Customer Reviews

Streets of Fall River

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jed Marum's "Streets of Fall River" stirs emotions of days when family and cultural pride were so very strong. Yet so many left it all behind and ventured into the unknown for the freedom and opportunity that has always been the enticement of America. They may have left their homes and families behind, but not their pride of who and where they came from. Great job Jed!

Boston Road Records announces a license agreement has been signed between Jed Marum and Blackhawk Productions for use of music from Jed's 2000 CD release, 'Streets of Fall River' on their upcoming television series called, 'True Lives.' "We love his music and expect to use multiple cuts on a several episodes throughout the series," said the show's producer, Dave Blass.

Jed Marum's "Streets of Fall River" album has hit the streets of Europe with great success by winning critical acclaim and maintaining high visibility on the radio airwave charts. The CD remained in Europe's top 200 most played artists for 3 consecutive periods in 2000. The album has recently been released to the US music industry and we will be tracking its progress on the US folk and celtic charts, as well. Following are quotes from reviews of Jed's Boston Road Records release;

-Patrick Malloy, Director Artist Relations, Boston Road Records

_________________________________

"Streets of Fall River is a very interesting and moving album, beautifully written, arranged and performed!"

-P. Smith in "The Advertiser", England - Dec, 2000.

_________________________________

"Jed tells these stories with simplicity and conviction in a collection of excellent quiet listening."

- John Brophy, Irish Music Magazine, Feb, 2001

_________________________________

"Jed has a very fine voice and writes songs with very strong tunes so that it just takes a few instruments to make them pleasing, but above all his songs are deeply rooted in the Celtic tradition while still retaining an intense American flavour!"

- Massimo Ferro, Radio Voce Spazio, San Michele, Italy

_________________________________

"The combination of his fine, controlled tenor, poetic lyrics and guitar and banjo mastery produce music that pulls at the heart and encourages the imagination to come along. Marum is an artist who can make a niche genre, even one with as large a following as Celtic folk, his own, without abandoning the mainstream folkies (like me) who would sure miss him"

- Jane McBride, The Beaumont Enterprise

Just a quick update on Jed Marum's STREETS OF FALL RIVER album; two tracks from this Boston Road Record release have been nominated for the JPFolk [...] Celtic Original Song of the Year, 2002. LOOK AHEAD TOMMY and the FIGHTING TIGERS OF IRELAND both made the top 20 songs for this category and will be considered for the finals in March of 2003. The nominees were chosen from among some 7,200 albums and over 110,00 songs!

Jed's newest album, THE SOUL OF A WANDERER (released Nov 2002) is also available on Amazon.com. The record was produced by Paul Mills at the Millstream in Toronto Canada and features; Brian McNeill, Rick Fielding and Curly Boy Stubbs.

Patrick Malloy, Director of Artist Relations, Boston Road Records

This man has a way with imagery that is simply stunning! I am a performer in this genre, and am not easily impressed. But I must tell you that Jed clearly does his homework. His lyrics show that he not only has a way with words, but he does his research as well. Put this together with astoundingly beautiful work on his instrument of choice, and you have a sure winner. I would commend this CD to all other musicians and songwriters as an example of the craft and the art.

Superbly good work! Jed has a wonderful voice that tells the stories in a way that appears to have been written long before their time. Fine guitar work, excellent back up vocals, and a true story line. You can't go wrong with this album - puts Bob Dylan to comercial shame -

The first time I ever heard Jed Marum was at a benefit in Ft. Worth, TX. When I walked in the pub there was a group playing - Jed was on the banjo. I thought, "Hmmm, the banjo player is pretty good." Later, one of the other groups performing was running late. To fill the time before the last member of the band arrived they got Jed up to sing a couple of songs. He brought out his guitar and sang "Streets of Fall River" - a song about his grandfather. I was hooked. His voice wraps itself around this song and I can picture the little boy and his grandfather walking the streets of Fall River remembering days past. i walked around my house and job singing the chorus for days afterwards!

So, I decided the next time Jed was performing locally I would go see a show. This time the stand out was "Prayer From Little Round Top". I still get chills when I listen to this song. It brings to life what must have happened to so many people as they left Ireland for a new life in America. The other treat is that this is a Civil War tale also.

"Fighting Tigers of Ireland" is about a troop of Civil War soldiers from New Orleans, LA - one of my favourite cities. This song leads into "New York City Blues" which is about losing the NYC blues in the Crescent City. "Midnight in Montreal" is a great love song. "Look Ahead Now, Tommy" reminds us of the heritage the immigrants brought with them and should always remember.

After this first show I went home and wrote an incredibly long email to two friends, in the music/producing business, about him. I am sure they thought I was nuts but I stick by every word I wrote. Jed Marum is an artist. The way he puts words to paper and music to words is incredible to me. He paints pictures and they are beautiful. He loves the music that he has written but he also loves music in general. I really feel that he enjoys sharing this love of music with people and to see him in round robin group type sessions with people this becomes very apparent.

I miss not being able to see Jed perform live anymore but this CD reminds me of why I like him so much every time I listen to it.

