|
contents | blues | |||||||||||||
| Jayhawks Co-Founder Mark Olson Solo CD "Many Colored Kite" Ryko Recording artist Mark Olson, founder of legendary Americana band The Jayhawks, is set to release today "Many Colored Kite, " his follow-up solo CD. The critically-acclaimed artist, whose influential catalogue spans 25 years, has also just announced his upcoming U.S. tour in support of the July 27th release. Olson will be accompanied on this acoustic tour by multi-instrumentalist Ingunn Ringvold, who co-wrote two songs with Olson on "Many Colored Kite." "Many Colored Kite" is the gifted troubadour's long-awaited follow-up to his 2007 personal milestone, "Salvation Blues, " a soul-searching album of loss and change which further cemented Olson's reputation as one of the true heroes of the folk/roots scene and garnered rave reviews for its autobiographical, often painful songs, as noted by The New York Times Critics pick. It's a hopeful Olson who greets the listener on "Many Colored Kite, " with its earthy, neo-folk feel. Paste Magazine observes "'Many Colored Kite' finds Olson fusing his 'desert country' sound with classic and '60s British folk tropes for an album buoyed by harmonies from girlfriend Ingunn Ringvold... opening track 'Little Bird of Freedom' features vocals from Jolie Holland... Vashti Bunyan lends her talents to 'No Time to Live Without Her, ' a song that celebrates love." The Dallas Observer calls Olson, "a songwriter of unique vision..." and Popmatters considers "Many Colored Kite" "unpretentious but not un-ambitious - daring to be almost embarrassingly forthright and earnest, " adding "that's always been Olson's way: never trendy... so steeped in classic American song that his body of work seems to exist out of time." Produced and engineered by Beau Raymond (Devendra Banhart, Little Joy, Mark Olson and Gary Louris) and featuring the core group of Olson, Neal Casal and Danny Frankel, this is a wide-eyed, uplifting album with soaring, ethereal harmonies contributed by Ringvold. The opening track, "Little Bird of Freedom" sets the tone of the album: these are songs by a man who has made it through the eye of the tempest and is looking at the world as if he's seeing it for the first time. Elsewhere "Many Colored Kite's" airy, uncluttered songs celebrate life and nature ("Wind and Rain, " "Morning Dove") and love ("Bluebell Song" and "No Time to Live Without Her, " featuring renowned folk legend Vashti Bunyan). write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |