ALBUM REVIEW: "Yours Truly" by Natalie MacMaster

I’m a huge fan of Canadian Celtic fiddle player Natalie MacMaster. I discovered her online in 2001, and I’ve loved her music ever since. I buy each new album she puts out, and I’ve even seen her in concert twice. So when I heard she was putting out a new album called Yours Truly (without a firm release date until just last month), I was very excited. It’s her first album since 2003's Blueprint. Natalie titled it Yours Truly because she composed many of the tunes and feels it’s the album that shows “her” the most. If that’s true, then the album tells us that Natalie is quite talented (as if we didn’t already know that!) and that she has a very diverse range of influences and interests, but still keeps her love for the traditional.

I’m very impressed with Yours Truly after a few days of listening. It sounds very different than everything she’s released before, yet hints of previous recordings still show through. This is the album that finally puts it all together for her - the sense of adventure, the playfulness, the beauty and the need to keep things fresh and interesting. I have a lot to say about this album, so I’ll just go track-by-track.

1) Volcanic Jig

The jig, written by Natalie herself, sounds like a standard Cape Breton jig, but has a hint of sweetness in the playing that sets it apart from most other jigs. She has managed to take the lovely spirit of tracks such as “Eternal Friendship” and apply it to a faster dance tune. That’s pretty amazing! Her touring band backs her on this track (and many others). The addition of a cello deepens the sound and provides a great contrast to Natalie’s fiddle playing. The jig is also noteworthy because it stands alone. Most other Cape Breton tunes I’ve heard are played in sets of at least two, but here Natalie keeps it to just one. That’s already a big departure from her past work.

This track starts out gentle, but gets more thunderous as the drums seriously kick in and Natalie plays harder and harder. That’s an example of how her band can supplement her playing and make the tunes give off subtle emotional cues that Natalie may not be able to accomplish solo.

2) NPG

This track is a further departure from her earlier work. It shows off Natalie’s playful and adventurous side. Bagpipes from Matt MacIsaac start things off, then Natalie’s fiddle comes in and plays off what the pipes are doing. The rest of the song is a give-and-take between Natalie and Matt - a real duel between pipes and fiddle. The main reel is typically Cape Breton, and when it kicks in, the pipes and fiddle duet instead of duel. The pipes add a power that Natalie’s fiddle alone cannot achieve. I’m so glad she’s finally added bagpipes to her recordings.

There are a few moments in this track where Natalie pulls out some interesting sounds from her fiddle beyond what a traditional player might do. I don’t know how else to describe what she plays here, but it shows her ability to put personality into her playing. Violins, more than any other musical instrument, have that potential in the right hands.

This is a very upbeat, modern and energetic song. It really shows Natalie’s new direction and spotlights her good relationship with her fellow band members. This track, and a few others, really sound similar to her live show.

3) Flea As A Bird

On “Flea As A Bird,” Natalie shows us what she’s learned from her previous album (which featured bluegrass instrumentation in addition to her fiddling). The first tune in this set (this is the first official set on the album) has hints of country and bluegrass playing. I really love how she can do so many different styles.

After that first crackerjack tune, the set moves right into traditional Cape Breton reels. Natalie plays these with her usual energy and fire. Matt MacIsaac joins her again for “The Night We Had The Goats Reel” and “The Marquis Of Tullybardine Reel.” All of these tunes except one are traditional, but Natalie makes them her own.

4) Farewell To Peter

Apparently Natalie was a good friend of the late journalist Peter Jennings, and she’s written a tribute to him for this new album. It’s a lovely air performed on fiddle, cello and acoustic guitar. It reminds me of “Blue Bonnets Over The Border” quite a bit, but it’s an original composition by Natalie. That should show you how wonderful she is as a composer. She’s really coming along well as a musician, and that’s saying something considering her consistent quality thus far in her career.

5) Matt & Nat’s

Just like on track two, things get exciting and loud. With the powerful electric guitar booming alongside the fiddles and pipes, this track reminds one of another Cape Breton fiddler - Ashley MacIsaac (I don’t know if he’s related to Matt or not). Natalie’s fiddle is, surprisingly, just as powerful as the amplified guitar and bass. Matt (this time on electric pipes) and Natalie thrash their way through a very dance-worthy reel. Never before has a song on a Natalie MacMaster album had such raw power and energy. Never before has she been this purely modern! Her last album was made to show the magic of acoustic instruments - this is just the opposite. I think this one might give the purists a hard time, but those of us who grew up on rock music will appreciate it. It may also change your mind about the ability of the fiddle to rock and roll.

6) David’s Jig

I’ve heard this one from her Live album, and this version is just as good. It sounds a lot like that live version, except the fiddle has been treated with some sort of echo effect (or perhaps multi-tracked). I don’t think I’ve ever heard Natalie mess with the sound of her fiddle before, so this is yet another first for this album. When the jig changes to a reel, we get a real treat - Natalie’s own stepdancing! Oh, but it’s not just stepdancing - it’s multi-tracked dancing that gives off a powerful percussive punch. It sound like there are fifteen Natalies dancing at the same time!

