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Avg: 4.0 (10 ratings)
- Date Released: September 14, 2004
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Traditional Folk
- Label: Festival Five / Virtual
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We Say...
Former Del Fuego Dan Zanes has produced some quality kids' albums over the past few years, but Parades and Panoramas isn't one of them. Not that this isn't a quality record — it is, and one that improves upon repeated listening. It's just that, with songs about bums and poverty, adventure and drink, it isn't exactly kids' music. Here Zanes dips into the Carl Sandburg songbook The American Songbag, revisiting and reviving 25 tunes from the early days of recorded music, days when most music was still being sung on front porches. (Not to worry: the sound quality is much better than the old field recordings.) And the kids will still like it — 11 tracks refer to transportation, at least euphemistically.
The best storytellers try not to get in the way of a good story; here Zanes seems to take pains not to get in the way of a good song. Though each tune has his unique stamp, the arrangements — which can include cello, tuba, pump organ, autoharp and French horn, along with Zanes' guitar and mandolin — are never overdone. Nor is the singing, regardless of whether it's Byrdsy or Seegerish, whether it's slightly ragged (Zanes) or rolling (Wayne Rhoden), whether it's sweet (Barbara Brousal) or bittersweet (Cynthia Hopkins). "Wanderin," the album's unhurried opener, is a good metaphor for Zanes' music these days and for this album, a follow-up to his collection of sea shanties. Neither comes off like a history lesson. -
They Say...
Fans who have followed Dan Zanes since 2001's Rocket Ship Beach probably noticed that the usual hubbub didn't attend the release of his 2004 album Sea Music. That was by design -- Zanes wasn't sure a crowd accustomed to "Polly Wolly Doodle" could handle songs not aimed squarely at kids (drinking and general debauchery were among the subjects). He was wrong, of course -- Sea Music is among his mostly highly regarded discs -- and one hopes the lesson will lead to the masses discovering Parades and Panoramas, possibly his best and definitely his most ambitious CD yet. Zanes, wild-haired and wildly optimistic, refuses to strut the musical easy street: Panoramas is adapted directly from Carl Sandburg's 1927 book The American Songbag, a collection of the poet's observations of a "ragbag" America. Because of its origins, the disc can sound straight out of a Coen Brothers movie -- you can practically see the dust kicking up on "Roll the Chariot" and "The Railroad Cars Are Coming." But the effect, rather than dulling the music's colors and textures or sweeping it into a corner alongside other Americana oddities, brightens what's on offer. Credit the unsurpassed inventiveness of Zanes and his usual collaborators, including Donald Saaf, Barbara Brousal, and Cynthia Hopkins. Some of these 25 songs are silly ("The Monkey's Wedding"), some devastatingly sad ("Lonesome Road"), and some flat-out, stunningly beautiful ("When the Curtains of Night Are Pinned Back"). All, however, will stay with you and your kids, permanently pinning back the curtains on a panorama you never knew existed but are enchanted to discover.
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| 01. |  |
Wanderin' |
2:23 |
|
| 02. | |
The Railroad Cars Are Coming |
1:34 |
|
| 03. | |
Titanic |
3:45 |
|
| 04. | |
Railroad Bill |
2:28 |
|
| 05. | |
Roll The Chariot |
2:41 |
|
| 06. | |
Wallie, Wallie! |
2:49 |
|
| 07. | |
California |
2:31 |
|
| 08. | |
All Night Long |
2:13 |
|
| 09. | |
The E-ri-e |
2:06 |
|
| 10. | |
The Shanty-man's Life |
2:27 |
|
| 11. | |
I Was Born Almost Ten Thousand Years Ago |
2:45 |
|
| 12. | |
Lo Que Digo |
2:46 |
|
| 13. | |
Cuckoo Waltz |
1:31 |
|
| 14. | |
Across The Western Ocean |
2:24 |
|
| 15. | |
The Monkey's Wedding |
2:35 |
|
| 16. | |
The Midnight Train |
2:11 |
|
| 17. | |
Hallelujah, I'm A Bum! |
3:14 |
|
| 18. | |
Lonesome Road |
2:30 |
|
| 19. | |
The Son Of A Gambolier |
3:16 |
|
| 20. | |
The Colorado Trail |
1:12 |
|
| 21. | |
Willy The Weeper |
3:06 |
|
| 22. | |
Lord Lovel |
4:16 |
|
| 23. | |
Lincoln And Liberty |
1:48 |
|
| 24. | |
When The Curtains Of Night Are Pinned Back |
1:50 |
|
| 25. | |
Ezekiel, You And Me |
4:48 |
|
25 Total Tracks, 65:09 Total Length
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Credits
- Carl Sandburg - Liner Notes // Carl Sandburg - Author // Carl Sandburg - Photography // Carl Sandburg - Collection // Marc Ribot - Guitar (Acoustic) // Marc Ribot - Banjo // Marc Ribot - Dobro // Marc Ribot - Guitar // Marc Ribot - Guitar (Electric) // Garrison Keillor - Introduction // Dave Hofstra - Tuba // Simon Kirke - Drums // Jerry Marotta - Percussion // Jerry Marotta - Drums // Jerry Marotta - Gourd // Jenell Marshall - Vocals // Bob Sullivan - Guitar // Phil Klum - Mastering // Dan Zanes - Banjo // Dan Zanes - Banjo // Dan Zanes - Guitar // Dan Zanes - Guitar // Dan Zanes - Harmonica // Dan Zanes - Harmonica // Dan Zanes - Mandolin // Dan Zanes - Mandolin // Dan Zanes - Percussion // Dan Zanes - Percussion // Dan Zanes - Pedal Steel // Dan Zanes - Pedal Steel // Dan Zanes - Autoharp // Dan Zanes - Autoharp // Dan Zanes - Guitar (Electric) // Dan Zanes - Guitar (Electric) // Dan Zanes - Vocals // Dan Zanes - Vocals // Dan Zanes - Guitar (12 String) // Dan Zanes - Guitar (12 String) // Dan Zanes - Producer // Dan Zanes - Producer // Dan Zanes - Liner Notes // Dan Zanes - Liner Notes // Dan Zanes - Author // Dan Zanes - Author // Dan Zanes - Cuatro // Dan Zanes - Cuatro // Dan Zanes - Lap Steel Guitar // Dan Zanes - Lap Steel Guitar // John Elliott - Flute Arrangement // Barbara Brousal - Mandolin // Barbara Brousal - Vocals // Len Steckler - Photography // Rob Friedman - Pedal Steel // Rob Friedman - Piano (Electric) // Rob Friedman - Engineer // Rob Friedman - Organ (Pump) // Rob Friedman - Mixing // Rob Friedman - Wurlitzer // Colin Brooks - Percussion // Colin Brooks - Drums // Colin Brooks - Djembe // David O Jones - Concertina // David O Jones - Vocals // David O Jones - Tin Whistle // Lyris Hung - Fiddle // Tareq Abboushi - Bazouki // Anna Zanes - Vocals // Yoshi Waki - Bass // Yoshi Waki - Bass (Acoustic) // Yoshi Waki - Bass (Upright) // Aggie Decaul - Vocals // Cynthia Hopkins - Piano // Cynthia Hopkins - Accordion // Cynthia Hopkins - Vocals // Louise Sullivan - Vocals // Lucas Mockler - Vocals // Sophia Mockler - Violin // Sophia Mockler - Vocals // Donald Saaf - Guitar // Donald Saaf - Mandolin // Donald Saaf - Vocals // Donald Saaf - Cavaquinho // Donald Saaf - Tenor Banjo // Zuri Barnes - Vocals // Katie Brewster - Flute // Mollie Dohertey - Flute // Nell Dorr - Photography // Laura Gilbert - Conductor // Laura Gilbert - Organizer // Sonya Greenberg - Flute // Hannah Hodson - Flute // Simone Marton - Flute // Casey McSherry - Vocals // Allie Medina - Flute // Andrew Mockler - French Horn // Andrew Mockler - Vocals // Jenny Mockler - Vocals // Oona Mockler - Percussion // Oona Mockler - Tambourine // Astrid Lewis Reedy - Design // Wayne "Rankin Don" "Father Goose" Rhoden - Vocals // Wayne "Rankin Don" "Father Goose" Rhoden - Dialogue // Suzanne Sullivan - Vocals // Naomi Wood - Flute
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