Search - Charlie Haden :: Rambling Boy

Great old-time country, bluegrass, folk, Americana, a little

Sanpete | in Utah | 09/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long before he became a legendary jazz bassist, Charlie Haden was Little Yodeling Cowboy Charlie. He began his professional career in the late 1930s, not quite two years old, singing old-time gospel and country on the radio with his parents and siblings throughout the South and Midwest. (One of his very early performances is on the next-to-last track of this CD.) He did that for thirteen years; then, at age 15, polio weakened his voice, leaving him to focus on the instrument that led him to jazz fame. He long had in mind to return to his musical beginnings and renew the legacy of family performance with his own children. In January, 2008, at age 70, it finally happened.



A lot of the great country and bluegrass players love jazz, so Haden had a fan club in Nashville ready to help out. It's a dream band. Jerry Douglas plays Dobro on almost every track. Stuart Duncan plays fiddle on most. On mandolin, Sam Bush plays on about half, Dan Tyminski on a couple, and Ricky Skaggs on a couple--Skaggs also plays a fretless banjo on one. Béla Fleck adds his banjo on another. Bryan Sutton and Russ Barenberg trade off on acoustic guitar, with John Leventhal stepping in for his wife Rosanne Cash's number. Buddy Greene adds harmonica on a couple cuts. Haden's friend Bruce Hornsby plays piano on a few.



A non-Nashviller in the instrumental mix is Haden's close friend and musical collaborator Pat Metheny, who plays his electric guitar on over a third of the pieces and contributes an instrumental track of his own.



And of course, on every track is Charlie Haden with his massive, sonorous double bass (except on the track from around 1940 where he just sings).



The level of virtuosity in the playing is exceptional, always tasteful and completely within the spirit of things, with many subtle, exquisite touches. There are frequent instrumental solos; all the players have memorable moments. Haden has no trouble at all with the idiom he grew up with, and he adds in a bit of jazz on a few songs. It's impossible to guess his age from his playing, which is strong and nimble.



Metheny adapts very well. His presence occasionally carries the recording into a different dimension, stylewise, but it's well integrated with the whole and makes for a unique hybrid that should have broad appeal. His instrumental composition "Is This America" has some of the sad feel of "Ashokan Farewell" (the fiddle song made famous in Ken Burns' Civil War series) mixed with Metheny's characteristic optimism.



The vocalists are also outstanding, and diverse. The heart of the vocal crew are "the triplets," Haden's triplet daughters Petra, Rachel and Tanya, who have been part of the alt- or avant rock scene in various bands, including That Dog (Petra and Rachel). They get things off to a lively start with the Carter Family song "Single Girl, Married Girl." Judging from the snippet of The Haden Family circa 1940 singing "Keep on the Sunny Side" that appears on track 18, the triplets approximate pretty well the sound Charlie Haden grew up with. He paid special attention to their harmonies to make sure they were just so--very tight, close, sweet, with some classic old-time bluegrass edge, a joy to hear in themselves. The triplets do three numbers as a trio, each does a solo number, Rachel and Tanya do a duet (also very tight), and the sisters sing backing vocals on several tracks. Alone, each has a pretty, occasionally breathy, light soprano. One of them, Petra I believe (she took the part on the radio), does some fine work with the solo phrases of the high vocal on (fittingly) "A Voice from on High," an old bluegrass gospel number. Great stuff, maybe my current favorite of many high points.



Petra's solo vocal is for "The Fields of Athenry," a folk ballad given an interesting arrangement. It begins in a traditional mode and slowly builds into a smoothly flowing pop arrangement with a Metheny flavor and Hornsby piano solo, ending with a Metheny guitar solo. The gradual shift in style has an enjoyable effect. Metheny and Hornsby also work on Tanya's solo piece, "He's Gone Away," another folk ballad, which includes a sparse, yearning piano solo with some unusually colored chords. Rachel's solo piece, the folk spiritual "The Tramp on the Street," is done in a more conventional old-fashioned way. Her sisters chip in their glorious harmonies at the end of end of each verse.



The other Haden offspring, Josh, contributes the vocal on his own "Spiritual," one of only two relatively new songs on the album. Originally recorded with Josh's band Spain, it was covered by Johnny Cash in 1996 and by Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny in 1997 (here). Josh must have sung it very slowly in the past, because even though he describes this performance as "a faster, country-fied version," it's about as slow as it seems it could be. It's a simple song, a prayer, sung in a soft, plaintive manner in a mostly spare arrangement with occasional swells. Movingly done, with lots of fine instrumental work.



Haden's wife (and co-producer) Ruth Cameron, who has recorded a couple vocal CDs for Verve Records, sings the folk song "Down by the Salley Gardens." Her vocal is breathy and marked by peculiar rhythmic touches. The arrangement is subdued, with a nice guitar solo from Metheny.



Also in the family, by way of marriage to Tanya, is comedian/actor/rocker Jack Black, who (according to the short version) told Haden, "I'm part of the family, I want to sing too." (The longer story has it that his cut was planned as an instrumental, and Black volunteered after the record was done to add the vocal.) He sings a rousing rendition of the bluegrass standard "Old Joe Clark," very much in the proper character, with just a touch of hamminess, as might be expected. It's kickin' fun, with hot playing from the band.



One of the more distinctive vocals, for one of the more distinctive arrangements, is by Bruce Hornsby on an eery version of early bluegrass star Jimmy Martin's "20/20 Vision." The song starts with a rather jazzy bass solo by Haden, whose instrument remains more prominent throughout than in the other numbers. Hornsby's vocal is haunted, almost screeching at times. The instrumentalists match the mood well with some chilling sounds (this is where Skaggs' fretless banjo comes in). It's not conventional, but it manages to remain traditional in spirit. Highly effective.



