Wednesday, September 08, 1999'Audio Syncrasies' gentle tribute to acoustic magic
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Cincinnati Sound. Is it Bootsy's funk? The neo-doo wop of 98`? The Afghan Whigs' alt-rock? Lonnie Mack's country/blues/rock fusion?
All of the above, of course. But there's also a gentler, more acoustic Cincinnati Sound, and it's lovingly showcased on the 15 tracks of this new CD. The disc, recorded live for WVXU's Audio Syncrasies program, is being released this week as a membership premium before hitting stores later this month.
Sadly, it's as much a tribute to past groups as to the current scene.
The defunct Plow On Boy opens the set with the haunting “Of Crickets.” Mike Georgin's bass and Toby Ellis' guitar entwine hypnotically as singer-songwriter Niki Buehrig works her vocal magic. Though the oldest song here (from October 1996), it's a highlight.
Another late-lamented band, the Marshwiggles, is next with “Yearning for the Shore,” featuring Dave Wolfenberger, still an active solo performer. Guitarist Jason Dennie, who recently left town for Ann Arbor, Mich., is featured on a lovely acoustic instrumental, “Through the Eyes of a Redwood.” The song has Mr. Georgin on bass, also a member of Over The Rhine when it recorded the version of “Jack's Valentine” that closes the CD. Another OTR alumnus, Ric Hordinski, and his group Monk do the atmospheric “Womb of God.”
The scene's international flavor is found on Silver Arm's “French Polka Set,” Europa's “Arab Dance,” Puzzle of Light's Middle-Eastern-tinged “Crescent Moon” and the jazzy Braziliana of the Doug Perry Ensemble's “I've Got the Answer.”
There's also a pack of our best singer-songwriters — Tracy Walker (“So Hard”), John Kinney (“Fly South”), Mike Helm (“Been Right There”) and Janet Pressley (“Earth Beauty.”)
Gwendolyn Speaks, the husband-wife team of Scott and Tara Dill, provide “A Way to Walk.” Another couple, Pamela Temple and Spencer Funk, known as Wild Carrot, harmonize warmly on “These Hard Times.”
This CD covers a lot of musical territory in its 75 minutes. Not long ago, only the area's rock scene was showcased this way. Audio Syncrasies deserves a place next to the superb Shades of Blue and the excellent J Curve Cincinnati Jazz Collection.
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