Telfer's Cows: Reviews

"...a modern classic...You can count on hearing much more Calhoun in the future" - John Dally, Voice of Vashon

Leave it to the Chicago Southside's World Folk Music Company owner, Johnny Devens, to find and send us what is easily this month's best album, Telfer's Cows. Andrew Calhoun of Portland Oregon has brought us an incredible piece of creativity. Calhoun is a terrific singer, but never mind that for the moment. What does he sing? Centuries old Scottish folk ballads. And, they are wonderful! Calhoun "gets it". Each of these incredibly powerful songs has to be closely listened to, and his easily accessible voice and precise pronunciation guarantee we hear them all. And, what subjects! Heroic women and men, battles, love, forgiveness, revenge, and----let us brace our collective selves----sex!! Good Lord, each of these songs is an epic!! This album took a ton of work. Translations, discovering the songs, the songbooks, the history, the pronunciations of the Scots Gaelic phraseology, the approach, the tone! This album is produced perfectly. Sparse instrumentation and proper miking techniques assure the fact that what is really important will be stressed---the songs themselves. We found ourselves putting down whatever else we were doing as these songs came on. We listened. Every song is like a book or a great movie. Close your eyes and you will see all the heroes, heroines and villains anyone could possibly want. Lesser talents try this type of material and produce silly little songs no one could really care about. Calhoun is a man and artist in his prime. We understand the power these ballads would have held over people hundreds of years ago. No television, radio, or dancehalls. What there was, was music---including these songs, each of which is hundreds of years old. We understand why these songs held such power over people's ears and hearts----and some, indeed, held power in the formation of the very culture itself. This is magic. Wow!!!!! Rating: Four Harps - Live Ireland, Chicago, IL

Back to Telfer's Cows page

Hold your horses and all other farm animals, domesticated and otherwise. This is not Andrew Calhoun, fired up over the spread of enraged bovine illness, unloading on the cattle industry. No, this is actually him taking a very divergent path from the offerings of his previous releases, including last year's excellent "Tiger Tattoo." And it really, really works. Singer-songwriter turned musicologist Calhoun, with assistance from a bevy of others, has researched and "channelled" 12 Scottish ballads, resulting in what will be considered one of the best CDs of 2004. He has provided a lengthy assortment here, with the longest song, the title cut "Telfer's Cows," running 7:55. Most of the remaining offerings run five or six plus minutes. Why does it work so well? This is a great selection of songs, many are very melodic, with interesting stories, and Calhoun's vocals and the instrumental backing blend together well. Simply, he beautifully resuscitates these traditional tunes, giving them yet another life. The storyline of "Eppie Morrie," with a nice hurdy-gurdy touch, brings to mind in some ways of the late Dave Carter's "Cat Eyed Willie Claims His Lover." The thrust of "Jeannie o'Bethelnie" is captured best in the liner notes: "When men threaten to die for love in folksongs, the women let them." "Kinmont Willie" is described as a Hollywood Western prototype and "Telfair's Cows" similarly qualifies, as this morality taleÝ builds and builds to a climatic battle, with some similarities to "High Noon," although the aggrieved here does not have to go it alone. Love (and necessity) is the mother of invention in "A Shake In The basket," a cut that visually conjures up scenes and images reminiscent of a Marx Brothers film. A couple of the songs are compelling a cappella renditions: "The Battle Of Harlaw" and "Hughie Grime." Don't you just love the name of that last one? Renaissance music man Calhoun, also the writer of the best Dave Carter tribute song, "I Shall Not Look Away," has triumphed again with this release. It is that good. Calhoun, on vocals and guitar, is assisted by Elizabeth Nicholson on harp and vocals, Bob Soper on fiddle, mandola and vocals; Tracy Grammer on violin and vocals; Kat McGinn on vocals; Rob Stroup on vocals; Felicia Dale on hurdy-gurdy, bodhran and vocals; William Pint on octave mandolin and vocals; Joe Root on accordion and Donny Wright on bass. -Kevin McCarthy, Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews

Back to Telfer's Cows page

Subtitled Folk Ballads From Scotland, this CD does exactly what it says on the tin. Singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun, from Portland, Oregon, has taken twelve Child ballads and, collating a number of versions of each one, rendered them into modern English.

The first thing to strike me was Andrew's voice. He sounds so much like Stan Rogers with all the power, depth and richness of the great man that I had to check that I had the right disc. The second thing was the quality of the material. Three titles are well known: "King Orfeo" was immortalised by Archie Fisher and both "Two Sisters" and "The Unquiet Grave" are in the repertoires of many singers.

The rest are new to me and it's always a pleasure to hear unfamiliar traditional material. One or two are sung accompanied with vocal support on the chorus lines and the accompaniments on the remainder range from the delicate harp and fiddle on "King Orfeo" to the full-blooded band treatments of "Eppie Morrie" and "Kinmont Willie". Andrew's solo guitar features on four tracks including "Jennie o'Bethelnie" and the long title track but all the musicians play an appropriate second fiddle to the lyrics.

This is not background music. These are big songs with complex stories, frequently red in tooth and claw, and lots of dialogue and they demand your full attention. As an exercise in making ancient ballads accessible to modern listeners Telfer's Cows is a great success but it isn't just an academic document. It's also very entertaining and I know that I'll be very lucky if I hear a finer collection of traditional material this year.
(Reviewed by Dai Jeffries)

Back to Telfer's Cows page