Molly Pinto Madigan’s new folk opera The Ballad Of Tam Lin feels as epic in each track as it does as a whole. Each number has its own story arc, playing out lyrically, musically, and vocally like a story within itself. Yet, each manages to piece together one epic tale, a legend love encounter. Listeners are carried through this large story with many fine uses of voice and instrumentation.
“Prologue” combines a drone with Madigan’s girlish, angelic voice. She croons a Celtic flavored line. Imbued with feeling, the soft, slow delivery portends an epic experience to come. It reminds of the way theme music opens the film Excalibur or an episode of Game Of Thrones.
A nip of electric guitar beneath her voice, Madigan, with slightly more assertion, sings “Forbid” over a down tempo bit of folk-rock. Male vocalist Alec Hutson sings calmly, slowly, responding to Madigan’s Margaret in his role of title character Thomas Lynn. Their exchange is pleasant, engaging, with true chemistry between the vocalists as Lyle Brewer works guitar magic in his soul stirringly light touches.
“How The Wind” features more of Madigan’s angelic youth appeal, ethereal as she ascends her accompaniment. “Love, Be True” pursues this folk opera’s romantic strand, Madigan infusing it with feeling in each of her sustains and some start stop action. Eva Walsh kicks in with a forlorn violin melody and the entire episode gets another shading of emotive grit.
“Home” glides in with lush, ethereal harmony vocals. Electric guitar notes bubble up to the surface of a perfect musical vat. Boston folk legend Vance Gilbert as The King chimes in with a handsome regal voice, leaving just enough of his presence to anticipate his next appearance.
In “An Earthly Knight.” Gilbert’s solid vocal underpins the longing of his character’s tumescent enthusiasm. It engages Margaret to question his desires, using a cautionary timbre, expressing her haltingness by steering her voice into a subdued stance. One can picture the two conversing s the drama unfolding between them and its subtle accompaniment carries the listener into another land.
Things take a turn toward Celtic-rock during “A Sharp-Tongued Knight” when Boston legend Mark Erelli croons over assertive electric guitar and bracing violin. Gritty guitar work and a leaping violin line come together with upright bass and a bodhran to create a pulsating interlude. “Fortune’s Fool” takes a pleasant rest shortly after. Madigan is all innocence as she floats her incredibly pretty voice over ripples of electric guitar.
“A Double Rose” increases the dramatic feel with some thumps on Madigan’s toy piano. Her gliding vocal, amidst keys, peppy percussion, and a moody cello, gains an otherworldly quality. She manages to sound like she’s coming at us from some other place and time, keeping the listener glued to her dramatic retelling of an old country’s legend.
Pretty electric guitar picking support “Nightingale” sublimely as Jenee Halstead, as the song’s title character, hovers her voice over all like a suspended, beautiful presence. Hypnotic, spiraling coos mark this song with their own mysterious motions.
“Forbid #2” bring us back to its familiar theme, segueing into “Wormwood,” a mournful dirge that is beautiful in its expression of an erstwhile world. Madigan’s voice haunts while beautifying the song, one of many fine balancing acts she achieves on this magnum opus of a disc. Electric guitar slowly snakes around beneath the vocal, dovetailing with a slow marching beat, creating a slithering feel. This gives this nugget a sinking depth that pulls listeners in. “Forbid #3” features an interplay between Madigan and Alec Hutson that keeps interest in that relationship high.
“Rhymer” feels medieval in Alex Hutson’s vocal, a way of making the voice dance slowly with Jay Psaros’s gentle slaps of acoustic guitar. It makes one feel like engaging a jousting match due to its vigorous accompaniment, especially Madigan’s bodhran.
“Thomas Lynn Theme” offers sweet vocals, beautiful coos, and a perfect nudge of acoustic instruments as a segue into “I Remember.” This tune is the closest Madigan gets to standard folk-pop. Her gentle breezy voice and accompanying violin dance amicably over a jazzy percussion line. Vance Gilbert chimes in enough to contrast perfectly with the female vocal and the violin’s sliding mournfulness..
Threnody” brings back Alec Hutson as Thomas Lynn. His steady, crisp timbre keeps this tune in check. Electric guitar, nudged by percussion muscle, makes for an effervescent support for some spiraling male vocals. “Lady Margaret’s Dream” features another instance of Madigan’s vocal hovering, ethereal, over sustained acoustic notes. It soothes the ear while keeping the ear very focused on every nuance of activity.
“Lady Margaret’s Dream” is mild while being perfectly layered, voice over voice, a sustained note beneath. Segue into “A Cold Bed” with acoustic guitar underpinning similarly, Madigan‘s voice remaining above, like a flag held up perfectly on a steady breeze.
“Halloween Intro finds Madigan singing over a mournful drone. Thus, a stunning contrast is formed between angelic, girlish voice and drone to portend an upcoming encounter between beauty and danger. The edgier “Halloween” features Madigan singing over perky electric and acoustic guitars, fine assemblage of sounds that rocks out with a touch of Celtic charm from Eva Walsh’s sturdy violin line. Lyle Brewer contribute mightily to the brisk, aggressive sound here. His lead guitar line is thin and piercing, like a knife at the throat.
“Forbid #4” returns the listener back to this folk opera’s persistent theme. Musically, it offers a sweet vocal, a lilting violin, and a sudden stop that feels like death.
Pulling the folk opera into rock and roll territory, “Queen” lets Jenee Halstead showcase her edgy timbre and fierce delivery. She fills the mood with dire vibes as Lyle Brewer grinds out a mean lead guitar. “Never Loved” shifts to sublime down tempo work from Lyle Brewer as the angelic voice glides. Soothing, the music reaches the soul as much as the storyline. Alex Hutson returns to complete the duet with a hearty yet self-restrained delivery. It is all in what he is not releasing.
Closing track “Thomas Lynn Theme (Reprise) lets Madigan conclude her folk opera with a beauteous refrain over ripples of acoustic guitar notes and Jenee Halstead’s haunted coos.
Molly Pinto Madigan has undoubtedly created a masterwork with The Ballad Of Tam Lin. Its lush atmospheres are composed of many fine parts with many fine players and vocalists performing at high levels of creativity. Featuring players and singers James Neazlewood Dale, Julian Lorda, Sam Margolis, Kevin Barry, Barry Cross, Dylan Sevev, and Alex Hutson the album captures quiet nuances and fiery passions. Recorded, produced, and mixed by Sam Margolis at Riverview Sound in Waltham, Massachusetts, this disc seems to capture every little bit of Madigan’s vision for this recording.
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