| ODDiTTiES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | December 7, 2010 (Canada) | |||
| Recorded | 1973-1990 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 38:34 | |||
| Label | Querbeservice | |||
| Kate & Anna McGarrigle chronology | ||||
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ODDiTTiES is a compilation album released by Querbeservice in late 2010. It features unreleased versions of songs that Kate & Anna McGarrigle had recorded on analogue tapes for various projects between 1973 and 1990. [1]
It was first released in Canada on December 7, 2010, and in the UK and Europe on April 11, 2011. [2]
The album includes the sisters' renditions of four songs written by Stephen Foster, two songs by Wade Hemsworth, one song by The Balfa Brothers, one traditional French song, one song that Kate McGarrigle wrote for her daughter Martha Wainwright, and three songs that Anna McGarrigle co-wrote with Chaim Tannenbaum, Audrey Bean and Carol Holland, respectively. [2]
In her review of the album for Now , Carla Gillis wrote: [3] "To have 'The Log Driver's Waltz' on record, finally, is alone worth the price of this Kate and Anna McGarrigle compilation featuring long-lost tunes from 1973 to 1990. (...) The timing is, of course, significant. Kate passed away earlier this year, and you can't help but get choked up when the sisters sing Why should the beautiful die? in 'Ah May The Red Rose'. It all makes you pine for a proper box set, especially since the liner notes lack info about the tunes. (They do include a tender essay by Anna.) The good news is that Anna recently said Nonesuch has committed to releasing a reissue of their debut album plus some early demos and solo Kate work. Happy, happy, joy, joy."
Canadian music writer for Exclaim! Kerry Doole, commented: [4] "Posthumous releases are, generally, annoyingly inferior, but this is definitely an exception. Apparently, the sisters had long planned such a compilation of songs recorded for various projects between 1973 and 1990, and it's finally surfaced, after the death of Canadian folk legend Kate McGarrigle. Scouring the archives has resulted in this lovely, varied collection. (...) The distinctive voices and harmonies of the sisters ― they could sing the Canadian tax code and still enchant ― are nicely captured throughout, but a little more information on who played on which tracks would have been appreciated. There's nothing odd about these ditties."
Sarah Coxson, reviewer for fRoots magazine, wrote: [5] [6] "ODDiTTiES offers another insight into the duo's musical journey: a rich array of much-loved McGarrigle songs selected and recorded for a variety of projects between 1973 and 1990. It documents both their broad-ranging taste – from "The Log Driver's Waltz" to the lo-fi delights of "A La Claire Fontaine" – and that fine line between vulnerability and strength that characterizes their vocals. ODDiTTiES is one for completists, a whimsical and welcome addition to any McGarrigles collection."
Music critic Robert Christgau stated: [7] "A hodgepodge segmented to make sense as a sampler, all recorded by 1990 and most well before (...) All are worthy, two wondrous: Anna's threnody for her cat Louis, which is slight, and Kate's love song to Martha and her dolls, which is wiry. Play it for someone you love on Mother's Day. But be sure to check it out yourself first."
Kate McGarrigle was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle.
Anna McGarrigle, CM is a Canadian folk music singer and songwriter who recorded and performed with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010.
Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.
Philippe Tatartcheff is a Canadian poet and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist who wrote French language songs recorded by folk duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle.
Kate & Anna McGarrigle is the debut album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in January 1976. Guest musicians on the album include Lowell George, Bobby Keys, Jay Ungar, and Tony Levin as well as family and friends such as eldest sister Jane McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle's husband Dane Lanken, and the siblings' old friend Chaim Tannenbaum.
Dancer with Bruised Knees is the second album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1977. It employed several notable folk musicians to contribute a bluegrass feel to many of the tracks. The album also includes three French songs, one by the McGarrigles with Philippe Tatartcheff, and two traditional numbers.
Pronto Monto is the third album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1978. The title is an approximate pronunciation of the French phrase "prends ton manteau", which means "take your coat".
Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse is the fourth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1980. Consisting entirely of songs in French, the album was initially available only in Canada. The subsequent international release was simply called French Record.
Love Over and Over is the fifth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1982. Following this album, the McGarrigles did not release an album of new material until Heartbeats Accelerating in 1990. The album contains a French-Canadian version of Bob Seger's "You'll Accomp'ny Me".
Matapédia is an album by the Canadian duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 1996.
The McGarrigle Hour is the eighth studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released on October 13, 1998.
Joel Zifkin is a Canadian musician and songwriter. His primary instrument is the electric violin and he is best known as a session musician and live performer.
Albert Wade Hemsworth was a Canadian folk singer and songwriter. Although he was not a prolific composer, having written only about 20 songs during his entire career, several of his songs – most notably "The Wild Goose", "The Black Fly Song" and "The Log Driver's Waltz" – are among the most enduring classics in the history of Canadian folk music.
The Log Driver's Waltz is a Canadian folk song, written by Wade Hemsworth. The Log Driver's Waltz is also a Canadian animated film from the National Film Board, released in 1979 as part of its Canada Vignettes series.
The McGarrigle Christmas Hour is the tenth album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in 2005. A sequel to their 1998 album The McGarrigle Hour, the album features a program of Christmas music recorded by the McGarrigles, their family, and several friends and collaborators. It was also the last album to be released by the duo before Kate died in 2010.
The Mountain City Four were a Canadian folk music group, based in Montreal and active from 1963 to 1967. The group consisted of Jack Nissenson, Peter Weldon, Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle. They are primarily remembered for popularizing a number of songs by Wade Hemsworth, including the National Film Board animated short The Log Driver's Waltz, as well as for Nissenson's recording of Bob Dylan's 1962 Finjan Club concert in Montreal.
"À la claire fontaine" is a traditional French song, which has also become very popular in Belgium and in Canada, particularly in Quebec and the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle is a two-disc compilation tribute album to Canadian singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, released by Nonesuch Records in June 2013.
Tell My Sister is a three-disc compilation album consisting of songs recorded by Kate & Anna McGarrigle. It was released by Nonesuch Records as a box set on May 3, 2011. The first two discs contain Kate & Anna McGarrigle's first two albums, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Dancer with Bruised Knees. The third disc comprises demos, including acoustic versions and other previously unreleased tracks.
Chaim Tannenbaum is a Canadian folk musician and academic. A longtime collaborator of Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, he released his own self-titled solo debut album in 2016, and won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards.
