Various Artists-'Til We Out Number 'Em Songs of Woody Guthrie (2000)

Since becoming a Woody Guthrie fan, some time ago, I have come to realize that he must have been one cool ass guy;  a white guy in the 1940's traveling and squatting all over the place, making friends with tons of different races of people and singing songs of their plight and  more or less just"sticking it to the man" in, so many ways.   Stating all that it's probably pretty easy to see why I would say "ok" and try a tribute compilation to him; I mean, how bad could it really be?  Well, it sucked balls.


'Til We Out Number 'Em Songs of Woody Guthrie is a 17 track compilation, (unless its the MP3 version then there are 19 tracks), tribute album with a lot of the modern hippie folksy types that produce really bad covers.  Now granted I'm partial to liking this due to it being cover/tribute album for Woody Guthrie, so I should have really liked it but some of these artists sounded really freakin' awful.  Maybe it's because in my head I'm hearing the original song, with its old recording quality and his vocals portraying an idea of equality in a time of inequality, and these cover made me skip the tracks on a lot of the songs.  A couple of these artists even made me want to listen just to hear its horribleness, while a few weren't too horrible.  (Along with all of this, I'm not a fan of any of these artists in the first place: Arlo Guthrie, Billy Bragg, definitely don't like Bruce Springsteen & Indigo Girls)

I had much higher hopes for this release, but I guess I should have been thinking more correctly and realized that if I didn't like most of these musicians in the first place, then I wouldn't like their cover/tribute songs.  Even though it has something to do with Woody Guthtie, it just doesn't feel like Woody Guthrie. I suppose if you are interested you should check it out, but I will not listen to it again.

Official score- 1/5

Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse- Self Titled (1972)

I found this album years ago, while surfing the internet for something new to hear.  I have never seen this album anywhere to buy, but have found it online, for a ton of cash, so download it if you think you are interested.  There isn't very much information to be found online for Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse, but this album isn't too bad and definitely worth a listen.


From what I can gather, Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse was comprised of different musicians that were in some sort of hippie-folk playing commune, in Holland around the early 70's; and their name means "The Organization for Protection of Life", how hippie is that?  This self titled album is a really good example of progressive folk, mixed with early Danish psychedelic.  The album is comprised of the usual instruments: guitars, bass, drums, woodwinds, etc., but the one thing that does stand out is the rhythms and structures of their songs.  Most folk type albums that I have heard are your standard peace loving acoustic guitar with melodic vocals-not that exciting, and I'm not saying that this will rock your world, but they way they structure their songs with all the different instruments and beats produced by the drumming or rhythmical instrumentation lends to some unique tunage.  With 9 tracks that cover a pretty broad spectrum, folk wise, this is something that can be a great addition to any music fans collection.

Now, with all that being said, it is folk, which in my opinion is not a genre that I am going to get too excited about; and with vocals being in Dutch, this is an album that is for that "certain niche".  I like this album, and in fact I am sure that I played this when I was doing a local radio show with Gene Cesspool.  I recommend this, but if you don't like being unable to understand the language of the vocals, don't like folk music and not a fan of early prog., then this will not be for you.

Official score- 3.5/5

The Extraordinaires-Electric and Benevolent (2009)

This is the newest album by The Extraordinaires, and it has shortly become one of my newest favorite albums, that I have discovered.  I first discovered these guys a year or so again, by finding their previous release, Short Stories.  The Extraordinaires have a wonderful way of telling stories vocally, while they mix different genres and tempos to give you something new to hear everytime you listen to the album.  I find myself being very picky, my wife calls me an elitist, when it comes to music; I want to be entertained, have the music be intriguing enough to keep my attention, so I don't skip the song to find a good one, and feel like the musician more or less knows what they are doing; and these guys, they have all those qualities.
This album has a cleaner sound then their 2 previous releases, but it doesn't lose any of the eccentric build and quality that they had before.  I can't really come up with any complaints; but I will be honest, I am not a fan of the vocals on track 4, Consummation of Lights, for some reason, the vocals make me think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which for me, totally sucks.  Every other song, has multiple changes in timing and instrumentation, and then folds back into a great melody that makes you want to sing along; which I usually do back and forth on my daily commute.  The vocals themselves are really appealing, and each song contains its own story or dialogue; and like I said before, this helps with being able to find something new, either vocally or instrumentation wise, each time you listen to it. 
Electric and Benevolent is a great album, totally worth the price if you can get a copy, 10 tracks in all and lets not forget the awesome and inventive packaging these guys have with each album they do.  (book and cd, that covers the stories that are being sang!)  As of right now, they are on tour, so go out and find a way to go see them.

Official score: 4/5

Update: The Extraordinaires are wanting votes for them to go to Bonnaroo, download their stuff here.