The Be Good Tanays – Blue Horse (Nettwerk.2001)
The Be Good Tanyas have achieved a unique cult status in roots music and this solid reputation owes a lot to the magistral Blue Horse. An album as beautiful as its cover image, filled with enchanting vocals, beautiful arrangements and eternal lyrics. Blue Horse belongs to a rare few albums whose presence on the shelf is almost comforting. And the release of a collector’s edition was a good time to plunge again in the universe of a unique band on the roots music scene.
The three ladies smoothly imposed themselves as a natural roots music authority with their signature high pitched harmonies, beautiful banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar.
The highest points of the album include the opening track The Littlest Bird that will instantly drag you into th Be Good Tanyas world and force you to silence until the record stops. Their cover of Oh Susanna is pretty impressive. This is one of the most worn out classic in the history of folk and most people just cannot stand this song anymore. But the girls brought it back to life, stripped down to its initial beauty. Same to be said about their version of Lakes Of Pontchartrain, while the cinematic Coo Coo Bird also has that enchanting power that really defines the whole record and stays with you for a long time.
What strikes one that listens to Blue Horse for the first time is the immediate familiarity with its universe. Not that this album is a copycat of anything. It belongs to these work of arts that seem to effortlessly awake something buried inside of you. The glow of eternity you only find in the best roots music shines like a thousand suns on Blue Horse.
