‘95 North to Maine’
by Curt Bessette

Singer-songwriter Curt Bessette has been a fixture of the Seacoast music scene for a solid quarter-century. The York Beach resident hosted an open mike night at Biddy Mulligan’s in Dover for well over a decade and has performed regularly throughout the region with a number of other familiar folk faces. With the release of his fourth album, “95 North to Maine,” Bessette pays tribute to the homeland that has fostered his music career. 

The CD includes 11 original songs and one Everly Brothers cover, all featuring Bessette’s soft vocals and smooth guitar playing, plus some occasional mandolin picking, accompanied by harmonies and instrumental bits from an array of area artists. The soft-rock folk tunes have a North Country flavor that often evokes images of Maine rivers and woods, like a local incarnation of James Taylor, John Denver and Willie Nelson.  

The album’s subject matter ranges from World War II to the story of Ray Chapman, the only Major League baseball player ever to be killed by a pitched ball in 1920. But Bessette also injects his trademark humor, spoofing Maine’s busy tourist season in the song “My Summer Vacation in the Great State of Maine.” “Those locals are backwards…They’re not quite right / They’re not like us dear…They’re not half as uptight!” he sings.

Bessette got some help from his family on the new disc, using his brother Mike Bessette on bass and his daughter Jennifer Bessette Saito on harmonies. The CD sleeve includes photography by his sister Linda Bessette, as well as Elizabeth Wall. Other collaborators include Neil Zweig on lead guitar; Bob Cannon on guitar and harmonies; Charlie Carville and Al Silva on drums; Robert McClung on violin; Bruce Derr on pedal steel; Jeff Landrock on keyboards; and Ed Chaloux and Maria Gillard harmonies. Bessette and Jeff Landrock co-produced the CD at Landrock Recording in Rollinsford. Local artist Norma Johnsen did the cover painting of a moose walking by a moonlit river.

Bessette has an upcoming gig with vocalist Kathleen Soldati at the Hilton Garden Inn in Portsmouth on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m. Visit www.curtbessette.com.

‘Nothing Changes’
by Ted Sink

Seacoast singer-songwriter and guitarist Ted Sink begins his latest CD with the enigmatic song “Blind Spot.” “Just when you think the coast is clear, / My spies are everywhere. / I’m standing in the blind spot / Of your periphery.” Lyrically, the song reminds of the stalking, love-obsessed warning so often misinterpreted in Sting’s “Every Breath You Take.” Musically, “Blind Spot” reflects the jazz and pop-influenced style of pioneers like Steely Dan. It’s an impression that lasts throughout Sink’s third and latest solo album, “Nothing Changes.”

Sink aptly blends the Steely style with his own acoustic folk proclivities throughout the disc, showcasing a gentle, authentic and somewhat haggard voice complemented by a rotating cast of instrumentalists. The artist changes course on some tracks, adopting a slight reggae tinge a la The Police on “Upstairs Room” and putting an R&B finish on the title track.

The words often include nostalgic reflections on past love affairs or meditations on life’s assorted trials. “In the absence of whiskey, / The feeling grows stronger today / That the price of admission to heaven / Can be hell to pay,” Sink croons in the country inflected “Absence of Whiskey.”

Sink wrote nine original songs for the album and also did two covers: “Do Nothin’ ’Til You Hear from Me,” by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell; and “Come Rain or Come Shine,” by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. Two of the songs, “Do Nothin’ ’Til You Hear from Me” and the bonus track “Midnight Angel Unplugged,” were recorded live with an acoustic trio.

Released by Absolutely Marvelous Records, the disc was mixed and mastered in Portsmouth and Scarborough, Maine, by Andy Happel, who also appears on violin, keyboards and some vocal harmonies. Various tracks also include guests Kent Allyn on bass, guitar and piano; Robbie Coffin and Wayne Brewer on guitar; Jim Rioux and Sean Daniels on drums; Tim Sink on saxophone; and Carri Coltrane on vocal harmonies. A group of 14 children from Caring Kids of Cape Elizabeth pitched in a chorus on “Take Me Away.” Visit www.tedsink.com.

‘Home Away from Home’
The Makem & Spain Brothers

The Makem & Spain Brothers have performed to receptive audiences around the world, but they received an especially warm welcome at the Motherlode Theatre in Butte, Mont., on the evening of Oct. 27, 2007. The five-piece Irish folk band filmed the experience for a DVD released last year and has now followed it up with a live CD titled “Home Away from Home.”

Released on Red Biddy Records, the CD replicates the experience of seeing The Makem & Spain Brothers’ in a live concert setting. The band members’ intimate chemistry plays out not only in their tightly woven folk tunes, but in the lighthearted banter between songs. In the centuries-old tradition of Irish performance, the brothers exchange jokes and stories that illustrate their upbringing in Ireland and their transition to the United States. In fact, Montana appears to be a third home for the Makems and Spains, who were born in Ireland but have long lived in New Hampshire.

The album includes a mix of traditional arrangements and original songs, telling stories of sailors, outlaws, fishermen and other colorful characters from various walks of life. The group pays homage to the Makem brothers’ late father Tommy Makem with a performance of the folk legend’s “Lord Nelson.” But the disc also features at least four originals written or co-written by Mickey Spain, including the closing title track. “It’s my home away from home / and it’s under the great Montana sky / Where it’s always easy to say hello / but oh so hard to say goodbye,” the brothers sing to noisy applause.

The band consists of Mickey Spain on guitar and bodhran; Shane Makem on nylon guitar, bodhran and bass; Conor Makem on bass and flute; Rory Makem on banjo, bouzouki, mandolin and guitar; and Liam Spain on bouzouki, mandolin and guitar. All five band mates sing harmonies, covering a hearty vocal range and producing a rich sound that is heightened by cheers and laughter from the crowd.

The CD was mastered by Jay Frigoletto at Mastersuite in Brookline, N.H. Visit www.makem.com.