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Raso and Ciocarlia
The Devil Rides Again from Adrian Raso and Fanfare Cocarlia is the third collaboration between the Canadian guitarist and the Romany brass band. Five years ago Raso wrote a song for the band’s album It Wasn’t Hard To Love You and 10 years ago they put out the album The Devil’s Tale, so they have a history together.
Raso is an accomplished and versatile musician. Equally comfortable playing Django Reinhardt-style jazz guitar and rock and roll, on this release he also shows equal proficiency on banjo, mandolin and bass. Oh, and he wrote all but two of the tracks on the album, which makes him pretty much an all-around virtuoso.
Fanfare Ciociarlia first came to the wider world’s attention for their incredible rendition of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” from the soundtrack to Sasha Baron Cohen’s movie Borat. However, this versatile and exuberant Romany brass band has been performing all over Europe, and the world, for decades. As one would expect from a brass band, they can blow the roof off a building, but they can also give subtle and nuanced performances that pull out surprising emotional content from any tune they perform.
Dixieland, Banjo, and Dolly
Raso and Fanfare Ciociarlia have history, having toured and recorded together in the past, so it’s no wonder they mesh so well on this album. From the opening track’s, “Bugatti Be Kidding Me” with its Dixieland feel to the amazing Reinhardt-type jazz of “Blagona Blue,” the combination of the brass band and Raso’s astounding skill is amazing to hear.
Of course they have to throw in one cover and on this album it’s a version of the Dolly Parton hit “Jolene.” Now many people have covered this song, so you might say so what, but you’ve never heard it done like this before. While the tempo might have been increased, and the brass band sound might be a bit disconcerting to some, they manage to capture the essence and spirit of the song.
In fact the mixture of Raso’s banjo and the brass band are a wonder to hear. Like the album’s opening, there is a definite Dixieland-jazz feel to this track which is only appropriate for a song by the Belle of Tennessee. This song also shows off Ciociarlia’s versatility, for while they attack it with their usual gusto, it also demonstrates how well they utilize the instruments in their repertoire to create wonderful surprises.
The Devil Rides Again from Adrian Raso and Fanfare Ciocarlia is a wonderful collaboration between very special artists. Listen and enjoy.