Natalie wrote both the jig and the reel, and they have a dark edge to them that you don’t normally find in Cape Breton tunes. I think that’s the main difference in a Natalie tune versus a traditional tune - she puts some attitude in the music. Matt gets a whistle solo before we get back into the jig one last time. The band really makes a difference on this album. I really hope she records with them again on future albums.

7) Danny Boy

I knew I wouldn’t like this one, and I was right. Michael McDonald sings it, with Natalie playing a little bit of violin but not too much. This is a weakness of the songs on her albums that feature vocals - it becomes more about the singer than about Natalie. Michael sings the song well enough, but it’s kind of cheesy and melodramatic. Natalie’s playing is the best part of the song, and she doesn’t play much at all until the second half of the song. This is the only song on the entire album that I dislike.

8) Traditional Medley

Just like the title suggests, this is a traditional Cape Breton tune set. It’s really the only traditional set on the whole album unless you count “Flea As A Bird.” Even her In My Hands album had more traditional work than what can be found here. As I mentioned before, purists may balk but I think it’s great that she’s stretching beyond her traditional roots. One can only play tune sets so long before the desire to do something new comes along.

I can’t really judge a traditional set because most traditional sets are good, so I’ll just say that this is as good as all her previous traditional work. It’s full of bounce and energy, never letting up for a moment.

9) Cape Classico

How to summarize this track? I don’t think it can be easily done. Here, Natalie plays around with song structure and mixes two completely different styles. Cello comes along for the ride, giving a boost to the normal fiddle sound. The song starts off with a fairly fast reel by Natalie, helped along by the cello, piano and even some banjo. After the reel is over, Natalie starts playing softer and sweeter. I don’t know how to categorize what she does on these breaks between reel sections, but they sound slightly classical. Maybe that explains the title. After the slower section ends, Natalie takes a pause and starts the reel again. This repeats several times during the song, and works brilliantly. The pauses are especially refreshing. This song reminds me of absolutely nothing Natalie has ever done before, and she wrote it herself to boot! This is one of the standout tracks on the album. The reel is just magnificent.

10) Julia’s Waltz

Now we come to my favorite song on the album. Normally the slower tracks aren’t my favorites, but this one is just a complete gem. It starts with some accordion, which Natalie has used only twice before on her songs. It adds something new and special to the mix. It also gives us an appetite for Natalie’s violin. When it finally comes in, it’s playing a beautiful waltz. A waltz, I might add, that Natalie wrote herself. I think this is the best thing she’s ever written and possibly the most beautiful piece she’s ever played. It has a dark, emotional edge to it yet it stays beautiful. The accordion adds a slight European touch, which I love. What I love even more is the control that Natalie has with her violin (make no mistake, this is a violin track). She has the melody in the palm of her hands and she teases it and ebbs it and flows it like the (Mac)master she is.

I am so in love with “Julia’s Waltz.” To me, it shows how far Natalie MacMaster has come as a composer and musician. This is as beautiful as they come.

11) Mother Nature

This song is yet another in the album-ending group of wonderful compositions. Natalie’s playing is divided into two modes - a choppy, percussive bowing to start things off, followed by a gorgeous and dramatic reel. Male voices call out throughout the track, and somehow their voices and Natalie’s playing conjure images of sailing on the sea. I don’t know if it was Natalie’s intention to make a song that puts a listener’s mind in the coast of Nova Scotia, but that’s what this song does for me. I love how Natalie tries out a unique style of playing. Usually percussive bowing is used to complement the main melody. This choppy bowing IS the melody for parts of the song! I love that. It’s so different and refreshing.

12) Interlude

This is Natalie’s chance to thank many different people. I love how she made it an actual track on the album. The piece she plays in the background is quite beautiful in its own right. I know how nervous she is about putting her own voice on the tracks, so it’s cool that she did it here. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the end of the track features her daughter Mary Frances Rose making the noises babies tend to make. It’s so adorable! I’m really glad that Natalie thought to put that on her album. I’m sure little Mary will appreciate it when she’s older. Once again, Natalie has thrown out all the rules on this album and it pays off big time.

Overall Thoughts:

I love this album more and more as I listen to it over and over again. This is not at all what I expected a Natalie MacMaster album to sound like, and that’s a good thing. Natalie has moved beyond her previous albums and created pieces of music that move her and show off her supreme talent. It was good to hear all those sets of jigs and reels on previous albums, but it’s time for her to strike out and become a true artist. This is the album that will do that for her.

So many of these songs sound fresh and new, with ideas that break the usual Celtic fiddle mold. I love the integration of her touring band into the mix. One can hear the great working relationship among the musicians. Sometimes Natalie’s fiddle seems like one part of the whole instead of the main focus. It shows that she knows how to integrate with other musicians instead of taking the spotlight every single song. I love all the experimentation (electric guitar, studio effects on the fiddle and stepdancing, non-traditional song structure, among others).

Natalie has been expanding her sound from album to album, but never as strongly as she has on this one. I think we should appreciate her for doing so. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next. Perhaps she will become a star in America as well as Canada. If she keeps creating songs like “Julia’s Waltz,” it could happen. Yes, I miss the traditional sets, but I love the new stuff even more. Job well done, Natalie MacMaster!