Oh! Compilation Two

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Oh! Compilation Two

Artist: Various
Album: Oh! Compilation Two
Year: 2010
CD#: XXXXX
Best Tracks (Folk): #1, #2, #4, #5
Comments Overall: A sampler of tracks by artists on Oh! records.

1. Harvest Festival -- Bryan Pole, 3:09 - Begins with drums. Lively, energetic. Countryesque. Excellent instrumentation.
2. Take The Streets -- Alanna Gurr, 3:29 - Slow. Quaint. Rebeillious. "Let's take the streets, see what people need..." Fades out at the end.
3. Rough Riders Road -- The CFL Sessions, 2:27 - Voice, guitar, and drums. Sparse, somewhat clunky, deliberate.
4. Raining Meow -- Matthew and the Birds, 4:06 - Smooth, suave. Jazzy. Steady rhythym overlaid with brass and vocals. Picks up energy as it goes along. Exclusively instrumental from 2:38 on. Fades out at the end.
5. Near Its End -- Charles Ernewein, 4:04 - Begins slowly. Sparse, quiet and deliberate. Becomes richer as it goes along. Rises to some magnificent moments. Ends on a high note.
6. Sparrow -- Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, 1:51 - Begins slow. Suddenly picks up. Polka-like. Strong rhythym. Lots of energy. LOTS of energy. Ends on a high note.
7. Loyal She Began -- Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry, 4:37 - Rock. Begins with guitars and drums. Quiets down before the vocals enter. Rises and falls throughout the piece. Energetic overall. Fades out at the end.
8. Don't Get Into It -- Whipping Wind, 2:37 - Lively. Rich. Energetic. Varies throughout. Rises to a full, lively conclusion.
9. Amount -- Say Domino, 4:03 - Rock. Guitars, drums, vocals. Deep quality. Ends abruptly.
10. Rain On -- Sam Allen, 3:22 - Rockish. Strong guitars. Decent melody. Decent instrumentation. Reasonably rich.
11. Narrator -- More More, 4:15 - Begins with guitar. Strong vocals. Drums don't enter until the minuite mark. Surprisingly rich - feels like a larger group.
12. What Once Ran Wild -- Wild Domestic, 5:22 - Begins quietly, then drums enter. Low and quiet. Slower piece. Persistent. Marvelous voice. Picks up at the end.
13. Voice of Everything -- Golden Death Music, 5:12 - Airy, calm, open. Low and quiet. A constant drone in the background. Deep voice. Picks up substantially at 2:45. Rises to something trance-like. Psychadellic throughout.
14. Colour Bars -- A Horse and His Boy, 4:29 - Begins slowly. Drums enter. Excellent melody. Excellent instrumentation. Rich. Rises to something clear and open. Fades out.
15. Caminos -- Lido Pimienta, 4:32 - Magnificent track. Spanish lyrics. Melodic. Beautiful melody. Rich and full. Energetic, lively. Open and clear in places.

Note I: Also posted under Rock, and Indie.
Note II: Several of the C.D.s the tracks were taken off of are already in the studio, under the following numbers...
- Alanna Gurr: 49983 ( www.chrwmusic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=folk&action=display&thread=46 )
- Matthew and the Birds: 49159
- Olenka & the Autumn Lovers: 50000 ( www.chrwmusic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=folk&action=display&thread=49 )
- Handsome Dan and his Gallimaufry: 49676
- Whipping Wind: 49981 ( www.chrwmusic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=indie&action=display&thread=40 )
- Say Domino: 50260
- More More: 50243 ( www.chrwmusic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=indie&action=display&thread=50 )

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Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_House_Arts_Collective

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

I've been looking forward to this one for a while.

After missing out on last year's Oh! compilation, I was quite determined to pick up a copy of the reprise. As is ever so typical of local CDs it showed up in the studio weeks before I could get a copy of my own, and in an act of supreme selfishness I spent half of my show putting the entire CD on the air sight unseen.

Of course there were some of my old favorites. Olenka & the Autumn Lovers contributed "Sparrow", a magnificent, incredibly energetic track. Alana Gurr contributed "Take the Streets", which I had used as an intro to a talk show some time ago. And the Whipping Wind's music was - finally - availble to the general public, or at least a track of theirs was. On all three counts I couldn't help but approve.

And, let's face it, if this had just been a CD of my old favorites I'd still be raving about it. After all, it would be a convenient, tidy package to present to these people who complain that London doesn't have a decent cultural scene. Olenka and Alanna and Handsome Dan and Sam Allen all make for a pretty impressive rebuke to that claim.

But about a week after I managed to lay my hands on my own copy of the compilation I found myself driving down to St. Thomas with my mother. I tossed the CD on, and started flipping about. Listen to this, and this and this.... And half of the tracks I was showing off weren't my old favorites at all. The essence of the conversation, from my end at least, was "How did I miss these ones?".

Take Matthew and the Birds, for instance. I'd heard about them before, but it was just a name. I hadn't been to a concert, and I hadn't heard a recording. And then, out of this new compilation comes weaving this magnificent cross between Indie and Jazz. Pure magic. Or Golden Death Music. Who thinks up a name like that? Really. And, having thought it up, who attaches it to this sort of sweet, soothing, psychadellic music? And, given that this magnificent concoction has, apparently, popped into existence, why didn't I hear about it?

And just as my mother and I were about to reach St. Thomas, I pulled out one last track. Appropriately the closing track on the CD. Lido Pimienta. This magnificently melodic Spanish piece. Dreamy, heartwarming, damn near perfect. How, how indeed, did I miss that one?

That's what makes this CD so amazing to me. Not because it contains half the artists I already loved the best, but because it contained half the artists I didn't yet love that way, because I hadn't yet heard what they could do. For me, the CD was both slightly humbling and wildly inspiring. I hope - and, frankly, expect - that everyone who picks up this CD will find at least one magnificent surprise on it.

This city never ceases to amaze me.

- Reviewed by Benjamin A. Vazquez, U.E.