OLLABELLE
''OLLABELLE''
MARCH 9 2004
59:50
1/Before This Time/Jones, Lomax/2:18
2/Soul of a Man/Traditional/3:59
3/Elijah Rock/Traditional/5:23
4/Jesus on the Mainline/Traditional/4:43
5/Get Back Temptation/Patscha/2:50
6/I Am Waiting/Jagger, Richards/4:15
7/Two Steps/Helm, Isaacs, Leone, McBain, Tormes, Zhivago/3:53
8/No More, My Lawd/Traditional/4:41
9/Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus/Crouch/4:23
10/The Storms Are on the Ocean/Carter, Carter, Carter/3:25
11/John the Revelator/Traditional/4:09
12/I'm Willing to Run All the Way/Traditional/5:54
13/I Don't Want to Be That Man/Patscha/5:04
14/All Is Well/Traditional/4:53
Sean Costello/Guitar, Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar
Amy Helm/Vocals
Levon Helm/Drums
Byron Isaacs/Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Slide Guitar
Tony Leone/Drums, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals
Fiona McBain/National Steel Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
Glenn Patscha/Bass Pedals, Casio, Clavinet, Dumbek, Organ, Organ (Pump), Vocals, Wurlitzer
Liz Tormes/Vocals
Jimi Zhivago/Bass, Electric Upright Bass, Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Hi String Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
New York sextet Ollabelle's music is a hybrid of indigenous American styles, mixing folk, blues, and gospel, and drawing upon traditional sources to create something that sounds wholly new. If one is tempted to say "you've never heard anything quite like this before," it isn't because the ingredients are unfamiliar, it's because the mixture and the approach are. The alternating male and female vocalists usually sing traditional material, with arrangements that recall the kind of updated authenticity of Ry Cooder as much as the original sources. Somehow, these performances steer in between the alternating obstacles of sounding too retro on the one hand or taking an ironic posture on the other. The performers seem utterly immersed in the music, utterly sincere in their singing (though it would be surprising to find that their commitment to the religious lyrics was anything but figurative), yet they clearly are reaching back to their archaic sources through the context of contemporary music. Their few originals are of a piece with the traditional material, and even a revival of the Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting" fits right in. It's no surprise that T-Bone Burnett's DMZ label is issuing this debut, since Burnett has demonstrated his affinity for American roots music and ability to recontextualize it for the 21st century. And it is appropriate that the Band's Levon Helm, doubtless the father of the group's Amy Helm, drums on "Soul of a Man." Ollabelle is trying to create a new sound out of long-standing folk-based musical styles in much the same way that the Band did with Music From Big Pink in 1968. The wonder is how well the group succeeds. Ollabelle is a moving collection of performances that will remind the listener of the emotional depth and scope of American music. If there is any disc capable of turning the term "Americana" into a full-fledged musical genre, this is it.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey
Named after Appalachian folksinger Ola Belle Reed, Ollabelle are a Manhattan-based band whose music puts an urban spin on Southern genres like bluegrass, gospel, and country. Despite their rootsy influences, the five bandmates first got together in the decidedly non-rootsy East Village, where a local bar called 9C began holding weekly gospel music sessions during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What began as a side project for six of the bar's patrons -- singer Amy Helm (the daughter of legendary Americana musician Levon Helm), guitarist Fiona McBain, bassist Byron Isaacs, drummer Tony Leone, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Zhivago -- quickly turned into a full-fledged group, with label interest from Sony Music and support from fellow roots revivalist T-Bone Burnett, who produced the band's 2004 debut. Performances at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival and Alison Krauss' Great High Mountain Tour helped drum up support for Ollabelle's self-titled album, as did the resurgence of old-timey Americana music.
For their second album, 2006's Riverside Battle Songs, the band enlisted the help of former Bob Dylan sideman Larry Campbell, who agreed to co-produce the record. Riverside Battle Songs, like the album before it, featured the band's unique spin on traditional songs, but it also showcased more of their original compositions, which were molded in the style of their influences and recorded without guitarist Jimi Zhivago (who'd left the lineup, thus slimming Ollabelle down to a quintet). The group continued to tour, recording its performances all the while and releasing a strong live album, Before This Time, before heading back into the recording studio for 2011's Neon Blue Bird.
