MUSIC
Two guitars, two voices
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Contemporary folk rock artistes may not be as famous as pop stars but their music is more introspective, committed and fulfilling. In that respect, they are today's bards, writes PRADEEP SEBASTIAN.
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Indigo Girls ... Folk rock's most convincing duo since Simon and Garfunkel.
THE best-kept secret in pop music must be contemporary folk-rock. Because even music aficionados think folk rock disappeared with the 1970s, while our music stores don't even have a separate section for folk rock. (The few contemporary folk singers and bands that our stores carry are lumped in the country and rock section).
Folk rock is not only alive in the hands of a new generation of contemporary folk singers but also continues its vibrant tradition of acoustic guitar, protest music, complex harmonies and poetic lyrics begun by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. (Legend has it that folk-rock was invented when The Byrds went electric with Dylan's songs).
In spite of major record companies investing more in teen pop groups, the New Folk movement is prolific and has attracted a large following of its own — mostly college students, artists, and in particular, sensitive women who are drawn to music that is reflective, intelligent, gentle. And now that S&G have announced that they are getting back together after three decades to cut new albums and do concert tours, folk rock is making news again.
Who, then, are contemporary folk rock's great artists? I'll begin with the ones available in our music stores: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Mary Black and Lucinda Williams (I'm skipping earlier American artists such as Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Susanne Vega and I'm not even counting British folk rock — Fairport Convention, Lindisfarne, 10,000 Maniacs, a huge genre in itself).
But a great number of terrific contemporary American folk rock artists are not easily available in our music stores and are little heard even by music fanatics, (which is why contemporary folk rock becomes pop music's best kept secret), and they are: Richard Shindell, Indigo Girls, Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams, John Gorka, Kim Richey, Susan Werner, Nancy Griffith, Kirsten Hall and Kris McKay — to name only a handful.
A sensitive interpreter of songs ... Lucy Kaplansky.
These artists make up the New Folk generation, and they are today's best singer- songwriters. Indigo Girls, a lesbian duo, are Emily Saliers and Amy Ray. They are folk rock's most convincing duo since Simon and Garfunkel.
If you are nostalgic for the sound of two voices and two guitars, you should check them out. Their acoustic guitar playing is electrifying, their harmonies are as beautiful and complex as anything done by S&G and their voices blend together thrillingly. Albums to sample: "Strange Fire"; "Nomads, Indians and Saints".
New Folk's two most acclaimed singer songwriters are Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky. They often tour together and sing on each other's album. Their music is lyrically complex while the melodies are immediate, beautiful and fulfilling. Shindell's songs have a bittersweet quality; his weathered tenor is the most thrilling voice I've heard. Every line in his song and every song in his album somehow make it — such is his craftsmanship.
Lucy Kaplansky, whose voice is aching, beautiful and captivating, is a sensitive interpreter of songs. Their best albums: "Reunion Hill" and "Ten Year Night".
Mary Chapin Carpenter with her husky, honeyed alto is perhaps the most popular New Folk artist. Shawn Colvin, acknowledged as the best acoustic guitar player today, has a plaintive voice that is bewitching.
Their albums, "Stones in the Road" and "A Few Small Repairs", respectfully, went platinum.
Mary Chapin Carpenter enthralls with her husky, honeyed alto.
Musically, their sound is a pleasing mix of acoustic/electric, complex musical arrangements, stand-out solo voice, rich backup vocal harmonies, dazzling chord progressions, unusual phrasing (the pauses in their versification is unique) and songs that would count as some of the lyrical poetry written today in pop music. Their song writing is personal more than political. The personal seen as poetry: songs about self-understanding, loss, family, mid life crisis and love as an absolute.
Many of these artists began their careers only in the early 1990s, when there weren't obvious causes to champion the way Dylan and Baez had in the 1960s and 1970s, protesting against the Vietnam War and racism.
But, interestingly, the deeply personal lyrics of the New Folk generation aren't too much of a departure — because even these personal songs are tinged with the political. They speak of freedom for the individual, for instance, or sing of personal truths. So it is protest of a kind — against homophobia, demonising AIDS and drugs and homelessness. One of the most moving and joyous things to see is how these artists support each other. Joan Baez asked Shindell to tour with her; Shawn Colvin invited Lucy Kaplansky to sing backup vocals on her albums — this is their way of introducing a promising new singer to a larger, newer audience
The sense of community is very strong with them — another aspect of the 1960s folk culture still in operation today. For many years these singers struggled in obscurity — singing in coffee houses and college campuses — before they knew success.
They may not be as famous as rock stars or pop divas but their music is more introspective, committed and fulfilling. And they have revitalised contemporary song writing. These singer-songwriters are the true artists of popular music. They are our bards.
E-mail: pradeepsebastian@hotmail.com
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