The Charcoal Club ~ Cry Freedom / The Charcoal Club
Source: The Age April 2006 The Charcoal Club show that thoughtful music doesn't have to be dour. Most of the popular songs written in the past 10 years are about booty: getting it, not getting it, shaking it or faking it, not that there's anything wrong with that. We're just not accustomed to songs about things that matter. But thoughtful music doesn't have to be dour - many of the non-booty songs by noteworthy activists such as Woody Guthrie and the early work of his best-known disciple, Bob Dylan, are wry, poignant and downright funny. The tradition can still be found in artists such as Richard Frankland. A filmmaker, playwright and indigenous activist, Frankland is also a talented musician, blessed with a soulful, mellifluous voice. He's partnered in the Charcoal Club by Andy Baylor, in top form on guitar, fiddle and anything else with strings. The pair are helped out with drums, bass and a heavenly choir of backing vocalists. And just because the songs are about subjects such as human rights ( Cry Freedom), Aboriginal issues ( Don't Go Down That Dreaming) and peace in the Middle East ( Jordan Rain), doesn't mean they can't also be luscious and tuneful, such as the gorgeous Asunder, and Baylor's delightful vocal on the Buddy Holly-ish Last Tear. Special stuff. By Jeff Glorfeld |
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