By Ken Paulson
— Coming June 6 is The Beautiful Old, a project by Paul Marsteller and Gabriel Rhodes that revisits music that was popular at the close of the 19th Century.
It’s a revelation. At a time when pop songs can go viral and fade just as quickly, it’s remarkable how sturdy these songs are.
Consider “The Band Played On,” performed here by Richard Thompson and Christine Collister, with Garth Hudson sitting in on accordion. Written by Charles B. Ward and John F. Palmer in 1895, and still familiar to many today, the song tells the story of a fluid dancer and the strawberry blond that would become his wife. The rendition here is fresh and buoyant.
Similarly, “The Flying Trapeze” has shown up in endless cartoons over the years, but as performed here by Graham Parker, it’s the hot new song of 1867, written by Gaston Lyle and George Leybourne. It’s great fun.
The album features an impressive array of artists, including Dave Davies (yes, that one), Kim Richey, Kimmy Rhodes, Heidi Talbot, Eric Bibb and Jimmy LaFave. All of the songs were recorded using instrumentationof the era.
The Beautiful Old successfully marries contemporary artists to classic compositions. Highly recommended.
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