![]() ![]() ![]() The final verse describes the narrator's return home, but we are left with the impression that the journey has not yet ended. We then hear about the exploits of Goodtime Mary and the lady soldiers, who are also drawn to temptation as Dreamland is coming on. We hear about the flag of conquest that has been wrapped around the narrator, but even with this sense of national identity, they are still able to long for Dreamland. The verses that follow add more detail to the journey narrative. We can interpret Dreamland to be a place of rest, beauty, and perhaps even a sense of security that the narrator longs for in the face of the harsh realities of their current surroundings. It is in this moment that Dreamland comes on. The cook sings a carnival song as the narrator seeks some respite from the heat by finding a shady spot. These are likely allusions to a tropical location. They are in a place where donkey vendors are slicing coconut and black babies are covered in baking flour. The opening line tells us that it is a long way from where the narrator currently is to Canada. And although the voices on the recently resurrected “Dark Lover” – originally found on the ensemble’s album of a 30-years vintage – shape a gloomy anthem, it’s the finale of “Pål Sine Høner” that ultimately steals the show by melding a harmonica on a children’s ditty and leading the number through a translucent fusion lace to the Mississippi Delta to land on the blues to great effect.The song "Dreamland" by Roger McGuinn tells a story of a journey and a longing for a place that seems too far away. However, if the frivolous Norse dance embedded in “The Optimist” will be briefly taken to the Caribbean once the band’s second co-founder Adolfo Lazo’s drums go off on a tangent, Lief-penned “Dream Morris” is riding a rustic vibe, whereas “Shepherd’s Daughter” and “The Devil And The Farmer” – both are bolstered with co-producer Robert Berry‘s ivories – elevate ancient belligerence to contemporary standards of heroic epos. As a result, the electric charge of “Hjemreise” – the offering’s title track whose Norwegian lyrics are pierced by Nikolay Georgiev’s six strings, as are the Swedish lines Lee Corbie-Wells has woven into the heaviosity of murder ballad “De Två Systrarna” – is bound to strike a chord with the hardest of hearts. Such an approach, applied across the entire record, renders it riveting, so when vocals arrive on the scene to serve up an arresting reading of Roger McGuinn’s “Jolly Roger” for a contrast, revealing the platter’s profound depth in the safety net of fiddle and organ, which rage to the groove of bodhrán until guitar soars for a solo, one’s psyche is ready to fathom this scope. Preston’s Favorite” – deliberately stumbling at the traditional tune’s start before hitting the collective’s instrumental stride and letting riffs cut mandolin filigree to usher in the snippers of other melodies. That’s why the band don’t take time to build momentum and immediately set their remote guests reeling with live staple “Mrs. ![]() Free to stalk the stages again, post-lockdowns, Lief Sorbye’s ensemble deliver an international tour de force where “Going Home” should signal the return to his Scandinavian roots and trace his music back to Albion rather than relocate songs to American soil – only there’s a twist at the album’s tail end, and quite a few unexpected delights thrown in for the listener’s utmost pleasure. It’s good to check in on this group once in a while to see that the Celtic rock stalwarts not only still demonstrate the same robustness they bristled with at the turn of the century but also further their creative streak, geographical expanse and stylistic grip on all things folk. Three decades down the line from their debut, mainstays of folk scene make an impressive statement. ![]()
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