Mystic theatre by The Creekdippers & I'm gonna stop killing by Carla Bozulich
by Ian Simmons
[ cdreviews ]
Two brisk and interesting contributions from reincarnated alt.country stars: Ex-Jayhawk Mark Olsen teams up with his wife and noted solo performer Victoria Williams to form The Creekdippers; while former Geraldine Fibbers front woman Carla Bozulich steps out on her own.
Mystic Theatre is the Creekdippers' third album and easily their strongest. Olsen and Williams have distinctive voices, Williams particularly so (she sounds like she's about 103, but a feisty 103), and they meld together here to great effect. There is hardly a duff track on the entire album, although the overly wacky 'Bath song' grates after a while as Williams tips over the edge into self-parody. The rest of the album is rich and rewarding, mining a strand of Neil Young-tinged country that they clearly have advanced mastery of, combining strong songwriting with canny arrangements and effectively loose performances. Everyone sounds like they are having a good time and are at the peak of their game. 'Mockingbird chase the Crow' would not seem out of place with the McGarrigles, while some of the slower more intense songs, such as 'Thirty Miles of Petrified Logs' have a touch of The Walkabouts about them. As strong an album as you'll find anywhere this year, Mystic Theatre is destined to be a classic.
Carla Bozulich's I'm Gonna Stop Killing is more of a mixed bag, but this is hardly surprising: a UK-only release intended to introduce her to a new audience, it combines two tracks from her debut solo album, Red-Headed Stranger (a track by track remake of the Willie Nelson album) with a variety of live cuts from a range of performances. On the Red-Headed tracks, she comes over as deep country, with a Patsy Cline tinge to her voice, all mournful longing and heartbreak, but the remainder of the tracks dispel any notion that she is a new country diva manqué. There are live improvisations ('Little improv'), Nick Cave-esque songs of mayhem and disaster ('Outside of town') and bleeding-edge P J Harvey soundalikes, such as 'Arrow to my drunken eye'. This spectrum may spread too far for some people's tastes, but she straddles it with skill and is never less than interesting. Carla Bozulich is shaping up to be very interesting and I look forward to her next proper album with excitement.
