Recording Launch – Gerry Taylor

CHICKS & DOCLINGS HATCH NEW CD SATURDAY AT PORTLAND UNITED CHURCH

Exuberant…that describes their CD Just Hatched…but not humour inspired exuberance as anyone who has seen The Cool Chicks & Ugly Doclings perform would expect. This disc is a recording, vocally and instrumentally, exuberant in its sheer beauty.

Their new…and first…CD Just Hatched, is being launched this Saturday, 7 p.m., at Portland United Church, 50 Newport Crescent, just off Adelaide Street in Saint John’s North End. Known for their humour and nonsense rearrangements and re-writing of old favourites, the only thing nonsensical about this, their first recording, is it’s packaging.

The eye-stopping cover is a Disney-esque cartoon: a duck doc with a finger pointing to the album title, Just Hatched and a cool 1930’s Chick in a ball gown and fur boa neck piece, a finger pointing to the unique act’s official monicker, The Cool Chicks & The Ugly Doclings. The most novel idea for a record cover ever to be hatched in any incubator. But it’s such a far cry from the songs of deep emotion and inspiration encrypted on its tracks.

“What a terrific recording of Hallelujah!,” my wife Carol exclaimed on first hearing the CD: she’d heard its composer, Leonard Cohen, sing this powerful song of his at Harbour Station, a month earlier. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to make out all the words.”

She was referring to Brenda Brooks phrasing in such lines as : “I heard there was a secret chord, that David played that pleased the Lord.”

If you’re one of the unfortunate few that have not seen or heard the Cool Chicks & The Ugly Doclings in concert, then, for your edification, they are seven local health care professions and one teacher, who have been doing charity performances in southern New Brunswick for over ten years, raising money for not-for-profit organizations.

The album opens with Andrew Clark, an anaesthetist, singing lead on Cannibals, written by Mark Knopfler. Then Blue Bayou, that Roy Orbison wrote the lyrics for, is given one of the most beautiful treatments, that I have heard, by respiratory therapist, Jennifer Rooney. Next a song, Drinking Black Rum (and eating Blueberry Pie) sung by retired orthopaedic surgeon, John Acker but made famous on CBC-TV’s Singalong Jubilee by it’s writer James Lawrence (or just plain Jim) Bennet. And Andrew Clark, an anaesthetist and guitarist, vocally interprets his own Servant To The Music (the only original song on the disc). Then Wendy Stewart, a pediatric neurologist and singing accordionist from Scotland renders I Only Want To Be With You, by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. And nurse Brenda Brooks does a grand recital of Gordon Sumner’s Fields Of Gold.

That’s a half dozen enchanting songs and there’s another seven just as beguilingly sung and played on the CD: family physician, Steve Willis along with the ensemble do a rousing interpretation of Those Were The Days (My Friend, We Thought They’d Never End) a song written by Gene Raskin and made famous by England’s Maryanne Faithful and in North America by the Limelighters (Stephen plays guitar and mandolin, too). And Jerry Jeff Walker’s ever popular Mr. Bojangles gets a rousing revival, by respiratory therapist Mike Willis, who plays bass, guitar, bodhran and sings. Next the only instrumental track, an Irish Jig Set, is performed by the eight musicians. And, Joni Mitchell’s River, is stunningly sung by Maggie Bockus ( Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on); Bob Dylan’s Wagon Wheel (that Jay Secor wrote the music for) is intriguingly performed by Mike Willis, (Rock Me Mama, like a wagon wheels.) Then Brenda Brooks wonderful interpretation of Hallelujah and the final track 13, with a slight re-writing (here and there) of the Sherman’s You’re Sixteen (And You’re lovely, you come on like a dream, all peaches and cream) with the new closing lines “We’re the Chicks (voiced by the four Chicks) and The Doclings ( voiced by the Doclings), and we’re here. If you’re digging the songs just sing along. We’re not famous, we’re not rich. It’s the end of the show and we’ve got to go.”

This wonderful CD, you’ll play over and over again, Just Hatched, is available Saturday at it’s Portland United Church launch or you can phone the office of Dr. Wendy Stewart, 848-4622 for a copy.

Some of the World’s Greatest Folk CDs at Sale Prices

By today’s reckoning, Timberhead Music CD’s are unbelievably bargain priced at their regular catalog price of $16. But now slashed $3-only $12.99 a disc-during their Annual Christmas Holiday Sale, Nov. 22 to Dec. 22, they’re an incredible bargain. That’s considering that this Camden, Maine mail order service stocks some of the most excitingly beautiful folk music anywhere and Canadian and U.S. currencies now at par.

