"The album: Another name for this album might have been: Songs From
Continental Europe. That is the place these songs call home. That is the
abstraction from which they are born. However, that title would sorely
miss the point of this project. This album is not a destination; it is
an unfinished, personal journey. It is a quick flare across borders; both
imagined and sturdy. It is the faint sound of the train as it turns the
corner, away from well-worn landmarks and cultural filing cabinets. This
album is a sequence of questions: Why do the trains keep stopping at the
same stations? Why do our musical stories seem to travel in only one direction?
Why does our luggage seem so worn, when we actually go nowhere? In the
end, the only map one needs is the songs themselves. These songs came
to us over a period of years. Some arrived in unmarked parcels, some were
heard crackling in the night air. Some of them were rumours and some of
them were promises fulfilled. All of them came to us shellacked with coincidence
and kindness. We certainly must thank the songwriters, the song-givers,
the generous musicians, the recordists, and the translators for helping
us to pull this album together. Without them, we would still be waiting
for the same old train."
- Chris Eckman, Seattle, March 19, 2000
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The Walkabouts' second collection of covers comes with a quite definite
theme, a musical tour of Europe, ranging from Greece in the South all
the way up to Norway. And it's most definitely a journey, one which suits
the darker, more introspective, and very literate nature of this Seattle
band. But the ground covered is more than geographic; not many bands could
move from Greek icon Mikis Theodorakis to Krautrockers Neu! on the same
record. But the Walkabouts, whose career has largely happened in Europe,
handle it with aplomb, throwing up plenty of changes in arrangements and
working hard to penetrate to the core of a song, even the enigmatic "Solex
in a Slipshod Style," on the face of it an odd choice, coming from
Dutch sampling queen Solex. A few of the writers might be familiar to
Americans, like Jacques Brel and Scott Walker, but the majority of the
names will be unknown -- a good thing, since the music can be judged on
the interpretation, not the original version. A few famous friends, like
R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Los Lobos sax man Steve Berlin add contributions,
but it's the band who make it special, with Carla Torgerson's velvety
voice caressing the lyrics while Chris Eckman worries his way into others.
It might not be the most relaxing journey on offer, but it's one of the
most rewarding, a night train across a Europe, not only through the countries,
but also the hearts, minds, and souls.
(by Chris Nickson , All
Music Guide)
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