Customer Reviews

Out On The Rolling Sea: A Tribute To Joseph Spence And The Pinder Family

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I first discovered Joseph Spence and the Pinder Family upon listening to their version of "I Bid You Goodnight" on THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED: ROOTS OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD, and soon started collecting everything Spence I could get my hands on. To any Spence fan, or to any fan of the Bahamian style of music known as "rhyming", this album should be considered absolutely essential. The renditions on this album are thoughtful and extremely reverent to the spirit of the original music, not to mention that some of them are just plain breathtaking in their beauty (give a listen to "Afindrafindrao" or "Tsy Fotoana..." for example). Jody Stecher (a longtime Spence fan), Kate Brislin and Larry Hanks have cleverly reworked the Pinder Family staple "Kneelin' Down Inside the Gates" into a retelling of the Buddhist GUTTILA JATAKA, and Victoria Williams' rendering of "Although the Lord Be High Above" is as pure and soulful as gospel gets. I consider Niles Hokkanen's weaving together of Spence's "Good Morning! Mr. Walker" and Jimi Hendrix's "Wait Til Tomorrow" to be nothing short of pure genius. This is truly one of my favorite albums, and one I would recommend to anyone who appreciates fine music.

This Hokey Pokey charity collection, subtitled "a tribute to the music of Joseph Spence & the Pinder family," is a wonderful surprise. The surprise is that anyone would attempt a tribute album in honor of the late Spence, an idiosyncratic Bahamian guitarist whose gruff mumbling voice was accompanied by some of the most nimbly unpredictable guitar picking ever recorded. The wonder is how much this album succeeds in re-creating Spence's island zest and audacity. The guest list is delightfully far-ranging, from well known string dazzlers such as David Lindley and Ralph McTell to Malagasy musicians Tarika Sammy and Rossy. Victoria Williams and various vocal groups pay tribute to the Pinder family's joyous gospel singing. The album gets off to a grand start with a big production number from Van Dyke Parks (recorded as an unlikely single in 1972, this is the only track not specifically recorded for the album) before settling into a more natural island groove. Mandolinist David Grisman and guitarist Marc Silber perform a moving version of "People Get Ready." Wavy Gravy recalls Captain Beefheart, as well as Spence, as he hoarsely intones "The Crow" accompanied by Henry Kaiser and Steve Kimock. Singer/mandolinist Niles Hokkanen merges Joseph Spence with Jimi Hendrix as he and his band perform a seamless blending of "Good Morning Mr. Walker" with "Wait Until Tomorrow." The only misstep comes from 3 Mustaphas 3, who turn in an irritating 4½-minute assault dominated by the ranting of Uncle Patrel Mustapha. It breaks the idyllic mood of the album and is a candidate for permanent deletion programming on your CD player. Outside of that annoyance, it's time to grab a bottle of dark rum, sit back, and listen to the warm winds blow. - Rick Watrous, AMG

I couldn't find my old tape of this, so I had to get the CD in order to let some people I sing with hear it. The artists are a disparate bunch. This recording introduced me to Blue Murder and to Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, whose recordings of "I Bid You Goodnight" and "Kneeling Down Inside the Gate" are classics. The latter inspired me to find an old Bahamanian recording, which is even more exciting--but I can't understand the words at all.

This is real find.

Spence's originality and passion obviously inspired a lot of musicians--that, and the thought that they could deliver a less harrowing performance! Really, this is the best tribute album I've ever heard (don't they usually stink?), not a bad cut anywhere. Hokey Pokey also did a very nice compilation of Richard Thompson's songs done by others.