Who: Quartette
Where: Toronto
What: Folk/Roots/Country/Bluegrass
Contact: S. Brock, 35 Fraserwood Ave, #1, Toronto, ON, M6B 2N6, www.quartette.com, service@quartette.com

You’ve got the desire to mix things up a little on your new record.

Who do you call? You call Colin Linden.

Working with Linden, Quartette’s four critically acclaimed singer-songwriters, Sylvia Tyson, Cindy Church, Gwen Swick, and Caitlin Hanford, have crafted a record in Down At The Fair that will delight longtime fans and probably add new followers to the fold.

The quartet’s desire was to work within a grittier context than they had traditionally done. That’s clear from the lead-off track, “Down At The Fair,” and the track that follows, “Twenty Shades of Blue,” both of which feature some very tasty guitar work by Linden. “Who’s Foolin Who” also follows that rootsy/bluesy path.

But while it’s certainly got plenty of grit, Down At The Fair does not, by any stretch of the imagination, constitute a radical departure from the norm for Quartette. Yes, you do hear more electric guitar, more punch than you’ve come to expect from the band, but this is not The Band taking Dylan down electric avenue.

And if you’re looking for more of what you’re used to, the soulful roots/country numbers or those pure folk gems with those gorgeous four-part harmonies, they’re there. Just listen to “Sing A Song of Sadness” or “Marie Antoinette.”

There’s actually a lot of variety on this record. And I suspect that will always be the case with Quartette. How could it be otherwise when you’ve got four artists with such diverse tastes and influences.

They also got help from some other ace sidemen, including guitarist/banjo player Carl Jackson, fiddler Stuart Duncan, mandolin/accordian player Fats Kaplan, and keyboard player Richard Bell, who’s since died.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 5:00 pm and is filed under Showcase. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.