Moncton folk singer and traditional music garu Bernie Houlahan three decades ago expressed the feeling of many devotees of real folk music, when he said he’d ‘almost entirely given up interest in anything new called folk music.’ So many inept young songwriters releasing navel-gazing two month wonders and calling them them folk. Songs that would never be sung by anyone else of their own generation let alone survive decades of others singing them to meet the folksong designation. “ Then I discovered Folk Legacy Records,” he said, “ and realized there were still singers writing songs he could envision standing the test of time. The recordings Folk-Legacy were releasing restored my faith.”

And Gordon Bok, their most popular artist, had a lot to do with that. A folk song by original definition is one still sung after who wrote it is forgotten by the masses. It’s a song that has been enhanced by many singers and polished over time .

Gordon Bok’s first album, self-titled, on Verve Folkways album featured a song Fundy that became a favourite of mine. Another debut album The Magic of Mayo Muirby a goldenvoiced singer Anne Mayo Muir on 20^th Century Fox Records soon filled a like niche. They’re still among our most played 40 years later. So when I read about an album Bay of Fundy by Gordon Bok with Anne Mayo Muir on Folk-Legacy I lost no time in acquiring it. That album opened the door to a whole new world of folk music and communication with the label for me.

Started by two great traditional singers Sandy and Caroline Paton with a friend Lee B. Haggerty, their studio was in Sharon, Connecticut. Their recordings were only available in Canada by mail-order or at import specialty stores. Gordon Bok after his first solo recording in 1971 Peter Kaggan And The Wind become their most recorded artist.

When Folk Legacy, due to the failing health of its founders, cut back recording operations, Gordon purchased his masters along with others from them and established his own distributing retailing company Timberhead Music. That label’s catalog now includes over 50 of his CDs. Those include solo albums, those of the trio of Bok, Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett, with whom he toured and recorded for three decades and various other duo and chorus alliances.

And over those years Gordon Bok has been a frequent visitor to the Port City and Hampton. Because of a Saint John Folk Club concert here he forged a chain between the club and the New England folk community which still exists 30 years later. And for travelling expenses he came up from Camden in the late 80’s to do a Bi-Capitol concert to raise funds used in purchasing the building that became Saint John’s Imperial Theatre.

And he took part in the original Marco Polo Folk Opera written by Rothesay’s Jim Stewart in that theatre, a presentation of towering stage sets and audio visual effects that which took $100,000 to mount in the fall of 2002. As well, many of his recordings feature songs of enduring beauty written by Stewart and other local songwriting musicians.

Gordon Bok in Concert

His recent Gordon Bok In Concert is Bok’s only live album except for the Bok, Trickett, Muir trio’s, Minneapolis Concert recorded in 1987. This solo In Concert CD will open your ears to the warmer, more humourous side of Bok, and the repore he shares with audiences. I was amazed by the reaction of a couple of friends we took to a trio concert at Harvard University years ago . Not aware of traditional balladry even as it turned out, they were amazed at the capacity audience singing along with the trio on songs those two had never heard of, much less heard. Sadly such songs are not on commercial radio or even CBC now.

In Concert begins with an introduction and the comedic ballad Queer Bungo Rye for instance; a salute to Nova Scotia’s Canso Strait; The Angelius; a nostalgic While The Cane Fires Burn, an inspired rendering of Let The Lower Lights Be Burning, the rare Oysterbed Road and boisterousScottish Hie Awa with it’s introduction make this a ‘live’ music experience you’ll want to relive often, 16 songs interspersed with humour and stories.

With Jim Stewart of Saint John NB of Marco Polo Suite Fame

There is also the Bok Trio’s 1994 Languages of The Heart CD, it’s incredibly beautiful title song written by Rothesay’s Jim Stewart and Moncton’s Bernie Houlahan. Jim’s Marco Polo song is included as well and such rarities as Blue Mountain, Stephen Foster, Merlin’s Waltz and Ballinderry: 15 exquisite songs all beautifully sung.

And, also, 15 rare, lovely songs on Harbours Of Home by Gordon, Ed and Ann, such gems as: Australian Henry Lawson’s The Outside Track; Scotsman Dave Goulder’s Pigs Can See The Wind; a lyrical treasure The Great Valley’s Harvest; Jim Stewart and Gordon’s We Built This Old Ship; John Austin Martin’s entrancing Dancing At Whitsum; J.B. Goodenough’s Turning Of The Year and the title song by a favourite songwriter of mine, Joan Sprung.

Also in the Timberland catalog is the trio’s Turning Toward The Morning which includes two masterpieces of Gordon’s own, Isle Au Haut Lullaby and the title song plus the emotional Three Score And Ten, I Drew My Ship, Gentle Annie, How Can I Keep from Singing and six others.

These and many others including Jim Stewart’s Narco Polo Suite, are available for only $12.99 U.S.-some cassettes $5, by phoning (207) 236-2707, or visiting www.timberheadmusic.com