The Chairs - I Know You Rider

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Artist: Chairs
Title: I Know You Rider
Link: Soundclick OR Songplanet
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Over the past week I've been battling that most ferocious of winter's visitors; the flu.
So bad has it become that it forced me this weekend to miss Mike-K's knockout trawl
through the genres Saturday Night Rocks show over at Songplanet. First time I've
missed it since he started it late last year too. Apparently the show is going great
guns, gaining listeners and new fans every time it's on air - and rightly so IMHO.
Here's a radio show that actually does what ALL other stations only promise; keep
you amused and entertained for hours and hours. It does that by a very unique blend
of music ranging from the hardest, dirtiest rock to blues of the highest order,
country, world and anything else that may fit in. A truly wonderful listening experience
made even better by knowing that ALL the artists you are hearing are based on Songplanet...
Most, of course, are also on Soundclick. As are the very immaculate Chairs... The
Chairs are essentially Eric, Donna and Tor who recorded the bulk of the tracks on
their SC website in a living room every weekend for 2 years, and that adds up to
a lot of tracks all of which are on a par; excellently played and clearly recorded.
Mostly, like the track for review I Know You Rider, they are traditional country
songs interpreted by this excellent bunch of musicians... WOOAAHHHHHGGGHHH WOOOOOAAAHHHJGGHHHH
Ooops, sorry about that. The genre alarms went off all around us didn't they? So
what could have been the offensive word? Traditional, or country? No prizes for
guessing, the answer is obvious. Country has such bad press it hardly seems fair.
It's well known that I like a great many genres but what gets to me more than any
other ingredient in a track is authenticity. Can the band pull it off, or do they
also do harm to it's cause? I first heard I Know You Rider on Mike-K's show ages
ago and loved it instantly. A happy, beaming smile of a track that will have you
going from note one; I Know You Rider is that rarest of rare tracks. Not only is
it good but, by golly, it does YOU good too. From the very instant it starts, I
defy you - nope make that a double dog dare - not to go yeeeeaaaaaawww within the
first :20 seconds. You can tell these musicians were having the time of their lives
on this extremely authentic bluegrass track; from the lolloping, well fed bass to
the precision of the banjo picking this reeks of 'classic track'. One thing I have
learned by listening to Mike's show; country isn't dead at all it's in the capable
hands of people like Morris P and - bless 'em - The Chairs. Must Have. No question
pard. Steve Gilmore
   
--Steve Gilmore - Songplanet 1/26/2005

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Artist: The Chairs
Title: Artist Overview
Link: here
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One of the real surprises of the past year or so from this reviewers angle has been my re-discovered liking for American traditional music. Country music, if ya like. Now, now, stop the sneering and the flaring of nostrils because I am not talking about rhinestone country I'm talking REAL country. Appalachian music (deriving from a blend of English, Scottish, Irish and French musical styles) is a prime example of where a lot of todays musical styles get their fire and energy, but N-O-T-H-I-N-G has the power of a hip-cracking bluegrass instrumental or the ear-bending beauty of the vocal harmony work associated with the style. The Chairs singlehandedly re-introduced me to this music over a year ago when my friend Mike Kohlgraf started playing the band's version of I See You Rider mercilessly on his Saturday Night Rocks radio show on Songplanet. Since then, the track (and several other Chairs tracks) have found great favour in my household and I wouldn't be caught dead holding a rhinestone anything....

So, I ain't gonna pass up the chance of 5 new tracks am I?

Right now the tracks are in listen only format and I have no idea whether they will be downloadable at some point, but even so I think I'd even attempt dialup to do it if I still lived in those dark days. In this Broadband world of ours though it's easy peasy lemon squeezy even if a more in-depth look may throw up some things I'd miss while having a few listens. First out is Katy Kline, a traditional bluegrass track that has all the Chairs hallmarks; faultless vocal performance, and an instrumental track that bolts along as if it's ass were on fire. So far, so country and I'm loving it. Tell me that you love me Katy Kline... Yeeeaaaawwwww. Darling Corey is another bluegrass standard with a much less in your face production than Katy and I'm not sure it fits the track but its still nonetheless a passionate performance from the band, even if the sound lets it down somewhat.

Sandy Boys is a track for fans of Celtic music and shows how deep into the whole genre the Chairs go for their inspiration, this is a track you could be hearing right now in any bar in Scotland or Ireland. It's to the bands eternal credit that they always deliver the authenticity this kind of material demands as a rite of passage from the musicians and they step up to the plate with commendable grace and charm. Little Satchel is a much more folk flavoured than most of the band's material but that dry, almost deadpan vocal delivery that marks out most Chairs tracks comes in and it automatically attaches itself to heart and toes with great speed. It's a charming song lyrically too. Will The Circle Be Unbroken is, of course, a classic track in its own right. Staple of the civil rights movement and a leading contender (along with We Will Not Be Moved) for official soundtrack of any rights movement, there is no way I couldn't get into this. The Chairs deliver it with the same easy authority they brought to I See You Rider and with much of the same charm. No matter whatever else you do this year, get yourself a listen to this band...

Proud of their heritage? You betcha!! American Classics never sounded better. Highly Recommended.

Steve Gilmore