Sometimes, there's a disadvantage in being familiar with a group or a song before reviewing an album. Objectivity is harder, and preconceptions are almost impossible to shed. This compilation album, a sampler of work by a variety of Omnium artists, is partly familiar and partly new to me. As an overall work, it's a good selection, fun to dance to and a delight to anyone who likes to see traditions shaken up -- and occasionally put through a blender.
I began already familiar with several of the bands represented: Minneapolis world music rockers Boiled In Lead, English protesters Oysterband, as well as Horace X, the delightfully bent 3 Mustaphas 3, and the Swedish Garmarna, though not with the exact tracks put on this album. All were groups I enjoyed, bands that respected the source material even as they warped it beyond reason. So, with this background, I was predisposed to like the album, and willing to give all the newcomers a good try. There was one case where I found knowing the song to be a major issue, but more on that later.
The first familiar track had my instant approval: "Sugarfoot Congress" is the same song I use to introduce new fans to the Boiled in Lead sound. It's a Celtic instrumental at first, fast and even bouncy, with only a hint of electricity, that becomes heavy thrash, hyper-energetic. It's one hell of a hot track.
Oysterband's "On the Edge" struck me at first as a weak choice, as the original version, from their album Here I Stand, was one of their less interesting tracks; though I could not deny that it was a decent example of both Oysterband's political bent and their musical style. But this mix in this single is significantly better than the album version, with stronger instrumental lines in the breaks, and a new recording of the lead vocal. It's still not my favourite Oysterband track, but it came off well, and fit nicely between the rock-strong closing of "Sugarfoot Congress" and the Horace X track to follow.
Horace X mixes heavily sampled dance style backgrounds (although there's also what sounds like a "real" drum in the mix), with a middle-eastern fiddle line, reggae-style and occasionally rapped lyrics, squealing sax, and an emphasis -- even in the lyrics -- on the band's "New Cosmopolitan sound." Having seen the band at the 2002 Winnipeg Folk Festival, I can safely say that the track is very representative of their overall sound -- and, not least, is good both as a listen and for dancing. The lyrics are a little too self-referential, but with for once with good reason; the song is a statement of the band's sound.
This is followed up smoothly with an irrepressible track from Italian Fiamma Fumana that starts as pure dance, but picks up quickly with a fiddle track that struck me as borrowing from the best parts of Celtic traditions; driving, irrepressible music. My first listen to this track was at a bus stop, a bad place to dance, but I was not completely able to keep my feet still.
From this point, the music slowly begins to creep from electronica into electric rock, and also slowly creeps away from the more standard European countries, pauses in Indonesia and West Africa and the imaginary country of Szegerely ("home" of 3 Mustaphas 3), then ventures back slowly into Celtic music. Listening to the tracks out of order is a chaotic experience, even jarring, yet if taken in order, the flow from one place and style to the next is almost seamless, giving the album a unified feel in spite of the very different sounds of very different groups.
Probably the best song is "The Maple Tree Stood at the River's Edge", by The Ukrainians. The Ukrainians, like the Oysterband, mix politics into their music; it's impossible to tell that as someone who does not speak the language, but the sheer energy and conviction of the band comes through. "The Maple Tree Stood at the River's Edge" is a fast whirling piece, with harmonized vocals and a strong electric guitar presence.
Another standout track on the album is Ruth MacKenzie's "Give Us Room to Roar", from her Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden, a recording related to her concert event of the same name, which is in turn based on Finnish mythology and vocal stylings. The song reminded me just a little of Finnish superstars Värttinä, an old favourite, without in any way being derivative.
Also enjoyable is Sabah Habas Mustapha's "Di Nagara Deungeun", though it is at first a little lost between the half-mad performance of 3 Mustaphas 3 and West Africans Dembo Konte & Kausu Kuyateh. At first I took the Sabah Habas Mustapha track as being mainly of African influence. However, apparently, he has been studying and working mainly with Indonesian artists. Regardless of the sources, it's a pleasant, almost mellow piece, a good slow down compared to the more frenetic work in the compilation.
In the end, there were only two tracks I found problematic. The Reptile Palace Orchestra's "Gankino Horo" begins with an instrumental that sounds all too much like things Boiled in Lead and 3 Mustaphas 3 have already done, which is not bad, but not very exciting. The vocals did nothing but annoy me, as the singer whined and shouted.
The other track was familiar to me. I looked at the appearance of a new version of Boiled in Lead's "Jamie Across the Water" with equal mixture delight and concern. I used to really love this song; my first experience of it, live, is still a moment I cherish, as the band lingered long over the sweet and simple melody, before meandering into a series of lovely solos. However, having heard several different and newer versions over the years, I have noticed a trend. I tried hard to judge it and review this version on its own merits, and entirely failed. All I could think while listening to it is how obvious it is becoming that the band has lost all interest in the original air. No more of the sweet simple melody: the band gives a weary, mechanical rendition. It was a relief, for both the band, and me as a familiar listener, when they began the series of half-improvised solos that make up the core and majority of the performance. The solos are gorgeous, even soaring, but all I wanted to do was tell the band to either make some effort to find the merits of the original air, or else skip it entirely. Not very objective of me at all, and not very kind either. For a new listener, the track would probably sound lovely.
Overall, OMM: Omnium Omnibus works very well. It hangs together better than some albums by single bands, is a pleasure to listen to, and to dance to. Best of all, it brought several new bands to my attention, and made me itch to hunt out more music by Omnium artists; and in the end, that's exactly what it should do.
