John & MaryCountry of origin:U.S. Type of music generally:Contemporary folk, or maybe pop (mainstream or alternative). Status:Most recent release, Peace Bridge (as John & Mary & the Valkyries, 2007) See also:Wikipedia's entry on John and Mary Comparisons:10,000 Maniacs and Natalie Merchant, June Tabor, Maddy Prior, Kate & Anna McGarrigle (the latter mostly on the few traditional songs they do). (8/00, neal) Covers/own material:Own material General comments:John Lombardo was originally part of 10,000 Maniacs, departed and formed John & Mary, and then returned to 10,000 Maniacs. Departed again in 2001. Recommended first album:Personally I tend to prefer Victory Garden over The Weedkiller's Daughter, but I would say they are both fairly equal as far as someone buying them and listening to them. (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) Recordings:
Victory GardenRelease info:1991—Rykodisc—RCD 10203 Availability:Out of print and hard to find. Purchasing John & Mary's music isn't so much a matter of what to get, but how to get it. In 1999, the Maniacs web site made the remaining new copies of Victory Garden and The Weedkiller's Daughter available through mailorder, but these supplies were quickly devoured. (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) Ecto priority:High, especially for fans of 10,000 Maniacs and that style of folk rock. (10/00, neal) Group members:Mary Ramsey—vocals, viola, violin, piano, organ Guest artists:Robert Buck—guitar, mandolin Produced by:John Lombardo Comments:A quiet, folkish record dominated by Lombardo's keen sense of melody, with haunting undertones that seem to lurk somewhere just beneath the sweet, chiming atmosphere. That combined with the thoughtful lyrics and Rob Buck's shimmering trademark guitar style make the album draw comparisons to old 10,000 Maniacs records (particularly The Wishing Chair) but there are clear distinctions between Ramsey and Natalie Merchant. Unlike Merchant's outspoken narrative style, Ramsey becomes her frantic, energetic subjects, such as the immigrant Marika in the upbeat "Red Wooden Beads" and the restless housewife in "The Open Window". Her personal reflections are no less astounding, beautifully executed in the exquisite folk lullabies "Piles of Dead Leaves" and "Rags of Flowers". Lombardo's lyrics are as contemplative and intriguing as ever, from the visionistic tale of "Pram" to the, surprising confessional attitude of "We Have Nothing", the later featuring background vocals from Ronnie Lane of Small Faces. (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) The Weedkiller's DaughterRelease info:1993—Rykodisc—RCD 10259 Availability:Out of print and hard to find. Purchasing John & Mary's music isn't so much a matter of what to get, but how to get it. In 1999, the Maniacs web site made the remaining new copies of Victory Garden and The Weedkiller's Daughter available through mailorder, but these supplies were quickly devoured. (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) Ecto priority:High, especially for fans of 10,000 Maniacs and that style of folk rock. (10/00, neal) Group members:Mary Ramsey, John Lombardo Guest artists:Robert Buck, Stan Barton, Andrew Case, Joanne Ramsey, Jerome Augustyniak, Scott Miller, Bob Wiseman, Stan Barton, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Alex Chilton, Martin Simpson, Joe Rozler, David Kane, Bryan Eckenrode, Alfred B. Frenning, Robbie Hausmann. Produced by:John Lombardo, Armand John Petrii Comments:This time a whole clique of like-minded musicians, including Blue Rodeo's keyboardist Bob Wiseman, innovative Canadian vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara, superb mandolinist Stan Barton, pioneering singer/songwriter/guitarist Alex Chilton and of course Buck and Augustyniak, were involved and the result is more atmospheric. The sophisticated topics remain similar, from tales of dyslexia ("Clare's Scarf"), to rejoicing in a time of peace ("Two World's Parted"), to thoughtful recollections ("Angels of Stone", "One Step Backward"). The sound is more fleshed out, retaining its predecessor's folk edge. Weedkiller also reveals more of a confidence in Ramsey's enchanting vocals, and recording in general. It contains her first solo composition, "Maid of the Mist" as well as her own arrangement of the traditional "The Poor Murdered Woman". (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) John & Mary and their band LIVERelease info:[Originally released as a cassette available only from the band. Later re-issued as a limited edition CD.] Original pressings are pretty much impossible to locate. I myself was fortunate enough to acquire one of the 1999 CD issues. (8/00, RedWoodenBeads@aol.com) Availability:Probably completely unavailable now. Ecto priority:Low, but kind of fun to have. (7/00, neal) Group members:Mary Ramsey—vocals, viola, violin Guest artists:John Rozler—accordion Comments:This is a cassette of shows performed at the World Cafe/WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), Tinker St. Cafe (Woodstock, NY), Hungry Charley's (Syracuse, NY) and The Pink Flamingo (Buffalo, NY) in September and October of 1993. It contains a lot of songs from the two John & Mary albums, as well as the 10,000 Maniacs' "Can't Ignore The Train", a traditional song, and covers of John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night" and The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty In Pink". It's nice to hear the live versions of the songs, but the sound quality is often fairly poor, keeping this from being the treat it could be. (7/00, neal) Thanks to neal Copperman for work on this entry.
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