Parades and Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected by Carl Sandburg

by Dan Zanes

Overview

Fans who have followed Dan Zanes since 2001's Rocket Ship Beach probably noticed that the usual hubbub didn't attend the release of his 2004 album Sea Music. That was by design -- Zanes wasn't sure a crowd accustomed to "Polly Wolly Doodle" could handle songs not aimed squarely at kids (drinking and general debauchery were among the subjects). He was wrong, of course -- Sea Music is among his mostly highly regarded discs -- and one hopes the lesson will lead to the masses discovering Parades and Panoramas, possibly his best and definitely his most ambitious CD yet. Zanes, wild-haired and wildly optimistic, refuses to strut the musical easy street: Panoramas is adapted directly from Carl Sandburg's 1927 book The American Songbag, a collection of the poet's observations of a "ragbag" America. Because of its origins, the disc can sound straight out of a Coen Brothers movie -- you can practically see the dust kicking up on "Roll the Chariot" and "The Railroad Cars Are Coming." But the effect, rather than dulling the music's colors and textures or sweeping it into a corner alongside other Americana oddities, brightens what's on offer. Credit the unsurpassed inventiveness of Zanes and his usual collaborators, including Donald Saaf, Barbara Brousal, and Cynthia Hopkins. Some of these 25 songs are silly ("The Monkey's Wedding"), some devastatingly sad ("Lonesome Road"), and some flat-out, stunningly beautiful ("When the Curtains of Night Are Pinned Back"). All, however, will stay with you and your kids, permanently pinning back the curtains on a panorama you never knew existed but are enchanted to discover. ~ Tammy La Gorce

Product Details

Release Date:	09/14/2004
Label:	Festival Five Records
UPC:	0800495000727
Rank:	133010

Tracks

1. Wanderin'
2. The Railroad Cars Are Coming
3. Titanic
4. Railroad Bill
5. Roll the Chariot
6. Waillie, Waillie!
7. California
8. All Night Long
9. The E-RI-E
10. The Shanty-Man's Life
11. I Was Born Almost Ten Thousand Years Ago
12. Lo Que Digo
13. Cuckoo Waltz
14. Across the Western Ocean
15. The Monkey's Wedding
16. The Midnight Train
17. Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!
18. Lonesome Road
19. The Son of a Gambolier
20. The Colorado Trail
21. Willy the Weeper
22. Lord Lovel
23. Lincoln and Liberty
24. When the Curtains of Night Are Pinned Back
25. Ezekiel, You and Me

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dan Zanes   Primary Artist,Banjo,Cuatro,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Mandolin,Harmonica,Percussion,Pedal Steel,Lap Steel Guitar,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String)
Donald Saaf   Tenor Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,Cavaquinho
Barbara Brousal   Vocals,Mandolin
Anna Zanes   Vocals
Sonya Greenberg   Flute
Simone Marton   Flute
Zuri Barnes   Vocals
Katie Brewster   Flute
Jenell Marshall   Vocals
David O Jones   Vocals,Concertina,Tin Whistle
Naomi Wood   Flute
Mollie Dohertey   Flute
Hannah Hodson   Flute
Lyris Hung   Fiddle
Casey McSherry   Vocals
Andrew Mockler   Vocals,French Horn
Lucas Mockler   Vocals
Suzanne Sullivan   Vocals
Oona Mockler   Percussion,Tambourine
Jenny Mockler   Vocals
Allie Medina   Flute
Simon Kirke   Drums
Bob Sullivan   Guitar
Colin Brooks   Drums,Djembe,Percussion
Dave Hofstra   Tuba
Cynthia Hopkins   Piano,Vocals,Accordion
Wayne Rhoden   Vocals
Tareq Abboushi   Bazouki
Louise Sullivan   Vocals
Sophia Mockler   Violin,Vocals
Rob Friedman   Wurlitzer,Pump Organ,Pedal Steel,Piano (Electric)
Jerry Marotta   Drums,Gourd,Percussion
Aggie Decaul   Vocals
Laura Gilbert   Conductor
Marc Ribot   Banjo,Dobro,Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Yoshi Waki   Bass,Bass (Upright),Bass (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Carl Sandburg   Collection,Liner Notes,Photography
Garrison Keillor   Introduction
John Elliott   Flute Arrangement
Dan Zanes   Producer,Liner Notes
Len Steckler   Photography
Nell Dorr   Photography
Astrid Lewis Reedy   Design
Wayne Rhoden   Dialogue
Rob Friedman   Mixing,Engineer
Phil Klum   Mastering
Laura Gilbert   Organizer