The Wailin' Jennys - CD Review

The biggest challenge faced by any roots/folk act is the transition from show to recording studio. Performers with tremendous live reputations often seem smothered on disc, unable to capture the simple essence of their music through lack of spark, stifling production, cumbersome arrangements or a myriad of other factors. Thankfully The Wailin' Jennys
40 Days
(Festival)

The biggest challenge faced by any roots/folk act is the transition from show to recording studio. Performers with tremendous live reputations often seem smothered on disc, unable to capture the simple essence of their music through lack of spark, stifling production, cumbersome arrangements or a myriad of other factors. Thankfully, and happily, this is not the case with the Jennys ǃ

CD Review - Feature Album

Sometimes it is almost impossible to decide on which CD is going to be the feature album for the month. And sometimes you know, by the time you get to the second track of an album, that this is IT The Wailin' Jennys
40 Days
Jericho Beach Music

Sometimes it is almost impossible to decide on which CD is going to be the feature album for the month. And sometimes you know, by the time you get to the second track of an album, that this is IT.....

If, by the time you get to the seventh track of an album (in this case a cover of the Neil Young classic, 'Old Man') you are that impressed with an album that you have gone through the turmoil of trying to decide whether you a: just MUST join the band, b: wish you had enough money to strike a distribution deal with the band, or c: marry one of the band members, it is an almost foregone conclusion that (as a more practical option to the above) the album is going to sit rather prominently on your web site as feature album.

I suspect that we (meaning non-musicians, or ex-musicians) are all fans of artists that we most closely associate our own musical ambitions or desires with and although I quite fancy the idea of jamming for hours on end with Gov't Mule, having now been exposed to the collective talents and charms of Luft, Mehta and Moody (and perhaps because, with age, I have become a little more mellow), I quite like the idea of allying myself with the oft melancholic Celtic influenced folk that the Wailin' Jennys have to offer.

Whilst the Jennys are a cohesive entity, the individual members bring diverse talents and capabilities to the collective, undeniably apparent on this, their first full length album, resulting in a breath-taking collection of ambient dynamic tales, sparse but impassioned and finely wrought instrumentation, all of which equally match the now trademark 3 part harmonies. This confluence of individual talents, in what started out as an impromptu one-off project, has resulted in a collection of absolutely stunning folk material and secured the girls a place near the top of the enviable list of Canadian vocal groups currently making waves in the genre (Be Good Tanyas, Po Girl, to name 2).

Uniting classic and contemporary folk with pop, Celtic roots and straight up country, the girls have an alchemy which many groups aspire to, but never conjure. Luft's own contributions to '40 Days' (which include 'Untitled', 'Something To Hold Onto') are somewhat more boisterous and rock orientated than the melancholic trad folk influences reflected in the work of Mehta and Moody, a side of Luft's solo musical ambitions prevalent on her fairly recent 'Tempting The Storm' This combination of 3 diverse backgrounds and personalities is going to be the talk of the decade amongst the folk fraternity - a phenomenon in the making.

Jericho Beach Music is the label arm of the Canadian roots distributor, Festival - and with a flagship album such as this to add to their already impressive catalogue, no doubt we'll be hearing a lot more from both the label and The Wailin' Jennys. From the interest shown in the group at the recent SXSW Conference, this won't be too far into the future - and '40 Days' makes for an impressive resum_

40 Days - The Wailin' Jennys

Unspeakably good. Literally stunning. I'm falling deep into the well of this record 40 DAYS (Jericho Beach) ǃ

The Wailin' Jennys - 40 Days

Sometimes, good things really do come in threes WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM: Living in harmony. FILE UNDER: Women on the verge. LOWDOWN: Sometimes, good things really do come in threes. Case in point: Singers Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody, who make beautiful music together on 40 Days, the winning debut album from their folk-pop outfit The Wailin’ Jennys. Harmonizing with a soothing grace that belies their name, these grievous angels weave gorgeous vocal tapestries that elegantly decorate original cuts of sun-dappled rootspop, blues and Celtic folk. Plus they acquit themselves admirably on candlelit covers of Neil Young’s Old Man and John Hiatt’s Take it Down. Check them out tomorrow at the West End Cultural Centre, before they vanish on the summer folk-festival circuit. ON THE WEB: www.thewailinjennys.com
***1/2 out of *****

CD Review

Good Lord! Can this really be the Wailin' Jennys? The Wailin' Jennys
40 Days
Jericho Beach Music
JBM 0403

Good Lord! Can this really be the Wailin' Jennys? The same Wailin' Jennys who made such a disparately ragged, ad-hoc, six-song debut a year or so back?

