Raven Girl Lets Fly With A Touching Tribute
Carol Noonan’s affinity for contemporary folk music has ever been more clear than on her latest release, Raven Girl, a heartfelt paean to two of the archetype ambassadors of modern folk expression, Richard and Marina Farina. The pair passed way too soon — Richard after a motorcycle accident in 1966, and Marina some 35 years later — but Noonan’s reverence for the pair clearly remains intact, courtesy of this belated tribute. With songs penned by Richard Farina, save “Sir Sweet Gallahad,” the requiem written about him by his sister in law Joan Baez, it becomes as touching as it is timeless.
Despite its core concept, the new album also echoes Noonan’s earlier work with her early band Knots and Crosses, given the intimacy and interaction between her and a core group of key players — drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Paul Bryan, guitarist Kevin Barry and Duke Levine and backing vocalist Alan Williams. It’s little wonder then that the songs are so exquisite, particularly the hushed renditions of the title track, “Reflections in a Crystal Wind” and “Sweet Sir Gallahad,” where Noonan’s seemingly effortless and yet emotional delivery has never sounded so tender. The album’s final fade, on the raga-like instrumental “Dopico,” brings an otherworldly enticement to the proceedings, immortalizing these two modern folk forerunners and seemingly sealing their legacy for eternity.
For her part, Noonan’s got a hallowed legacy of her own, and if justice is well served, then this Raven Girl will allow the rest of her wonderful catalogue further reason to take flight on its own. This musical gem shines brightly indeed.