The first time I ever heard Jed Marum was at a benefit in Ft. Worth, TX. When I walked in the pub there was a group playing - Jed was on the banjo. I thought, "Hmmm, the banjo player is pretty good." Later, one of the other groups performing was running late. To fill the time before the last member of the band arrived they got Jed up to sing a couple of songs. He brought out his guitar and sang "Streets of Fall River" - a song about his grandfather. I was hooked. His voice wraps itself around this song and I can picture the little boy and his grandfather walking the streets of Fall River remembering days past. I walked around my house and job singing the chorus for days afterwards!

So, I decided the next time Jed was performing locally I would go see a show. This time the stand out was "Prayer From Little Round Top". I still get chills when I listen to this song. It brings to life what must have happened to so many people as they left Ireland for a new life in America. The other treat is that this is a Civil War tale,too.

"Fighting Tigers of Ireland" is about a troop of Civil War soldiers from New Orleans, LA - one of my favourite cities. This song leads into "New York City Blues" which is about losing the NYC blues in the Crescent City. "Midnight in Montreal" is a great love song. "Look Ahead Now, Tommy" reminds us of the heritage the immigrants brought with them and should always remember.

After this first show I went home and wrote an incredibly long email to two friends, in the music/producing business, about him. I am sure they thought I was nuts but I stick by every word I wrote. Jed Marum is an artist. The way he puts words to paper and music to words is incredible to me. He paints pictures and they are beautiful. He loves the music that he has written but he also loves music in general. I really feel that he enjoys sharing this love of music with people and to see him in round robin group type sessions this becomes very apparent. He is a very warm down to earth type of man and I feel this comes through in his music.

I miss not being able to see Jed perform live anymore but this CD reminds me of why I like him so much every time I listen to it. I sincerely hope you enjoy the music, too.

This is an awsome collection of Irish folk songs. We have known this artist for a long time and this one "Sends Chills Down My Spine" Can't wait for the next one. Brian & Karen Mccarthy Southboro

I first encountered Jed at a small coffeehouse I play in Arizona. He was on a business trip and had brought along a Larivee Parlor Guitar. We chatted before the music began and picked on each others guitars for a time. When he played I was much impressed and this CD only confirms my first impressions. Jed's a fantastic fingerpicker and singer and his songwriting skill is equally as good. The fact that he played all the instruments and sung all the parts is astounding. This collection of tunes sound like they could have been written generations ago and bring the listener back to the times they speak of. Being of Irish/English descent myself Celtic tunes always tend to tug at the heartstrings, but these are serious tunes and tell their tales without falling into kitcsh or pretentiousness. being a blues player the new last two tunes were a great surprise and delight, particularly "Wish I Was Your Own" which sounds like it was pulled from Mississippi John Hurt's own tune book. Congratulations Jed on a fine work.

I have been listening to this CD a lot lately, partly because I'm too lazy to change the CD in my player, but mostly because I really like it. I find myself humming along and whistling the tunes when the CD's not on..

"Look Ahead Tommy" starts the CD with strong American Irish nostalgia, and Jed Marum's soft velvety voice makes this song very comfortable listening indeed. "The Fighting Tigers of Ireland" continues with the American Irish theme, possibly making this an Irish song for the American audiences, but quite an American song for the Irish audiences. The tune itself is catchy listening, but the lyrics probably work the best for people who have an American cultural background.

In "A Prayer From Little Round Top", a man is facing his death and thinking of the twin sister he had lost for the famine in Ireland. This is a beautiful personal nostalgia trip which will undoubtedly please many listeners. "Sweet Ellen Joyce" is a well placed boost of energy after the first three tracks, having such a catchy tune that you might forget to listen to the lyrics!

In "When You & I were Young Maggie" we waltz through an elderly couple's memories, and the instrumental tune "The Vicar's Daughter" acts as a seamless ending for the previous track.

The next two tracks, "Grace" and "Peter Amberlay", take us back to the celtic nostalgia. These songs are good, but not my personal favourites on this CD.

The title song "Streets of Fall River" seems to act as a reminder of the generations gone, but now we are getting to my personal favourites on this CD.

"Return to Loch Moy" works perfectly with Jed Marum's soft voice, and the song has some kind of 'Greensleeves' atmosphere in it (I always get a mental image of a man playing the lute). Very nice! And it doesn't get any worse in the next track, "Midnight in Montreal". This is the type of song that will always play a movie in your mind. Mine has autumn leaves dancing on empty streets. If I was to see a video for this song, I hope it would be at least a little like my mental image..

"Little Child" is a soft and sweet lullaby you wish you could put on a timer to be played whenever you go to bed at night. "New York City Blues" is very different from all other tracks, but it's nice in its crispy energetic way. (I think of 'Frasier'!)

The last track, "Wish I was Your Own", is pure flirting. It feels much shorter than its 2:14 minutes, but isn't that a sign of succesful flirting?

In all, this CD makes a good general impression, being suitable for many different audiences. I have spent full days listening to this CD alone while working on my art and I haven't gotten tired of it, so there you go..

I would very much like to see Jed Marum touring in Ireland!