[FM] review of Dick Gaughan's CD "Outlaws & Dreamers"

[celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com]

Below is my review of Dick Gaughan's CD "Outlaws & Dreamers".

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                             A Review of the CD
                            "Outlaws & Dreamers"
                              by Dick Gaughan
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"Outlaws & Dreamers"
by Dick Gaughan

copyright 2001
Appleseed Recordings
P.O. Box 2593
West Chester, PA 19380
ph: (610)-701-5755
http://www.appleseedrec.com  and
mailto:FOLKRADICL@aol.com and
http://www.dickalba.demon.co.uk

This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 11/01
"Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews"
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com

In the rhythm of the featured Si Kahn cut "What You Do With What You've
Got," this release is Dick Gaughan's life code. What it's not is a
collection of sweet but forgettable, puff piece melodies. Gaughan has
dipped into the works of his spiritual compatriots, Woody Guthrie, Phil
Ochs and the aforementioned Si Kahn, added some choice work of fellow
Scotsman Brian McNeill, and once again molded a release grounded on the
linchpins of freedom and equality.

Interestingly enough, although he has never really been recognized for his
songwriting, the most powerful piece is Gaughan's own, the title cut,
"Outlaws & Dreamers." Aligning himself with those who, throughout time,
hold on to their sense of right and wrong and refuse to sway when societal
pressures come to bear, Gaughan sings:

     "...They've called me an outlaw
     They've called me a dreamer
     They said I would change
     As I aged and grew old
     That the memory would fade
     Of the things I had lived through
     That the flash fire of youth
     Would slowly turn cold...

     ...So here's to the vision
     That binds us together
     That tears down the walls
     That would keep us apart
     And here's to the future
     Where dreams will be honoured
     And the firece flame of freedom
     That burns in our hearts..."

Kahn's ode to realizing full human potential, "What You Do With What You've
Got," is given a forceful treatment. The powerful chorus:

     "...It's not just what you're born with
     It's what you choose to bear
     It's not how big your share is
     But how much you can share
     And its not the fights you dreamed of
     But those you really fought
     It's not what you've been given
     It's what you do with what you've got..."

Gaughan also dusts off and presents historical figures Tom Paine and John
Harrison to new generations. "Tom Paine's Bones," penned by Graham Moore,
resurrects the important roles Paine played in both the American and French
Revolutions. Paine basks in obscurity despite authoring the tracts "Common
Sense," "The Rights Of Man" and "The Age Of Reason." Gaughan laments:

     "...Old Tom Paine, there he lies
     Nobody laughs and nobody cries
     Where he's gone or how he fares
     Nobody knows--and nobody cares..."

Harrison, inventor of the very first clock sailors used to find longitude,
was haughtily belittled by the  powers that be due to his lower social
standing. For years denied the prize money for his invention, he was
finally awarded the money at age 80. As Gaughan concludes the tune:

     "...How many lives
     How many talents
     Were tainted by the poisoned well
     Of power from which they drank?
     But the wind that drives
     The bold topgallants
     Was harnessed by an man with
     Neither privilege nor rank,
     And the sailor lads, they knew and gave their thanks..."

Ochs' "When I'm Gone" provides the opportunity for a more subtle Gaughan
delivery. He's back, however, at his snarling best in Guthrie's song of
migration and social injustice, "Tom Joad."

"The Yew Tree" provides an arboreal viewpoint of characters and times in
Scottish history. The battles with England, John Knox's religious
ascendency and the exploitation of the weak and disenfranchised are all
recounted with this closing admonition:

     "...But a wee bird flew out from your branches
     An sang out as never before,
     An the song that you sang was a thousand years long
     Let's learn them before many more..."

Gaughan's back with his unique song stylings, plus moments of greater
reflection than present in previous releases. Having never been a
fencesitter, he remains as strong and unequivocal as ever before.

Track List:

   * The Yew Tree (5:08) Brian McNeill
   * Florence in Florence (2:31) Dick Gaughan
   * Dowie Dens o Yarrow (5:57) Traditional
   * Tom Joad (5:38) Woody Guthrie
   * Outlaws & Dreamers (4:18) Dick Gaughan
   * When I'm Gone (3:43) Phil Ochs
   * John Harrison's Hands (5:14) Brian McNeill/Dick Gaughan
   * What You Do With What You've Got (3:18) Si Kahn
   * Tom Paine's Bones  (3:45) Graham Moore
   * Strong Women Rule Us All (6:38) Brian McNeill
   * Wild Roses (4:01) Kimmie Rhodes

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================================================
Kevin McCarthy
mailto:celtic-folk@surfnetusa.com
Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
http://www.surfnetusa.com/celtic-folk/index.html