Canadian Spaces – CKCU – Saturday May 9, 2015

CKCU can be heard at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

Canadian Spaces on CKCU in Ottawa is Canada’s longest-running folk music radio program. It is heard Saturday mornings from 10:00 am until noon (Eastern time).

It was hosted for more than 33 years by the late Chopper McKinnon and is now hosted by Chris White and a rotating cast of co-hosts.

This week’s show was co-hosted by Mike Regenstreif and Chris White.

Guests: Chris MacLean; Catherine MacLellan & Chris Gauthier.

Bill Garrett- Northshore Train

Bill Garrett (Borealis)

Chris Rawlings- Song of the Old Bush Pilot

Northern Spirits (Cooking Fat)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- The Log Driver’s Waltz

Oddities (Querbeservice)

Bonnie Dobson- Dink’s Song

Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew (Hornbeam)

Moira Smiley, Tim O'Brien, Margaret Glaspy, Mollie O'Brien, John Magnie, Martin Gilmore, Jayme Stone- Sheep, Sheep Don’tcha Know the Road

Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project (Borealis)

Pharis & Jason Romero- A Wanderer I’ll Stay

A Wanderer I’ll Stay (Lula)

Jesse Winchester- All of Your Stories

Seems Like Only Yesterday – Live in Montreal 1976 (Real Gone Music)

Little Birdie- Old Synagogue

Sadder Music (Orit Shimoni)

Russ Kelley- We’re Falling

In Plain Sight (Ark Road Music Productions)

April Verch- Belle Election

The Newpart (Slab Town)

Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen- Puddles in the Rain

New Disguise (Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen)

Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band- Quite Early Morning

Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band (Borealis)

Jory Nash- Homeless Man

The Many Hats of Jory Nash (Thin Man)

Chris MacLean- Across the Channel

Live in the studio

Chris MacLean- Whiskey Kisses

Live in the studio

Catherine MacLellan- Jack’s Song

The Raven’s Sun (Catherine MacLellan)

Catherine MacLellan & Chris Gauthier- The Raven’s Sun

Live in the studio

Catherine MacLellan & Chris Gauthier- Beneath the Lindens

Live in the studio

The show is now available for online listening. http://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/21972.html

I’ll be co-hosting Canadian Spaces again on July 11.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Russ Kelley – In Plain Sight

RUSS KELLEY

In Plain Sight

Ark Road Music Productions

russkelley.com

Two years ago, when Russ Kelley released Crazy Shades of Blue, his debut CD as a contemporary singer-songwriter, I noted that although it was his first CD, he was not a newcomer, that I’d known him since the early-1970s and used to listen to him often in the bars and coffee houses of Montreal when he was in a duo with Sue Lothrop; that I remember Russ and Sue for their sweet harmonies and eclectic repertoire.

I also noted that Russ stopped performing for many years after suffering a vocal cord injury in the late-1980s that led to surgery and the loss of part of his vocal range, and that he became a cultural bureaucrat and rose to become head of the music section of the Canada Council. Then, when he retired in 2011, Russ got serious again about songwriting and performing leading to touring, that first CD, and, now, his second, In Plain Sight.

While Russ’ voice may not be as sweet as I remember it being 40 years ago, it is a voice of experience and authenticity and Russ uses it effectively in delivering his well-crafted lyrics and melodies. And his excellent guitar playing, rooted in folk, blues and rock styles is also used most effectively in service to the songs.

Among the standout songs in this set is “We’re Falling,” an astute and very topical look at the state of Canadian politics and political leadership that puts the onus on the citizenry – all of us – to reclaim the country from the current “sound bite world of little substance” that has given up on science and kindness.

Others include “Whiskey Stone Blues,” a quietly powerful reflection on alcohol abuse; “Memory,” a beautiful song which, on first hearing, I thought was a piece about recalling a love from long ago, but which I now know was inspired by Russ' experience as a caregiver as his mother slipped away from Alzheimer's disease – the song is quite effective with either interpretation; and “That’s Just Who We Are,” an affirmative piece about the power of all of us to make the world a better place.

Russ launches In Plain Sight at Irene’s, 885 Bank Street in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 6 at 7:30 pm. He’ll be joined by violinist Keith Snider and keyboardist Dave Draves, both of whose playing added much to many of the songs on the album.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Bonnie Dobson – Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew

BONNIE DOBSON

Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew

Hornbeam Recordings

hornbeamrecordings.com

Canadian folksinger Bonnie Dobson began her career, circa 1960, singing traditional songs. She recorded quite prolifically in the ‘60s and is best known for her 1961 song, “Morning Dew,” the classic anti-nuclear war anthem recorded by countless artists from the Grateful Dead to Long John Baldry and Vince Martin & Fred Neil.

By sometime in the 1970s, Bonnie was living in England and stepped away from performing and recording for many years. She has returned with a vengeance, though, with Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew, a collection of new recordings on which she revisits some of the most memorable songs – both original and traditional – that she recorded back in the day, as well as several songs I’d not heard from her before.

While Bonnie’s voice is just as beautiful as what I remember from her early Prestige LPs, her singing, more than 50 years later, is much more powerful – and more than a match for the folk rock arrangements and the fine band that accompanies her – which brings a very different feeling to the familiar songs. For example, while her 1964 live recording of “Morning Dew” captured the vulnerability and fear of the Cold War period, this new version brings out the anger that such vulnerability and fear should have ever existed.

A few of my other favorite tracks include “Born in the Country,” a rocking version of Judy Roderick’s adaptation of Richard “Rabbit” Brown’s “James Alley Blues,” one of my favorite songs from Harry Smith’s remarkable Anthology of American Folk Music; “Living on Plastic,” a witty, post-divorce piece about living on credit with the bills going to the ex; and “JB’s Song,” a beautiful lament for someone who died at much too young an age.

As much as I enjoyed the band arrangements on most of the album, my very favorite piece here is Bonnie’s stunning a cappella version of the traditional “Dink’s Song.” I’ve got dozens of versions of “Dink’s Song” in my collection and this is one of the best.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif