of the CD
                                "Six of One"
                               by Joel Mabus

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"Six of One"
by Joel Mabus

copyright 2001
Fossil Records - 1301
P.O. Box 306
Portage, MI 49081
http://www.joelmabus.com and
mailto:fossil@pobox.com

This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 4/01
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
"Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews"
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html

Six of one. Half dozen of the other. The six even-numbered cuts are
traditional tunes. The six odd-numbered selections are new offerings. It
would be easy to dismiss this as gimmicky. Too easy, and it doesn't really
matter.  For Mabus' latest material is continually engaging and he
reincarnates the traditional with his new interpretations. Just one
listening reveals his eclectic musical and writing styles, veering from
traditional to swing, from ballads to social commentary and from bluegrass
to gospel.

Opening with "School For Love," Mabus has fun with our illiteracy of amor,
a plague suffered by so many. He sings:

     ...If there was only a class that taught the ABCs
     Of trust and devotion
     Lust and emotion
     If there was only a school for love..."

Per Mabus, we are condemned to this final scene unless we learn how to make
relationships work:

     "...Now he's wearing his best suit--she's wearing dark glasses
     Got all of their papers in a neat little pile
     The judge is too busy to pay much attention
     And only the lawyers are wearing a smile"

"Ramona," with mandolin and guitar backing, has an infectious swing rhythm
that gets fingers tapping,  hands slapping and legs moving. Mabus' version
of "Old Smokey" is slower than the usual presentation, resulting in greater
dramatic effect.

Crooning the wistful "Storybook Romance," Mabus employs a multitude of
cultural references: Hans Christian Anderson, Brothers Grimm, Prince
Charming, Sleeping Beauty, the little Dutch Boy, King Kong, Jack and Jill
and the Wizard of Oz.

He does the same in "Little Baby Lindberg." Opening with lyrics that bring
Greg Brown to mind, he sings:

"Little Baby Lindberg
Never saw it coming--He was just like you
You'll be snatched away--some fine day
And there's not much you can do..."

He goes on to bring Samson and Delilah, Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, John
Jacob Astor and Abraham Lincoln into this fray about control versus fate.
Of Samson and Delilah, Mabus sings:

     "...Samson and Delilah
     Had "intimacy issues"--They were just like you
     When she spilled the beans--to those Philistines
     There's not much you can do..."

"Virus On The Town" is a subtle yet powerful social commentary. A la Cheryl
Wheeler's "If It Were Up To Me," Mabus sings:

     "...In the schoolyard--in the office
     In the church or on a train
     Here we go, here we go again
     Interview the neighbors, the lovers and the friends
     The characters keep changing but the story never ends

     Call the doctors--call the priest
     Call the counselors of grief
     Point the camera at the man who wears the frown
     For the camera will not tell
     Anything it cannot sell
     And the headline is--a virus on the town..."

After pointing fingers at Hollywood, lobbyists and the U.S. Congress, he
concludes:

     "...There's a virus on the land
     You can hold it in your hand
     You can fill the chamber with another round
     You can pull the hammer back
     And prepare for the attack
     There's no safety with a virus on the town"

The mandolin backing on "Balm of Gilead" lends significant emotion to this
gospel-like song. The vision of down-home heaven depicted in the bluegrassy
"Back Porch Of Glory" never sounded so nurturing or appealing. Mabus
concludes with a rousing rendition of "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down."

An alternative title for this release could be that of the 1972 Alan J.
Pakula film: "Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing." Mabus covers the
spectrum here.

Mabus, on guitar and vocals, is backed by Madcat Ruth on harmonica; and Don
Stiernberg on mandolin.

Track List:

   * School For Love (3:33) Joel Mabus
   * Careless Love (4:56) Traditional & adapted by Joel Mabus
   * My Ramona (3:29) Joel Mabus
   * Old Smokey (5:37) Traditional & adapted by Joel Mabus
   * Storybook Romance (5:17) Joel Mabus
   * The Cowboy's Barb'ry Allen (5:00) Traditional & adapted by Joel Mabus
   * Little Baby Lindberg (4:39) Joel Mabus
   * Old Baggum/Toss The Feathers (6:23) Traditional & adapted by Joel
     Mabus
   * Virus On The Town (3:54) Joel Mabus
   * Balm In Gilead (4:05) Traditional & adapted by Joel Mabus
   * Back Porch of Glory (3:36) Joel Mabus
   * Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (5:08) Traditional & adapted by Joel Mabus

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================================================
Kevin McCarthy
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html