Your hometown is rich with talent.

This month, the Voice reviews a CD sampling of local music that may help you with your gift-giving list.

We didn't even try to cover all the great local artists from Takoma Park & Silver Spring in just one issue. Stay tuned for more reviews of local music in issues to come.

Reviews by Carolyn Feola

CANTARÉ
Al agua pato

Although this CD ("The water-duck") is intended for children, I find it engaging, too, since I'm hard at work learning Spanish. It uses that Sesame Street formula of stealth education--teaching while entertaining. Ever heard "Hokey Pokey" in Spanish? Here, learn something: "El pie derecho aquí, el pie derecho alla..."

JODY MARSHALL
Cottage in the Glen

Way before I knew what “folk music” is, I loved hammered dulcimer. I heard it first around age eight, when local multi-instrumentalist Bruce Hutton came to my elementary school. His washboard was fun and the Snoopy harp was cool, but it was the high, sweet ring of hammered dulcimer that struck me deep inside. Perhaps that’s why I feel a personal joy when I listen to Jody Marshall’s latest recording. Her dulcimer and piano arrangements are seamless and so pretty, belying the complexity of their heritage as recounted in Jody’s liner notes. Also just under the smooth surface is a piping-hot list of contributing talent—Andrea Hoag, Al Petteway, Charlie Pilzer, and Maggie Sansone among them. Rising up from the overwhelming depths of Celtic music history, Cottage in the Glen feels as fresh as a new memory.

J.P. McDERMOTT & WESTERN BOP
Last Fool Here

I’m going to try really hard not to compare J.P. McDermott to Elvis, since I’m sure that everyone compares him to Elvis. And it’s true—that lip-twitching twang is all over the Western Bop sound. But J.P. is also in possession of a good ole tenor of his very own, and as a fine honky-tonk songwriter, he’s got a leg up on the Nashville gang. There’s plenty of stuff on Last Fool Here that swings on its own merits. “Lucky Stars” has hints of Mexican waltz, “Blue Days, Black Nights” is sock-hop hip, and “Sixteen Chicks” is a 48-speed good time. But the gem here is the title track—the CD’s last call, which uses soft piano to profile the heartbroken loner who closes down the bar. Don’t behead me, but this McDermott original is more authentic than anything the King ever borrowed.

CATHY FINK & MARCY MARXER
Scat Like That: A Musical Word Odyssey

Music that's truly for the kids (perhaps not the grownups).. Interactive, fun, exposes children to all kinds of musical genre, with an upbeat message.

MAGPIE
Raise Your Voice

Any folk record will, simply by nature, sound nostalgic. But Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino’s new CD is an actual trip through history, celebrating their 30 years as duo. The feeling of yesteryear is borne from the memories, tributes, and traditions inherent in each song selection. This is no heavy-hearted CD, though. Terry and Greg fire up the activist spirit; fly on the inspiring words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; revive long-lost Woody Guthrie songs; and warmly honor the life of Terry’s mother, who recently passed away. After three decades, it seems Magpie is just getting started.

ZOE MULFORD
Traveling Moon

Pleasing enough voice and instrumentation and poetic enough lyrics for adults to enjoy along with children. Includes the sage selection “Life is too short to fold underwear.”

CHRIS CHANDLER
American Storyteller Volumes I and II

Chris Chandler is not for the short of attention span. His two-CD set, American Storyteller, is for people who have “Alice’s Restaurant” memorized or listen to “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” all the way through.

Despite what the proverb says, you actually can judge this set by its nostalgic, chaotic cover. Each song is part spoken-word, part fable, part cover tune, part puzzle. The first track, for example, is an eight-minute amalgamation of “Stairway to Heaven,” the Pennsylvania Turnpike, “Because the Night,” bootstraps, “Free Bird,” captive fireflies, “Hotel California,” and Rosa Parks. All 12 of these oversized contraptions might be more than the average folkie can handle, but Chris does possess a certain mad genius in being able to rig all the parts together into a song.

DEAD MEN’S HOLLOW
Forever True

When I first saw this group’s name, I thought they would have done well to consult with a marketing professional. But it’s actually pretty clever, since this record is essentially 45 minutes of violent male-bashing—sung in three-part harmony by cheerful gals. It’s true that folkie audiences enjoy novelty, and we all appreciate musicians who don’t take themselves too seriously. But for me, cleverness and irony are best served sparingly, reserved for one or two tracks at most.

The talents of this group really shine on the tracks with no sense of humor whatsoever. I prefer “The Blackest Crow”—bare-bones fiddle, chilling vocals, and a minor-key melody as old and weary as the Appalachians from which this song comes; and “My Latest Sun is Sinking Fast,” a touching hymn many will recognize as “Angel Band” from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. And redeeming the whole CD is “Down in the Valley to Pray," also a gospel from O Brother but outdone completely in six-part male-female a cappellaharmony. Who's laughing now?

MELANIE MASON
Live at Blues Alley

Melanie breaks with blues tradition simply by being a woman, but as any savvy gal knows, this man’s world is hers for the taking. Slide slowly, whisper softly, and you’ll have them hanging on every word. And so Miss Melanie carves her place in DC music history with a preserved performance at the legendary Blues Alley. Her singular voice and hangin’-with-the-best blues guitar are in fine form, as expected, but she does include some surprises. A duet with Tommy Lepson on “Before You Accuse Me” is a fun romp, and Hendrix fans will be pleased to meet her version of “Castles Made of Sand.”

PAN MASTERS STEEL ORCHESTRA
On De Road

Recorded live at Archbishop Carroll High School in the District, this CD is the fourth release by former members of the Trinidad and Tobago Steel Band of Washington, D.C. It’s an uninterrupted instrumental masterpiece; great background music for merry gift-wrapping, I imagine. A fine tradition of steel bands is “bomb tunes”—dropping covers on audiences—and this CD features inspired choices. You’ll be surprised how joyful “Let it Be” can sound when given a Calypso soul.

LISA MOSCATIELLO
Trouble from the Start

Lisa Moscatiello is that rare folk singer with a rich jazz voice. Make no mistake, Moscatiello is a local talent with the confidence and depth of an international star. Keep an eye on her.