Search - Last Forever :: Trainfare Home

A fresh look at American song

Paul Hostetter | Santa Cruz, California USA | 10/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Trainfare Home is a very worthy and welcome follow-up to the first Last Farewell album from 1997. Hardly "folk renditions," this is art music built proudly and imaginatively upon themes and songs from American folksong tradition, and might be better catalogued as classical music. In any case, it still defies categorization. Connette's vision is deep and his interpretive skills are deft. The arrangements are deceptively (not) simple, timeless, and occasionally whimsical, without going over the same territory as the earlier album (even though some of the tracks were recorded as far back as 1996!). Sonya Cohen's clear, affecting vocals, once stark and plaintive, now evince more earthy emotional breadth, reflecting both her own maturity and Connette's more vivid and complex musical ideas. They are a good team. The little sound samples on this page do not accurately reflect what is actually on this CD. Get the real thing. Even the liner notes are great."

Fabulous follow-up to first album

Gwendolyn G. Manney | Austin, TX USA | 10/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Loudon Wainwright called this album "elegiac, funky, raucous and stately" -- I would add that this is also one of the *richest* collections of music I've heard in a long time. Dick Connette's music is steeped in American folk, but his arrangements and wacky use of instruments keeps the sound entirely contemporary. Singer Sonya Cohen has a truly expressive voice and an easy way of singing that draws me into every song. I loved her voice on the first album, and found her even better on this one."

American folk tradition updated

Vito Minerva | Italy | 04/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Trainfare home: new and old songs out of the American tradition": the album subtitle says it all. Composer Dick Connette has assembled material ranging from Appalachian dirges to traditional lullabies, from African-American songs of emancipation to string-based folk ballads, from gospel to celtic music. In the process, he has usually inserted his own arrangements and lyrics to make the music his own. Only "Casey Jones" and "What are they doing in heaven today?" have not gone through this reworking and have remained faithful to the tradition. A couple of songs are even the complete invention of Connette's sheer fantasy, but they blend with the rest of the album perfectly.
The instrumentation is rich and varied, with spinet, harmonium, dulcimer and strings usually providing the backbone of the arrangement. Sonya Cohen has an ethereal voice that fits in with the downbeat mood of most of the songs.
I particularly enjoy "John Doe no. 24": the lyrics are "about the death of a man who was noteworthy primarily for his obscurity", as the liner notes explain. (By the way, song notes and the general artwork are really well made). Drums, violin, cello and Sonya's voice in particular gives the song a Celtic feeling and a great string guitar playing completes the set.
Other highlights include "All for You", a tender lullaby, "Bachelor's Hall", which is basically a rewriting of the Appalachian "Pretty Saro" (check out Iris DeMent's version for a comparison), "That's enough", if an agnostic gospel song were possible, here it is, "Casey Jones", whose instrumentation nicely mimicks a steam-engine's noise, and "Down The Road", a high-spirited composition rendered with the energy of a brass band.
I strongly suggest this album: leave the beaten track for a while and try some really inspiring music. The only problem is that if you like Last Forever music there's only one more album by them to date. I hope I will hear of them again in the future."