Published on Jan 26, 1999
Rule number one in the music industry: Don’t screw with the
original song.
Collorary to the rule: If your audience hasn’t heard the
original song, then everything’s fair game.
Lief Sorbye and Tempest have been slugging it out in the
progressive rock scene for ten years now, but many people new to
their style of kicked-up Celtic folk and rock might not realize
that the band has more than two albums out (the others being hard
to find). But the long-time fans know these songs, and have been
clamoring for them at shows.
So, as a “thank you” to the fans for their support, what better
gift than for Sorbye and the band to re-record some of these
heretofore lost classics? Did they do them justice with
The 10th Anniversary Compilation? Well, good question – I’ve
not had the chance to hear the original versions. But if you’re a
fan of wither Celtic or progressive music, you’re going to like
what you hear.
If the word Celtic scares you (hey,
any name scares Bulls fans these days), think of Tempest as
what Jethro Tull would have sounded like had they fully merged with
Fairport Convention. It’s
Heavy Horses kicked up a notch (sorry, Emeril). It’s
leprechauns kicking the living daylights out of your eardrums, the
background music to down Shamrock shakes to… and the band is
really from many different parts of the world – but no present
member is from Ireland!
When you listen to this, I dare you to not imagine Jethro Tull
doing “Captain Morgan,” a song that Tempest rocks to the rafters.
(Listening to the lyrics, it’s a sad irony that some company named
a brand of hooch after him.) Try to not get up from your easy chair
and dance a jig to “The Sleeping Highlander” before falling down
and having to call 911. Try to not get sucked in to tracks like
“You Jacobites By Name,” “Queen Of Argyll” and “Top Of The
Hill”.
Can’t do it, can you? Neither could I – though I didn’t end up
trying the jig. (I learned a long time ago that I can’t dance to
save my life. Just ask my wife.)
Of course, if you’re not into Celtic music, you may think that
you can throw all of this out the window, right?
Wrong
. Tempest adds enough zest into the music to make anyone
willing to give it a second chance. And even, heaven forbid, you
walk away from it still not liking Celtic music, chances are you’ll
respect these five guys for the energy they put into their
performances.
And after listening to these versions of older tracks, do they
make me want to search out albums like
Surfing To Mecca and
Serrated Edge? Two words: Oh, yes. (I will admit a bit of
bias, here; being part Irish, I have always had an affinity for
most Irish music, the key exception being one disc in my mother’s
collection that sent me into convulsions.)
The 10th Anniversary Compilation is a wonderful birthday
gift that Tempest has chosen to give to their fans, and is a great
way to kick off the new year of releases.