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Reviews of Gordon Bok's Music

Review from Sing Out! Magazine Fall 2005 Vol. 49 #3

GORDON BOK

Apples in the Basket

Timberhead  Music 15

Apples in the Basket is named for the beautiful autumnal song written by Judy Goodenough that leads off this CD. The album is yet another in Gordon Bok’s long series of masterful recordings of traditional and folk songs and tunes and modern songs, almost all of which seem like they are traditional.
I could easily go on about every song on this album, about how Bok’s baritone voice wraps itself beautifully around the lyrics and about how perfect his guitar arrangements are. There isn’t space to do that for every song, so I’ll mention a few highlights. “The Maiden in Bird’s Plumage,” is a translation of a traditional Danish ballad whose story unfolds in a Bok-composed melody that is reminiscent of “Matty Groves.” “A Shearer’s Lament” and “Waiting for the Rain,” are two vivid Australian songs that Bok performs in a medley. The words to the former were written by Matt O’Connor and the latter by John Neilson, but both are very much in the poem-song tradition of Henry Lawson. “Heading for Home,” written by Peggy Seeger, is a moving song about aging and mortality.
“The Old Figurehead Carver,” a poem written by H.A. Cody in 1925 and set to music in recent years by Dick Swain, is a beautiful tribute to a craftsman whose work decorated the Marco Polo, the legendary tall ship from Saint John, New Brunswick. It is one of several songs that feature some lovely harmonies and chorus vocals from Anne Dodson, Carol Rohl, Cindy Kallet, Matt Szostak and Will Brown. Another is a new version of Bok’s own masterpieces, “The Hills of Isle au Haut,” a beautiful song about a mythical Maine island that has become a modern folk classic. This album is highly recommended.

by Mike Regenstreif

 

from the July/August 2005  "the folknik" newsletter of the San Francisco Folk Music Club

GORDON BOK:  Apples in the Basket. Timberhead Music, Box
840, Camden. ME 01843; 207-236-2707;

Is each new Bok recording superior to earlier ones? Probably not, but they're certainly fresh, exciting, and totally absorbing. In Apples in the Basket we have an extraordinary variety of song sources, but they all fit into this harmonious 53-minute, 14-song offering. His notes say: "Here's a travel through some of the songs that have engaged my life these last few years."

Only one is a Bok original (a new version of "The Hills of Isle Au Haut"), although some are poems he set to music. Included are three songs from Australia (two are sharers' songs) plus traditional songs and music from England, Chile, Denmark, Venezuela, Orkney, and Newfoundland. Contemporary originals come from Peggy Seeger, Judy Goodenough, Dave Goulder, and Mary Garvey.  My favorites include Judy Goodenough's "Apples in the Basket," the sorrowful "Recruited Collier"; Peggy Seeger's "Heading for Home"; and the new-to-me extraordinary ballad "The Old Figurehead Carver", the beauty of which is underscored by Gordon's being a woodcarver.

These and other tunes tug at and enter heart and mind, bringing joy and concern as we experience the life of each. That one can buy such emotional fulfillment for a mere $15 is awesome. Gordon plays Spanish and 12-string guitar, viol, and laud. Other musicians and singers are Carol Rohl, harp and vocals, Doreen Conboy, bass viol and vocalists Anne Dodson, Cindy Kallet, Matt Szostak, Will Brown, and Elmer Beal.

by Faith Petric