By contrast, Elvis Costello gives one of his less mannered performances. He sings Hank Williams' "You Win Again" with feeling in a relaxed, loping old-time arrangement that works very well.



Rosanne Cash, who can claim membership in the extended Carter Family (by way of father Johnny Cash's marriage to June Carter), sings the Carter Family song "Wildwood Flower." It begins with a nice guitar part played by her husband, John Leventhal, and moves along in a pleasant, mellow, traditional way until a sudden jazzy, Methenyish flourish in the middle, which then gives way again to the more traditional arrangement.



Vince Gill lends his distinctive voice to the title song, another Carter Family classic done in a traditional country style, with matching accompaniment. Just right. The album title "Rambling Boy" was undoubtedly chosen to refer to Haden, whether for his itinerant early years with his performing family, or for wandering far away from and then back to his roots (though he didn't become a highway robber, as the song's protagonist did, as far as we know).



In addition to his instrumental contributions, Dan Tyminski, who has reached a wide audience through his work with Alison Krauss, sings what was originally intended to be the title song, "Ocean of Diamonds," an old bluegrass love song. He has an excellent voice for it, with some of the nasality of old-time bluegrass giants like Ralph Stanley. The arrangement is straight bluegrass, with Petra and Rachel on harmonies.



Ricky Skaggs likewise takes a solo vocal turn, "Road of Broken Hearts," an upbeat weeper also done in straight bluegrass style with Petra and Rachel on harmonies. Top-notch.



The album ends with a rare vocal performance by Charlie Haden. Two, actually. First, there's the recording of him at age two, not entirely on key, but adorable, particularly with the yodel. Shifting to today, his polio-affected voice is soft and breathy, musical and touching in this wistful arrangement of a melancholy song. Metheny and Douglas provide tasteful support. Haden told NPR, "I wanted to do 'Oh Shenandoah' because that's the town I was born in, as a tribute to my mom and dad for giving me all this music. I don't really sing this as a singer, because I'm not a singer. But I wanted to do it for them."



All in all, a wonderful collaboration of mutual admirers, friends and family. The overall mood is traditional. For some, the pieces with elements from jazz and other traditions by Metheny, Hornsby, Josh Haden and Charlie Haden himself will seem out of place at first. For me, as I listened second and third times, I got to like the way it all fits together as what Haden brings back to his first musical home.



The album is beautifully produced, every instrument and voice clearly heard, including Haden's unselfishly discreet bass. As a kid he thought the bass was "the most beautiful instrument of all, because it made everything sound better when it was playing." This album shows how true that can be."

Awesome bluegrass from some unlikely sources

Mark F. Braun | Norridge, IL | 09/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the pretensions of celebrity recordings gets stripped away, there's not a lot that I'd buy today. Then, along comes this brilliant gem. It is a wonderful circle of true believers, honed on PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION that delivers the goods like these gorgeous tracks. It takes big talent to step back and cut a simple, small-sounding disc, and by god, they've done it and done it really well.



With the purity that American mountain music emotes, "Charlie Haden Family and Friends: Rambling Boy" is as pure as a mountain stream and a beautiful reminder of what great, traditional Americana sounds like.



Neatly assembled and brilliantly simple, this collection of tracks brings together A past Decemberist (Petra Haden), an actor (Tanya Haden's husband, Jack Black), a couple of modern country legends (Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill), a jazz man (Pat Metheny), an indie/FM artist or two (Bruce Hornsby, Elvis Costello) and a better cross-section of talent you'd be hard-pressed to find.



Petra, Tanya and Rachel Haden sound as sweet as cool, fresh cider. A clip from the old Haden Family Radio Show shows the heritage that gave birth to so much diverse talent. It's a better heir to WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN.



I'm totally in love with these recordings and paraphrasing Garrison Keeler, "...and oh, aren't they tasty!""

Refreshingly different - a satisfying, soulful family journe

Paul Christensen | West Chester, PA United States | 09/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From the very first toe-tapping track "Single Girl, Married Girl" you know this is going to be a very different music experience from the over-produced, electronic pop of today. And I must say that in the end, this collection more than delivers a thoroughly entertaining journey that reaches across the traditional boundaries of folk, bluegrass, gospel, and country.



Many times, I shy away from collaborations with famous artists as the results can be forced, commercialized, or inconsistent. And while this album has plenty of famous artists (Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Pat Metheny), in the end they are just visitors.



It is Charlie Haden and his family who really sets this apart, providing consistency and talent with an unvarnished, heartfelt performance that warms your soul. In fact, were it not for the crisp vocals and lush instrumentation, you could almost imagine sitting in the Haden living room with many famous guests.



Charlie Haden is considered one of the best jazz bassists of all time, but this album hearkens back to his roots as a young boy whose musical family played country and folk songs on the radio. One track on this album is from the Old Haden Family Show, has a 2-year old Charlie yodeling (cira 1939).



Now, it is Charlie and his family performing together: his wife Ruth Cameron, son Josh on bass, triplets Tanya, Petra, and Rachel, along with Tanya's husband Jack Black. And wow do they deliver.



Not every track is as fast-paced as "Single Girl..." or "Oh Take Me Back". One of the most powerful tracks is the Irish Folk song "The Fields of Athenry" with the mesmerizing vocals of Petra Haden with a fresh instrumental reinterpretation that grabs your soul. Add a collection of gospel for good measure ("Spiritual", "Tramp on the Street") and your family journey is complete.



Speaking of production values, the acoustics are so good you can feel the energy of each performer and instrument. If the CD sounds this good, I could only wish it was available in high-definition audio format (SACD)."