While that initial recording showed flashes of true promise, it also had a threadbare, disjointed quality about it as Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody struggled to find common ground. But time has galvanized them into an inspired creative unit and their gorgeous harmonies have grown even more intricate. The proof on Moody's divine, One Voice, and the evergreen traditional heartbreaker, The Parting Glass, is nothing short of spectacular. Those wonderfully emotional voices of theirs lie somewhere between The Roches and the Silly Sisters but grounded in an absolute belief in their own abilities.

Their attachment to the tradition includes the mischieous Saucy Sailor. Obviously, Luft's pungent Come All You Sailors draws its inspiration from the same well. There's also a clever cover of John Hiatt's Take It Down. But their attempt at Neil Young's Old Man never quite puts enough distance between the original. A minor set back though, more than aptly eradicated by Nicky Mehta's brilliant, Arlington, which unearths a truly impressive new writing talent.

Immaculately produced by David Travers-Smith (Harry Manx & Kevin Breit) 40 Days ought to place the Jennys on the same pedestal as the Be Good Tanyas. The first major Canadian folk-roots recording of the year has officially arrived.

Roots - CD Review

An exceptionally auspicious debut album, this Winnipeg threesome's folk/roots maiden voyage is chock-a-block with sweet lead and sweeter harmony vocals, low-key, mostly acoustic instrumentation, and a smart mix of original and cover tunes including John Hiatt's Take It Down and the traditional The Parting Glass 40 Days ****
The Wailin' Jennys (Jericho Beach Music)

An exceptionally auspicious debut album, this Winnipeg threesome's folk/roots maiden voyage is chock-a-block with sweet lead and sweeter harmony vocals, low-key, mostly acoustic instrumentation, and a smart mix of original and cover tunes including John Hiatt's Take It Down and the traditional The Parting Glass. The Wailin' Jennys, by the way, are Ruth Moody, erstwhile lead vocalist with the Celtic group Scruj MacDuhk, and former solo performers Cara Luft and Nicky Mehta. Joining forces in 2002, the Jennys have been working the folk festival and club circuit ever since, building a lean, elegant musical identity that favors understatement and encourages us to bring our own emotions to the songs. Made stronger by the determined individuality of each voice, this is a trio to watch.

The Wailin' Jennys - 40 Days CD Review

Stunning harmonies are the key to Winnipeg's Wailin' Jennys, a roots trio too acoustic to qualify as contemporary folk but too poppy to get tagged as a dusty trad act The Wailin' Jennys
40 Days
Jericho Beach/Festival
*** 1/2

Stunning harmonies are the key to Winnipeg's Wailin' Jennys, a roots trio too acoustic to qualify as contemporary folk but too poppy to get tagged as a dusty trad act.

Alto Cara Luft, mezzo Nicky Mehta and soprano Ruth Moody mesh together like sisters on their debut album, which includes three tunes by each singer-songwriter plus a couple of traditionals and covers of Neil Young's Old Man and John Hiatt's Take it Down.

The vibe is vintage CSNY folk-pop, with a touch of earthy roots-rock and a lyrical earnestness that fits in well with a Winnipeg vocal-trio tradition established by The Wyrd Sisters.

Unfortunately, most of the songs are overshadowed by the brilliance of the vocal harmonies. The exceptions: Come All You Sailors, a rollicking Luft composition, and The Parting Glass, an acapella traditional.

CD Review

Winnipeg's Wailin' Jennys - singer/songwriters Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody - apparently proved greater than the sum of their parts with an ad hoc gathering in a hometown music store a couple of years back Roots
The Wailin' Jennys
40 Days (Jericho Beach)
Winnipeg's Wailin' Jennys - singer/songwriters Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody - apparently proved greater than the sum of their parts with an ad hoc gathering in a hometown music store a couple of years back, a string of highly praised festival performances as a trio last summer, and a quickly recorded six-song CD that got lots of folk radio airplay and media attention in 2003. Their first full-length CD, featuring nine pieces penned separately by the three principals, two covers (Neil Young's "Old Man" and John Hiatt's "Take It Down"), and one traditional song ("Saucy Sailor") fulfills that early promise. The compositions are strong, well-formed melodies with solid structures, well-turned lyrical phrases and clever rhymes, and a general whimsical air, and accompaniment by guitarist Kevin Breitt, bassist Andrew Downing, violinist Richard Moody and drummers Christian Dugas and Mark Mariash substantially augments the trio's own interesting instrumental work (guitars, dobro, harmonica, piano, accordian, bodhran). But the real appeal here is their close, luscious harmonies.