''OLLABELLE''
MARCH 9 2004
59:50
1/Before This Time/Jones, Lomax/2:18
2/Soul of a Man/Traditional/3:59
3/Elijah Rock/Traditional/5:23
4/Jesus on the Mainline/Traditional/4:43
5/Get Back Temptation/Patscha/2:50
6/I Am Waiting/Jagger, Richards/4:15
7/Two Steps/Helm, Isaacs, Leone, McBain, Tormes, Zhivago/3:53
8/No More, My Lawd/Traditional/4:41
9/Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus/Crouch/4:23
10/The Storms Are on the Ocean/Carter, Carter, Carter/3:25
11/John the Revelator/Traditional/4:09
12/I'm Willing to Run All the Way/Traditional/5:54
13/I Don't Want to Be That Man/Patscha/5:04
14/All Is Well/Traditional/4:53
Sean Costello/Guitar, Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar
Amy Helm/Vocals
Levon Helm/Drums
Byron Isaacs/Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Slide Guitar
Tony Leone/Drums, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals
Fiona McBain/National Steel Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
Glenn Patscha/Bass Pedals, Casio, Clavinet, Dumbek, Organ, Organ (Pump), Vocals, Wurlitzer
Liz Tormes/Vocals
Jimi Zhivago/Bass, Electric Upright Bass, Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Hi String Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
New York sextet Ollabelle's music is a hybrid of indigenous American styles, mixing folk, blues, and gospel, and drawing upon traditional sources to create something that sounds wholly new. If one is tempted to say "you've never heard anything quite like this before," it isn't because the ingredients are unfamiliar, it's because the mixture and the approach are. The alternating male and female vocalists usually sing traditional material, with arrangements that recall the kind of updated authenticity of Ry Cooder as much as the original sources. Somehow, these performances steer in between the alternating obstacles of sounding too retro on the one hand or taking an ironic posture on the other. The performers seem utterly immersed in the music, utterly sincere in their singing (though it would be surprising to find that their commitment to the religious lyrics was anything but figurative), yet they clearly are reaching back to their archaic sources through the context of contemporary music. Their few originals are of a piece with the traditional material, and even a revival of the Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting" fits right in. It's no surprise that T-Bone Burnett's DMZ label is issuing this debut, since Burnett has demonstrated his affinity for American roots music and ability to recontextualize it for the 21st century. And it is appropriate that the Band's Levon Helm, doubtless the father of the group's Amy Helm, drums on "Soul of a Man." Ollabelle is trying to create a new sound out of long-standing folk-based musical styles in much the same way that the Band did with Music From Big Pink in 1968. The wonder is how well the group succeeds. Ollabelle is a moving collection of performances that will remind the listener of the emotional depth and scope of American music. If there is any disc capable of turning the term "Americana" into a full-fledged musical genre, this is it.
BIOGRAPHY
by Andrew Leahey
Named after Appalachian folksinger Ola Belle Reed, Ollabelle are a Manhattan-based band whose music puts an urban spin on Southern genres like bluegrass, gospel, and country. Despite their rootsy influences, the five bandmates first got together in the decidedly non-rootsy East Village, where a local bar called 9C began holding weekly gospel music sessions during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What began as a side project for six of the bar's patrons -- singer Amy Helm (the daughter of legendary Americana musician Levon Helm), guitarist Fiona McBain, bassist Byron Isaacs, drummer Tony Leone, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Zhivago -- quickly turned into a full-fledged group, with label interest from Sony Music and support from fellow roots revivalist T-Bone Burnett, who produced the band's 2004 debut. Performances at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival and Alison Krauss' Great High Mountain Tour helped drum up support for Ollabelle's self-titled album, as did the resurgence of old-timey Americana music.
For their second album, 2006's Riverside Battle Songs, the band enlisted the help of former Bob Dylan sideman Larry Campbell, who agreed to co-produce the record. Riverside Battle Songs, like the album before it, featured the band's unique spin on traditional songs, but it also showcased more of their original compositions, which were molded in the style of their influences and recorded without guitarist Jimi Zhivago (who'd left the lineup, thus slimming Ollabelle down to a quintet). The group continued to tour, recording its performances all the while and releasing a strong live album, Before This Time, before heading back into the recording studio for 2011's Neon Blue Bird.
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