CR Avery - Magic Hour Sailor Songs

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 31 / 3 / 2008

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Review

To take the easy way out and quote from the press release for this album from Canadian poet C.R. Avery he is what “hip hop beatbox blues harmonica spoken word Americana” is supposed to be. While that is a very accurate description of what Avery produces on these thirteen tracks (and I haven’t called them songs for a good reason) it’s not the whole story. They’ve left the words jazz and pop out for starters. This album is like nothing else you would have heard all year and even maybe ever. Avery has performed with Tom Waits which is hardly a surprising fact once you have heard this album, and the name of Ani DiFranco is another musician Avery has performed with which again makes a lot of sense. Avery covers much of the same ground that DiFranco did earlier in her career. Avery’s forte must be performing his poetry / songs in a club where the power of his words and intensity of his performance surely are best appreciated but producer George Honesty has done a sterling job of capturing Avery at his most compelling. A whole album of Avery’s spoken word stories would not be an appealing proposition to many especially when they are as intensive as the opening cut here, ‘The Boxer Who Just Returned From London’, is in parts, but Avery’s diction thankfully ensures that even when he is at his most forceful his words still ring out clear. For cuts such as this the words are the most important thing and it’s to Avery’s credit that he carries off such rants with so much style. If Avery could keep up the standard of that opening beatbox fused spoken word track or if anyone who is not a total fan of the man’s music would want to listen to a whole album's worth of the same thing is thankfully not an issue. My fears that this was going to be a long, demanding listen which would only suit my mood at certain times was soon proved wrong by the second song, ‘New Stanzas For Amazing Grace’. This showed a side to Avery that I was just not expecting after that opening cut. This gospel-infused song finds Avery accompanied by a chorus of female vocals which not only add a texture to Avery’s work that was so completely unexpected after what I had read and heard from him so far but it shows off the man’s not inconsiderable skills on the harmonica. It’s also the first indication that there is a lot more to this performer than either the press release or his selection of famous friends would indicate. Avery probably wouldn’t agree or appreciate the comparison but this second song along with the following ‘Planet Boiler Room’ brings to mind the work of ‘Nebraska’ era Springsteen or even ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’. If I had to compare Avery’s actual singing voice to any other singer than the voice of Springsteen would be at the top of my list. ‘Slave Lake Blues’ is yet another song in the same vein, for all the anger and aggression that appears in Avery’s voice when he’s the human beatbox poet he shows that he has a remarkably mellow and emotive vocal style when the song calls for it. There are more than just two sides to Avery; to prove that his poetry stands up without either the more traditional music showcased on the above mentioned songs or when he takes on the role of the less musical but still impressive human beatbox with his spoken word pieces the accompanying booklet that comes with the CD contains poetry that doesn’t feature on the‘Magic Hour Sailor Songs’ album. To say that pieces like ‘True Love In A Can Baby’ and ‘Hitchhiking With Your Parents’ are remarkable pieces of poetry would be something of an understatement. This collection shows the many sides of Avery’s talents but it while it is admirable to skip through so many styles throughout the 55 minutes that this collection lasts what I’d like right now is an album of songs like ‘Prime Minister’s Chair’ where the ghost of Springsteen looms large. Avery is obviously a name to watch out for and if you have the chance to catch him performing live I feel certain that it would be an interesting and thought provoking evening.

Track Listing:-

1 The Boxer Who Just Returned From London
2 New Stanzas for An Amazing Grace
3 Planet Boiler Room
4 Rings a Bell
5 Slave Lake Blues
6 Hell of a Hotel of Harm
7 Moxie
8 Down At The Café
9 Birdcage
10 Black Bible Night
11 President of Ottawa
12 Prime Minister's Chair
13 The Ballad of Charlie Parker and Patsy Cline