I admit it, cheerfully. I’m a sucker for multi-part harmony.
\nThere are several CDs I own
\njust<\/i> for the artists’ ability to harmonize — the Corrs come
\nto mind. And if you like that kind of harmony, then you
\nneed<\/i> to check out the Rankins, Cape Breton’s contribution to
\nthe ‘siblings singing in Gaelic’ sweepstakes. But don’t confuse the
\nRankins for the etherealness of Clannad or the dance pop of the
\nCorrs; the Rankins have their own down-home country twist to their
\nmusic, and nowhere does it show more than on their new CD,
\nUprooted<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The Rankins started recording in 1989 as the Rankin Family, and
\nhave recieved multiple music awards in Canada for their blend of
\nGaelic\/country\/bluegrass vocalization, including a Juno for Single
\nOf The Year. On this project, they finally jumped in headfirst,
\nrecording at Omnisound Studios, Nashville, for American roots\/folk
\nlabel Rounder Records. While the band has widened their appeal and
\ntheir styles, the sound remains the same: the crystalline tapestry
\nof sisters’ Heather, Cookie, and Raylene Rankin singing over a
\nsolid instrumental base laid down by John and John Morris Rankin.
\n(John also takes an occasional stab at singing, and he’s pretty
\ndarn good.)<\/p>\n
The CD is clearly divided; the first six tracks are country, and
\nyou know, for country it’s not too darn bad. (I have a love-hate
\nrelationship with country; some of it I love, but I wish the man
\nwho’d invented the mother-in-law-esque whine of the steel guitar
\nwould have been dropped in the Marianas Trench at a young age.)
\n“Movin’ On” is John Rankin kicking it out, and indeed this track’s
\nvideo is getting play on American cable network CMT, “Cold Winds”
\nis a pleasant enough ballad, and “Maybe You’re Right” is a nice bit
\nof upbeat wordplay worthy of a Mary Chapin Carpenter. This is no
\naccident; the Rankins’ flirtation with American country music began
\non their
\nEndless Seasons<\/i> CD, which was produced by Carpenter’s
\nlongtime producer John Jennings.<\/p>\n
It’s the latter half of the CD, though, that really grabbed me
\nand wouldn’t let go. The Celtic\/Cape Breton half begins with an
\neerie, funky, delightful expedition into Celtic\/trance\/techno
\ncalled “Weddings, Wakes, and Funerals” that reminds me of the
\nstylings of Cape Breton bad boy fiddler Ashley MacIsaac. It’s
\nincredibly odd, incredibly fun, and it makes me turn up the CD
\nevery time it comes on. From there, it never stops, and never has a
\nweak moment; the mouth-singing of “Parlour Medley”, the clear
\nharmonies of “O Tha Mo Dhuil Ruit” and “An Innis Aigh” (otherwise
\nknown as ‘that song that one chick sings in
\nRiverdance<\/i>, and here the Rankin sisters blow her out of the
\nauditorium without breaking a sweat), and the sweet, sorrowful
\nclose of “Farewell To Lochaber”.<\/p>\n
The Rankins’ style is odd, true; half Cape Breton, half
\nharmonized country, and a touch of experimentation. But it’s a
\ntaste that’s
\nstrongly<\/i> worth acquiring, and their presence on an American
\nlabel means it’s a taste you can
\nget<\/i>. Get out and get
\nUprooted<\/i>. You won’t be sorry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":27749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7466],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-39127","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-rankins","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39127"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39127"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}