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| Special Consensus celebrates 50 years of bluegrass with Been All Around The World (out June 20) featuring Robbie Fulks, Josh Williams & Ashby Frank. |
It's hard to believe that half a century has passed since banjo boss Greg Cahill founded Special Consensus in Chicago way back in 1975 but 50 years on his bluegrass crew keep rollin' on with their aptly named "Been All Around The World" album out June 20th via Compass Records. Get it from your platform of choice right here.
"Been All Around The World" is the follow-up to their acclaimed salute to Canada, "Great Blue North," which found Chicago's bluegrass ambassadors collaborating with their favourite contemporary Canuck singers and pickers (namely New Brunswick fiddler Ray Legere, Winnipeg claw-hammer banjo specialist Leonard Podolak of The Duhks and Pembroke-raised fiddler April Verch), on an all-Canadian selection of songs including "Blackbird" by Cape Breton's J.P. Cormier, David Francey's "Highway 95," Fred Eaglesmith's "Don't You Try To Change My Mind," along with the Métis fiddle tune “Jack Rabbit Jump,” a popular Quebeçois reel "La Belle Catherine" (based on a Scottish tune "Braes of Mar first published in 1734) and two songs by Gordon Lightfoot off his 1972 album Don Quixote, "Brave Mountaineers" and the classic "Alberta Bound."
Their video for "Alberta Bound" – shot in Horsefly, New Brunswick, Toronto and yes, Alberta actually won Special Consensus the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award Best Music Video last year which they shared with Authentic Unlimited for "Fall In Tennessee." Folks who run the Nashville-based organization were likely concerned about how it would look to be giving away an IBMA award – in the inaugural year for the category – to a group whose video was filled with breathtaking Canadian scenery created for a song written by a Canadian about Alberta. Nevertheless, the Special C's were happy to accept the honour. Check out their award winning clip.
The collaborative spirit continues on their forthcoming album "Been All Around The World" which finds the current Special Consensus line-up of Greg Cahill, Dan Eubanks, Greg Blake and Brian McCarty reunited with prior members Dallas Wayne, Rick Farris, Ashby Frank, Chis Jones, Josh Williams and singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks featured in the video for the album's title track (see below).
Writes Robbie Fulks...
"Hi guys, I've got a new record out in September, my second one for Compass. I'll be yakking about it endlessly over the summer, but for now, I'll just offer the brief description that the musical field is quite broad, while the lyrical themes circle a tighter territory: family, getting old and looking back, the United States of America, and getting old and looking back. It's melancholy, light-hearted, and angry, in just that order. It's my best one yet.
"What I wanted to call your att'n to just today is the touring around the release, September through November. I'll be out there hitting it young-person-style, and I hope you'll get a ticket and see what I'm up to. I won't be around forever, you know.
"Reflecting the breadth of the record's sound, each run I'm doing will have a completely different presentation. In September, I'll be solo for a spell out east, then duo with Jenny Scheinman for 2 dates in California. In October I'll be with a fab quartet -- my old friends Robbie Gjersoe, Gerald Dowd, and Casey McDonough. In early November, I'll be with some other group TBA in Louisiana and Texas, then later in the month a west coast jaunt with a trio that'll shift midway through from Ethan Sherman (new friend I made out here, cool young guitar slinger) to Jenny the fiddler.
"Some of these dates have specific FB ad pages and all are on my site and bandsintown, with ticket links. And this'll be the first of a hundred more posts drumming up the record and tour and slow-leaking info on both. Posters gotta post!"
Special Consensus will be playing their 50th anniversary concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago on October 18. There will be at least one member from each configuration of Special Consensus over the years on hand to perform songs from the group's 21 albums with the current line-up. And just between us chickens, it's also Greg's birthday. You can view a Banjo Newsletter feature on Greg Cahill from 2010 in the links section.
In the meantime, watch Special Consensus video for "I've Been All Around The World," which was a popular old-time folk song before future Hee-Haw star Grandpa Jones recorded it for King in 1946 (hear it below), Bing Crosby and Dave Van Ronk also both recorded it as "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" although many readers will likely know the tune from various versions performed by the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia over the years.
LINKS
Special Consensus Compass Records
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