Search - Mary Jane Lamond :: Storas

Bring your own unique response.

Steve D. Heckenlively | Camarillo, CA USA | 11/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not Canadian, and I don't speak Gaelic, and I don't know

what I expected, but for the last 5 years, every time I bought

CDs, I checked to see if Mary Jane had something new. Came

Storas, and a shocking joy.



Without meaning to contradict anyone else's response to the

album, I think it is the work of a mature, profound, creative

power. For me, there is a ferocity in Storas, in the sense

of Blake's "Tiger, tiger, burning bright, In the forests of

the night." The words "string quartet" have been a bye-word

for pop self-indulgence for decades, yet Mary Jane's work

with Blue Engine is so profoundly intentional that it verges

on being frightening. I am not exaggerating my feelings.



To me, it seems that Mary Jane has grown beyond experimentation

on this CD. To me, Storas is an exposition by Mary Jane of all

that she has learned, all that she has loved, in Nova Scotian

Gaelic music. This is what adult artists do. There is a Titan's

shadow of mature purpose in this music. I always liked Mary

Jane's CDs, all of them. I always respected her and hunkered

down against her critics. But I underestimated her. Drastically.



If this sounds a bit idolatrous, there are 2 other CDs which

have affected me in a similar way. Tannas' 'Ru-Ra', and the

Julie Murphy / Nigel Eaton CD - "Whirling Pope Joan" - 'Spin'.



There are other profound works among female traditional singers,

but in Storas I hear Mary Jane in a tour de force. I just hope

others enjoy it as much as I have --- I bought 1 for me, and 10

for presents. I kid you not.



Bravo, and let there be more, Mary Jane, much much more."

Stòras: sweet and moving

Ketsia Lessard | Montréal, Québec, Canada | 06/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another fine achievement by Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond.I expected something similar to "Làn Dùil," but this one is suprisingly soft and gut-wrenching.Some tunes are very lively, including a wonderful one on whose chorus Boireannaich nan Òran ladies (Bonnie Thompson, Janet Buchanan, Tara Rankin and Michelle Smith) sing along with Lamond, but most songs inspire reflection.The arragements are not so experimental as they are on "Suas e !" and "Làn Dùil." The instruments support the songs only. They play a timid role, but add just enough to generate firm images and emotions. Everything is melodious and harmonious. Some songs even have strings arrangements, which is somewhat different from Lamond's past musical accompaniments. Lamond is slowly walking towards something more personal and different from her cousin Laurel MacDonald's style, who tends to be quite experimental as a musician herself.This album offers something very special for those who have been following Lamond's music. The port-a-beul "Cailleach liath Ratharsaigh" has been heard before on the CD-rom documentary available on "Òrain Ghàidhlig" as played on the fiddle by local Joe Peter MacLean; we there see Lamond writing the lyrics down and learning it from the fiddler, and "Stòras" allows us to discover Lamond's foot-stomping arragement of it.I obviously recommend "Stòras" to all who haven't put their hand on it yet.
It is a very moving album to listen to."