Mumford & Sons
I'm always excited to share new music with my friends, and if you are reading this, I must presume you are my friend!
First, credit where it's due: My nephew Ross sent me an e-mail not too long ago and asked me if I had ever heard of this group and he sent a link to their appearance on the Dave Letterman Show. He said he thought I'd like them. I guess Ross has got me pretty well pegged.
If I had judged a book by its cover, I wouldn't have even watched the performance. Here were four hairy, scruffy-looking guys just standing there - an acoustic guitar, banjo, keyboards and upright bass. That's it. Oh, and a bass drum played by the guitar player, who was dressed in a red and black Paul Bunyan-type flannel shirt.
Put it this way, these blokes would not have survived on Sunset Strip circa 1987.
And their name hardly aroused my curiosity: Mumford & Sons... sounds like an upscale men's clothing shop.
Then they started playing. Wow! Here is the original link Ross sent me, the band's first appearance on U.S. television. I'd say they nailed it.
I found out a little later, this is the "radio friendly" version of the song.
Click here for the official video, with the uncensored version of the song (which I think is better, actually). If you don't like naughty words, stick with the radio friendly version.
What do you call this music? Folk? Neo-folk? Folkish Bluegrass? I'm not sure, but I dig it.
I really like a lot of things about this band. First, all of the members are multi-instrumentalists. When they play live, the are constantly switching instruments; each is a "real" musician. Their "other" instruments include mandolins, accordions, dobros and drums (three of the members are actually drummers), along with the main instruments they play in the video.
Second, they aren't trying to look or sound like anyone else; their music is anything but predictable, yet always melodic with multiple harmonies.
And the lyrics... wow, the lyrics! The songwriter of the band (and lead singer), Marcus Mumford, sounds like a cross (to my ears) between Neil Young and Dave Matthews, and he is a poet. Lyrics are so important to me, and this guy paints pictures with words. He is brilliant - and I don't use that term too liberally.
Third, they self-funded their debut album, Sigh No More, because they wanted total artistic control. They didn't want a big studio telling them how to sound or what to do. Since they paid for their own studio time, they could do what they pleased. That earns major kudos in my book, especially with how commercialized music has become these days.
So if you have a chance to pick up the album, I would strongly recommend it. It will surely go down as one of the best albums of the decade.
I will leave you with one of my favorite songs off the album, "Timshel." There is no studio trickery in this clip, just the four of them and an acoustic guitar, gathered around the camera. Still, I think they should invest in a razor and some shaving cream, but that's just me.
Beautiful song and beautiful lyrics.
First, credit where it's due: My nephew Ross sent me an e-mail not too long ago and asked me if I had ever heard of this group and he sent a link to their appearance on the Dave Letterman Show. He said he thought I'd like them. I guess Ross has got me pretty well pegged.
If I had judged a book by its cover, I wouldn't have even watched the performance. Here were four hairy, scruffy-looking guys just standing there - an acoustic guitar, banjo, keyboards and upright bass. That's it. Oh, and a bass drum played by the guitar player, who was dressed in a red and black Paul Bunyan-type flannel shirt.
Put it this way, these blokes would not have survived on Sunset Strip circa 1987.
And their name hardly aroused my curiosity: Mumford & Sons... sounds like an upscale men's clothing shop.
Then they started playing. Wow! Here is the original link Ross sent me, the band's first appearance on U.S. television. I'd say they nailed it.
I found out a little later, this is the "radio friendly" version of the song.
Click here for the official video, with the uncensored version of the song (which I think is better, actually). If you don't like naughty words, stick with the radio friendly version.
What do you call this music? Folk? Neo-folk? Folkish Bluegrass? I'm not sure, but I dig it.
I really like a lot of things about this band. First, all of the members are multi-instrumentalists. When they play live, the are constantly switching instruments; each is a "real" musician. Their "other" instruments include mandolins, accordions, dobros and drums (three of the members are actually drummers), along with the main instruments they play in the video.
Second, they aren't trying to look or sound like anyone else; their music is anything but predictable, yet always melodic with multiple harmonies.
And the lyrics... wow, the lyrics! The songwriter of the band (and lead singer), Marcus Mumford, sounds like a cross (to my ears) between Neil Young and Dave Matthews, and he is a poet. Lyrics are so important to me, and this guy paints pictures with words. He is brilliant - and I don't use that term too liberally.
Third, they self-funded their debut album, Sigh No More, because they wanted total artistic control. They didn't want a big studio telling them how to sound or what to do. Since they paid for their own studio time, they could do what they pleased. That earns major kudos in my book, especially with how commercialized music has become these days.
So if you have a chance to pick up the album, I would strongly recommend it. It will surely go down as one of the best albums of the decade.
I will leave you with one of my favorite songs off the album, "Timshel." There is no studio trickery in this clip, just the four of them and an acoustic guitar, gathered around the camera. Still, I think they should invest in a razor and some shaving cream, but that's just me.
Beautiful song and beautiful lyrics.
