Jake La Botz, All Soul and No Money (Joseph Street Records, 2005)

Night Sun, drive (Borealis Records, 2004)

Two albums of rootsy music with dabs of colour from the blues, folk music, world and even jazz are up for consideration with this pair from two of our favourite distributors. And while the music contained on them may not seem similar, it is (in both cases) proof that geography has a lot to do with music. One is urban, informed by the blues and American roots; the other is Canadian with roots in the dark greens of the forest and lakes of the north.

Scheduled for release at the end of January, All Soul and No Money is the first album for singer/songwriter Jake La Botz. But it's been a long time coming. His bio has a long list of accomplishments and activities over the past few years. Born in Chicago, but presently living in LA, La Botz has played guitar in the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church band, he appeared in the film Ghost World with his friend Steve Buscemi, wrote obits, worked at a graphite factory, and for awhile he lived in his car! Until the icy Chicago weather forced him inside. The album title may describe his current position, but if there's any justice, things should certainly change.

The album begins with raw electric guitar, and Jake's rootsy voice against a primitive rhythm section. It continues in much the same direction. Elements of Tom Waits, Howlin' Wolf, and others surround him but La Botz seems to be his own man. His songs are fundamental. They deal with life in the modern age. "Are you a lost child...looking for home?" "I used to have a woman in my home...a long long time ago." "If you follow me down, don't bring your cares, it ain't far from here." The lyrics are straitforward, hopeful, and sometimes quite moving in their simplicity. Some rock, and some just find their own groove.

The band includes one-time Flying Burrito Brother Jim Goodall on drums, bassists Jeff Turmes and Bobby Tsukamoto, and guitarist Peter Atanasoff. They provide solid backing and are joined by guests, organist Eddie Baytos, and Adele Bertei and Willie Chambers on vocals. The sound is open and inviting and the feeling is a mix of urban and delta blues. La Botz has a way of capturing his influences and putting his own stamp on them. You can hear the streets, the burned out cars, the ghetto churches, and the echoes of a choir!

Night Sun is a band based in Kingston, Ontario. They originally formed in the Canadian north, on Baffin Island. I never even thought about people coming from Baffin Island, hmm. Drive is their fifth album and it's an eclectic amalgam of acoustic beauty. Singer/guitarist Ellen Hamilton has a way with a vocal. On "Changed" sounding like Christine McVie and on "All I Do Is Drive" she gets a little warble going that is very appealing. Then on "Looking For the Sun" she gets a husky sound, very sexy. And there are plenty of other things happening here. Co-founder Chris Coleman adds clarinet, mandolin, tin whistles, flute and banjo. New members Les Casson (percussion), Adam Hodge (bass) and Scott Davey (keyboards) really flesh out the sound. At times they're a klezmer band ("Vavoom"), they do a bit of Quebecois folk ("Jolie Pantalon"), and then they relax with a ballad ("A Canadian Song"). This last song is a poem by Canadian pioneer Susanna Moodie set to music by Hamilton. Moodie is an iconic character in Canadian history whose journals of life in mid-nineteenth century Canada have inspired novels, poems, artwork and songs. Hamilton pays a second tribute to Susanna Moodie in the song "My Name (Ode to Susanna Moodie)."

In the unknown forest

In fact many of the lyrics could be interpreted as being influenced by Moodie's experiences and writings, in that they celebrate the Canadian wilderness. Night Sun include their first recorded cover version too. A sprightly rendition of Woody Guthrie's "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." Drive is a haunting, yet joyous expression of the Great White North.

Where we live, the influence our environment has on us, changes the ways we perceive the world. If we never experience a tsunami (for instance) we cannot really relate to it. These two albums by two very different artists, express two disparate worldviews but both are placed firmly in today's world. Both are recommended.

[David Kidney]