Pilgrims on the Heart Road
Peter Ostroushko
RHR CD90
http://www.mandozine.com//departments/profiles/profiles.txt/ostroushko.html
Red House Records
P. O. Box 4044
St. Paul, MN
55104
(800) 695-4687
A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Steve Barnes (barnes.s@per.dem.csiro.au)
Well, this wasn't what I expected! Acoustic music fans will be
familiar with Peter Ostroushko's considerable talents as a
mandolinist, fiddler and tunesmith, from his work on "The Prairie
Home Companion", and from his numerous solo instrumental albums.
His pure, clean mandolin tone is instantly recognizable, but it
may come as a bit of a surprise to some that on "Pilgrims on the
Heart Road", he is a singer/songwriter and his mandolin makes
only a cameo appearance. This CD is described as the second in a
series of albums by Ostroushko that are loosely based on physical
and spiritual journeys. The first in the series is the gorgeous,
all-instrumental "Heart of the Heartland". On "Pilgrims on the
Heart Road", all songs are sung by the writer, with lush
instrumental backing on mainly acoustic instruments, and with
drums and some electronic keyboard here and there. Dean Magraw's
acoustic guitar work is outstanding and the vocal choruses are
augmented by names as famous as Bobby McFerron.
So how does the master instrumentalist stack up as a songwriter?
Quite well, in short. The song "Mandela" is a stand-out and is
remarkable for a song about a theme which has been well worked-
over through the years. It is a powerful number with strong
gospel undertones. "You Don't Know what Lonely Is" deals with the
personal experience of childhood abuse- not an easy subject to
get across, but Ostroushko's is a sensitive and moving treatment.
"Down on the Plain of Reeds" is a big song, inspired by
reflections on the Vietnam war. It's a strong number but it would
have been far more powerful at half its nine minute length. In
fact, the length of the songs is a bit of a problem in general;
nothing comes in at less than six minutes and, in many cases,
less would have been more. The song "My People", however, is my
personal favourite. It is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to
Ostroushko's sour-cream Ukrainian roots and is an ideal foil to
the serious tone of the rest of the album. This is the one track
where the musicians really cut loose and have fun.
The strength of the songs on this CD lay mainly in their
melodies. It's clear that Ostroushko is a songwriter with a
background in writing interesting instrumental music, and we are
spared the all-too-common anonymous bland tunes of many a 90's
singer/songwriter. Probably the weakest aspect of the recording,
however, is Ostroushko's singing, which has a certain raw honesty
but which lacks the shading that the dramatic, emotional nature
of most of the songs calls for.
Don't be put off by this criticism, though. This is a strong
album of meaty material, marked by outstanding musicianship and
memorable tunes and it displays another string of Ostroushko's
already formidable bow. Personally, I prefer his instrumental
work and I would very strongly urge fans of quality acoustic
American music to pick up a copy of "Heart of the Heartland".
Edited by Kerry Bernard (kerry@nbnet.nb.ca)
Copyright 1998, Peterborough Folk Music Society. This review may
be reprinted with prior permission and attribution.
David N. Pyles | (802) 223-1473
Music Alive! | dnpyles@acousticmusic.com
322 Elm Street | http://www.acousticmusic.com/frames/
Montpelier, VT 05602 | http://www.acousticmusic.com/frames/fame.htm
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