Click on the headline to link to a Wikipedia entry for the American folksinger/songwriter Malvina Reynolds.
CD Review
Ear To The Ground, Malvina Reynolds, Smithsonian/Folkways, 2000
Some of the 1960s folk revival musicians and writers whose work I have reviewed in this space I know first-hand from hearing them live or listening to them in some other form. Those would include the likes of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton and Pete Seeger, among others. Others, I know second-hand from their work being covered by the above-mentioned artists, or others. That is the case with the singer/songwriter under review, Malvina Reynolds.
Long before I had heard her doing her own songs herself I had heard covers of such Reynolds classics as What Have They Done To The Rain?, It Isn’t Nice (Joan Baez) and Little Boxes (Pete Seeger). In those days I didn’t think to inquire about who actually wrote songs, although I think that I assumed in the folk genre that most contemporary songs were written by those who performed them. Needless to say, covered, or as here, sung be herself Malvina Reynolds was the kind of folksinger whose work I could appreciate as an example of the part of the genre that I gravitated toward, social protest songs.
I defy anyone to classify Malvina’s work otherwise. Sure, she might have done some songs with love in mine, or some other thwarted thing but the grit of her work, what makes it work, is that folk troubadour tradition that she worked to perfection. For those not familiar with that tradition it actually goes back to the town criers (and other such wandering figures) in medieval times that would cry the news of the day and put their own spin on it. Is that Malvina's pitch? Of course. And all you have to do is listen to the three examples mentioned above to confirm this.
But don’t stop there for this CD is actually something of a Malvina “greatest hits” compilation. Other songs that will make my point- On The Rim Of The World (my personal choice for the best song on the CD, I wish that I had thought up such a line), that deals with the pathos and heartache of being a women without means in world that does not appreciate that condition; Bury Me In My Overalls, a tribute to working stiffs (and not stuffed shirts) everywhere; Rosie Jane , a very stark and poignant (if bemusing) take on a woman’s right to choose; the self-explanatory The Money Crop; and the thought-provoking working class tribute Carolina Cotton Mill Song. Now look at the adjectives to describe the songs-thought-provoking, amusing, bemusing, poignant, pathos- now you get the range on this singer/songwriter. And for those not familiar with Malvina’s life and work Smithsonian/Folkways provides (as always) an informative thick little booklet, with an introduction by Malvina devotee folksinger/songwriter Rosalie Sorrels, to put you straight. What more can one ask for?
CD Review
Ear To The Ground, Malvina Reynolds, Smithsonian/Folkways, 2000
Some of the 1960s folk revival musicians and writers whose work I have reviewed in this space I know first-hand from hearing them live or listening to them in some other form. Those would include the likes of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton and Pete Seeger, among others. Others, I know second-hand from their work being covered by the above-mentioned artists, or others. That is the case with the singer/songwriter under review, Malvina Reynolds.
Long before I had heard her doing her own songs herself I had heard covers of such Reynolds classics as What Have They Done To The Rain?, It Isn’t Nice (Joan Baez) and Little Boxes (Pete Seeger). In those days I didn’t think to inquire about who actually wrote songs, although I think that I assumed in the folk genre that most contemporary songs were written by those who performed them. Needless to say, covered, or as here, sung be herself Malvina Reynolds was the kind of folksinger whose work I could appreciate as an example of the part of the genre that I gravitated toward, social protest songs.
I defy anyone to classify Malvina’s work otherwise. Sure, she might have done some songs with love in mine, or some other thwarted thing but the grit of her work, what makes it work, is that folk troubadour tradition that she worked to perfection. For those not familiar with that tradition it actually goes back to the town criers (and other such wandering figures) in medieval times that would cry the news of the day and put their own spin on it. Is that Malvina's pitch? Of course. And all you have to do is listen to the three examples mentioned above to confirm this.
But don’t stop there for this CD is actually something of a Malvina “greatest hits” compilation. Other songs that will make my point- On The Rim Of The World (my personal choice for the best song on the CD, I wish that I had thought up such a line), that deals with the pathos and heartache of being a women without means in world that does not appreciate that condition; Bury Me In My Overalls, a tribute to working stiffs (and not stuffed shirts) everywhere; Rosie Jane , a very stark and poignant (if bemusing) take on a woman’s right to choose; the self-explanatory The Money Crop; and the thought-provoking working class tribute Carolina Cotton Mill Song. Now look at the adjectives to describe the songs-thought-provoking, amusing, bemusing, poignant, pathos- now you get the range on this singer/songwriter. And for those not familiar with Malvina’s life and work Smithsonian/Folkways provides (as always) an informative thick little booklet, with an introduction by Malvina devotee folksinger/songwriter Rosalie Sorrels, to put you straight. What more can one ask for?
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