Shelley Posen – Ontario Moon

Shelley Posen

Ontario Moon

Well Done Music

borealisrecords.com

(A version of this review was published in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.)

Shelley Posen is well known throughout the folk music world as a member of Finest Kind, a mostly-retired Ottawa vocal trio known for its glorious harmonies, and as a versatile singer and songwriter whose work touches many genres. Ontario Moon is his fifth solo album and while two of his previous CDs were on specifically Jewish themes, the dozen songs here are purely secular in nature.

One of the things that’s really nice about this album is that each track is uniquely arranged with musicians specifically recruited for the song in question. For example, the title track, a jazzy, romantic tune that recalls the Tin Pan Alley songs that songwriters like Irving Berlin were writing in the 1930s, features a swinging quintet that includes Django Reinhardt-influenced guitarists Christian Flores and Andrew Tesolin, bassist Mike Mopasi, clarinetist Martin van de Ven of the klezmer band Beyond the Pale, and violinist Mika Posen, Shelley’s daughter.

One of the songs I relate to most on the album is “Night Nurse,” a blues featuring the bottleneck guitar virtuosity of Michael Jerome Browne. The song is a tribute to the care Shelley received several years ago when he underwent surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. The song mirrors my own experiences with the night nurses when I had my own surgery at the Heart Institute a few years later.

Other favourites include “The Best Song Ever Written,” a fun country song about songwriting; “Back at Bub’s,” a rock ‘n’ roller about a favourite barbecue joint; “Sugar Bush Breakfast,” a very sweet duet with Montreal singer Linda Morrison; “Tea Time,” a clever paean to afternoon tea at the Royal York featuring a classical string quartet; and “Walking in the Rain,” a delightful little piece that sounds like it could have come from a 1940s musical.

While I’ve mentioned about half the songs on the album, all of the others are just as good.

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–Mike Regenstreif

Shelley Posen – Roseberry Road

SHELLEY POSEN
Roseberry Road
Well Done Music 
shelleyposen.com

On Roseberry Road, Shelley Posen – a member of Finest Kind, the Ottawa-based vocal trio known for their exquisite harmonies – presents a set of 16 well-crafted songs in a variety of styles written over the past decade-and-a-half.

The album opening title song – named for the street in suburban Toronto where Shelley spent his early childhood – is among the highlights. It’s a sweet, lovely and nostalgic reminiscence filled with personal and very specific memories.

Another is “The Campfire Song,” about singing around a campfire and the kind of songs that get sung there. I developed much of my earliest appreciation for folk music from sing-alongs at summer camp in the 1960s and the song brings back a lot of those memories for me.

A few other favorites include “The Gazebo on the Oswegatche,” which seems like it could have been a 1920s pop tune; “The Basket’s Song,” which Shelly sings from the perspective of a basket woven in 1903 as it tells its history from creation to museum exhibit; “Canoeing My Troubles Away,” a country waltz that celebrates getting away from city life; and the closer, “Thanks for the Song,” an end-of-the-night farewell after a fulfilling concert or any kind of gathering for singing and sharing music.

Shelley uses a wide variety of styles on these songs and each features musicians specifically chosen to bring something special to it. Just a few of the contributing players include producer Paul Mills on banjo, guitarist Rick Whitelaw, violinists Anne Lindsay and Mika Posen (Shelley’s daughter), and bassists Dennis Pendrith and David Woodhead.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif