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Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
Gambling Eden
Signature Sounds 1278
by Bonny Holder
 Gambling Eden
was recorded in Rhinebeck, New York during two record snowstorms
in the earlier part of the year. The band Rani Arbo on
vocals and fiddle, Scott Kessel vocals and percussion, Andrew
Kinsey on vocals and bass, and Anand Nayak on vocals, guitars
and mandolin is so warm and swaying, it brings to mind
light summer rain and sunset on a remote beach, not a drafty
antique house and striped knit scarves.
Rani (say Ronnie) fronted the acclaimed band Salamander Crossing
in the 90's. Some folks think they were the east coast's best
folk band of that decade. Since then, she has been on the road
a couple of times with Joan Baez as part of Joan's band, and
their first Signature Sounds record, Cocktail Swing, was
released with a slightly different roster of players.
She has a languid, versatile alto voice, and plays a sweet,
almost discreet fiddle. She could do justice to songs previously
performed by the late Susannah McCorkle. Bringing in a variety
of guest instruments like a trumpet, resophonic guitars, mellotron,
and pedal steel was a terrific idea because Arbo can wrap that
voice around them. She never overdoes it. There is a spirit
of depth in her delivery that recalls singing ladies of an earlier
era. And, she manages to make the song "O Death"
so celebrated by Ralph Stanley in O Brother into
a sexy dance tune. Way to go, Rani!
This CD bubbles with life. Despite the lite-weight band name
(daisy mayhem), this record proves Rani and her guys to be serious
musicians capable of turning out an album without a single clunker
on it. As a band, they are generous and tasty, bringing to mind
something timeless, evoking a Carter Family in the old-studio-around-the-single-mic
feel. They sound nothing like the Carter Family, but approach
their music just as authentically. "Little Sparrow",
for instance, has a dixieland flavor that Arbo seems perfectly
steeped in.
According to the people at Signature Sounds, producer Dirk
Powell sought, lyrically, to create "a place where characters
from all epochs mingle to explore the risks and consequences
of being human." Powell and the largely acoustic quartet
manage to get there with Gambling Eden. Musically, the musicianship
is lush enough to swing, but spare enough to please. From their
covers of traditional folk music "Stewball" (with
a reggae beat), "The Farmer Is the Man" (sincere as
all get-out), "Turtledove" and "O Death",
both credited to Bessie Jones of the Georgia Sea Islands Singers
to contemporary songs like "Closer" by John McGann
and Chris Moore, or the stunning, stately, jazzy version of Dave
Carter's "Farewell to St. Dolores," each song becomes
as much daisy mayhem's as if they had composed each themselves.
It's unlikely that Gambling Eden will get the attention
or airplay it deserves. I can't wait to hear the band live.
This album makes an old folkie smile because, the kids
are alright.
- www.raniarbo.com
- www.signaturesounds.com
You can contact Bonny Holder at bonny-at-rockzilla.net
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