They're Calling Me Home (studio album) by Rhiannon Giddens (With Francesco Turrisi)

From Mercury 04/19/2021 15:27

(Excellent folk album that marries traditional folk from the U.S. and Europe to great effect. The collaboration here between Giddens and Turrisi is brilliant and the 2 musicians use their unique talents to breathe excellent new life into some timeless songs.)

This album works as a somewhat austere traditional american folk album. It also has elements of european folk and traditional music from other countries, so it works as an interesting and subtle melding of worlds. The last part is mostly due to the excellent collaboration between Giddens (a relative-giant in contemporary american folk) with Francesca Turrisi, an Italian multi-instrumentalist of some renown. Either angle you come to this album from, you will find an emotional and gorgeous folk album.

The entire tracklist here is riddled with gorgeous and tender moments that feel fresh while also being clearly steeped in tradition. Some standouts include "Waterbound", and excellent version of one of my favorite songs "I Shall Not Be Moved", the haunting vocal arrangement of "Nenna Nenna", the rendition of the stirring spiritual "O Death" and the utterly captivating and unique percussive version of "Amazing Grace". But, again, the whole album is an equal parts relaxing and emotionally vibrant collection of tunes. The chemistry between Turrisi and Giddens is excellent and the story behind the somewhat melancholy and homesick vibe of the music is interesting. Basically, when Covid-19 hit, Giddens and Turrisi were in Ireland, both far from their homes and unable to visit them. This gave them a window of landlocked creativity to join together for this album.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough.