Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Tempest has a band name that might suggest a group of sneering, leather-wearing, head-banging metal heads, but the group's music is less threatening and more expansive than its name suggests. Tempest plays traditional Celtic music with a rock & roll intensity that's accented by a wide range of influences from the blues to American country music, Cajun 2-steps, and Arabic music, with some old-time San Francisco psychedelic flair. It's a mix bandleader Lief Sorbye calls "Celtodelic". The band's music, live and on record, aims for a blend that's half-traditional and half-contemporary. Sorbye is an amateur folklorist with a wide knowledge of Irish, Norwegian, and other Celtic and related traditions. He knows that if nobody sings the old songs, they'll die, but if a band only plays the old songs, the music gets stale, so Tempest hews close to the honored ethos of folkies everywhere by playing the old tunes in new ways, using traditional melodies for the basis of new songs and composing songs so steeped in older forms that they sound traditional.

Sorbye was born in Oslo, Norway, and started teaching himself guitar when he was seven. He played in rock cover bands in high school and continued to be a rocker until his early twenties, when a friend played him an Incredible String Band album. That vision of folksy psychedelia captivated him. He researched traditional Irish music and played jigs, reels, and ballads, fascinated by the truth and beauty of the old songs. When he couldn't convince his bandmates to "go acoustic," he spent years singing for his supper on the streets of Europe and America before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In Oakland he met Paul Espinoza and Margie Butler, who were also big Incredible String Band fans. The trio started performing as Golden Bough and became a major attraction at folk festivals all over American and Europe, with Sorbye's prowess on guitar, mandolin, and other stringed instruments being one of the bands major draws. After eight years and six albums, Sorbye left Golden Bough and created Tempest, intending to merge the power of Celtic traditions with the drive of folk-rock. The band took its name from an old Irish dance tune "The Tempest Reel." Tempest played their first gig in 1988 and after a few personnel shifts settled down with Sorbye on lead vocals, bouzouki, and electric mandolin, Cuban-born drummer Adolfo Lazo on drums, Rob Wullenjohn on guitar, and Ian Butler on bass. The band's first three self-released albums – Bootleg (1991), Serrated Edge (1992), and Surfing to Mecca (1994) included compositions by Sorbye, Butler, and Wullenjohn, in addition to traditional Irish tunes. On Surfing to Mecca, Lazo began adding Arab and other world music rhythms to his percussive attack. Sorbye also invented a double-necked electric mandolin/mandola to give his solos more range and power.

With a challenging tour schedule, Tempest quickly progressed from a well-known California folk-rock act to an international draw on the folk festival circuit. The band usually logs more than 200 gigs a year at clubs, colleges, and folk festivals. In 1996, fiddler Michael Mullen joined up and the band signed with Magna Carta, a logo distributed by WEA International. The deal helped Tempest raise their international profile. Turn of the Wheel (1996) showed the band adding a metallic attack to their sound, but they returned to a more traditional folk-rock sound on 1997's The Gravel Walk. Throughout its history, the band has experienced many personnel shifts, with Sorbye, Lazo, and Mullen being the most consistent players. Still, their albums and live gigs retain a high level of musicianship marked by the group's inventive arrangements. Balance (2001) added a bit of prog rock to the mix, Shapeshifter (2003) saw them playing some traditional American music alongside their blend of Celtic and Norwegian folk-rock for the first time, and The Double Cross (2006) found tunes from Finland and Scotland on the menu. On 2010's Another Dawn, the band made a crossover move with a cover of the Grass Roots hit "Let's Live for Today" while staying true to their traditional roots with "Jomfru," one of oldest songs in the Norwegian vocal tradition.

Sorbye still plays occasional reunion dates with Golden Bough and also appears with various fiddlers as Caliban, a duo that explores the acoustic side of traditional Celtic and Norwegian music. Since 2006, the band has also been hosting their own Celtic music and arts jamboree, the Karfluki Fest. The 2010 event was put on hold however, due to the American economic downturn of 2009.

by j. poet, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Here is an American band in the tradition of Fairport Convention during their Leige and Leaf sound. They play "Raggle Taggle Gypsy," "The House Carpenter" and "Tam Lin" with electric abandon and sound like an electric Irish bar band cleaned up for the studio.

by Richard Meyer, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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The results of the tinkering that Tempest has conducted on previous albums are unveiled with resounding results. The Gravel Walk achieves a solid balance between their foundational classic '70s rock and folk influences. Lead singer, flautist, and mandolin player Lief Sorbye is no longer the dominant centerstage occupant. His once commanding presence has blended smoothly with that of his bandmates. Most of these fellows have played together for years but are now reaching their height as performers who have settled on their musical blueprint and grown comfortable with it. Particularly well-suited for Tempest's dual-purpose is fiddler Michael Mullen. He is just as adept at incorporating traditional Irish reels ("Flowers of Red Hill") as he is at integrating a searing Robbie Steinhardt-esque electric violin solo. Robert Wullenjohn compares favorably to Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre. Many of his mannerisms resemble Barre's, including his well-tempered, crafty but not self-absorbed style. He's forever hovering around each song, preparing to plunge in with an irresistible riff or to playfully insert some humorous fretwork when applicable. As usual, a couple of Norwegian folk songs from Sorbye's vast catalog are included. "Sinclair" is a quaint number sung in Norwegian that, were it not for the English introduction and translation, could easily pass as a harmless courting or seafaring song rather than the conniving and pillaging account of battle that it is. Buried deep in the "Karfluki Set" is yet another version of "Music for a Found Harmonium." An accommodating piece, it lends itself nicely to a variety of arrangements including this funky, free-form, folk-rock assault by Tempest. Bassist Jay Nania and drummer Adolfo Lazo flawlessly provide the rhythm necessary for those versatile jaunts into the wonderful world of "Celtodelia."

by Dave Sleger, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Balance is Tempest's first studio album of new material since 1997's The Gravel Walk. The band endured several personnel changes in the years following The Gravel Walk: The 10th Anniversary Compilation introduced new members John Land (bass) and Dave Parnall (guitars) in 1998, while the following year the group's independently released Live at the Philadelphia Folk Festival welcomed new guitarist Todd Evans, who displayed a harder rocking style than his predecessor Rob Wullenjohn. Balance finds Tempest again adjusting to the addition of key members, namely bassist William Maxwell and fiddler Jim Hurley, who replaces the effervescent Michael Mullen (who rosined up the bow ever since the group's 1996 Magna Carta debut Turn of the Wheel). Only singer Lief Sorbye and drummer Adolfo Lazo remain from the band's late-'80s inception. With a keen sense of traditional Celtic and Norwegian music, Tempest is a rock band that prefers to pepper its songs with those influences and not vice versa. Balance is perhaps the group's most hard-rocking effort to date, particularly due to Evans' crunching electric guitar. At times he conjurs up comparisons to Richie Blackmore; other times the virtuosity and eclecticism of Lanny Cordolla surfaces. Evans' two instrumental numbers, "Dance of the Sand Witches" and "Battle Mountain Breakdown," are scorching worldbeat rockers that needn't take a back seat to Jimmy Page or any of the '70s guitar gods who dared to venture beyond basic three-chord speed and cock rock. The Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention likenesses still exist, but this album is the most individualistic of Tempest's nine albums to date. Sorbye's songwriting and vocals are solidifying with age and Lazo's drumming is equally confident and authoritative. Given Tempest's foundation in '70s rock and its string of five or six exceptional albums, had this band existed 25 years ago, it would most assuredly be mentioned alongside Tull, King Crimson, Genesis, and Gentle Giant when citing the elite of progressive rock bands.

by Dave Sleger, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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With this album, Tempest seem to have completely found themselves. Maybe it's the new lineup, maybe it's maturity. Whatever the reason, it's very satisfying. They've worked their way out of the prog rock cul de sac that they'd been trapped in, and they've also outgrown the Steeleye Span fetish that was a hallmark of their earlier albums. The instrumental work sparkles throughout, and Lief Sørbye's vocals have more punch to them. To be fair, they shine brighter on traditional material like "Tamosher" and "Byker Hill" (a storming version) than on their own work, which is treated a little too gently. Notably, they've expanded from the British tradition to take in old American songs here ("Old Man at the Mill"), which might offer a way forward for them – they certainly do it justice. Sue Draheim is a revelation on fiddle, bringing years of playing with her, adding texture and tone. With Shapeshifter, the band does indeed shift shape, breaking out from the Celtic ghetto, while rocking as hard as ever. At the same time, although successful on its own terms, it's impossible to think of this as anything but a transitional record as they head to wherever they're going next.

by Chris Nickson, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Celtic music – Irish and Scottish as well as Breton – has moved in many different directions in the '90s and the 21st century. There are still plenty of traditional Celtic artists (both singers and instrumentalists) playing standards that their ancestors embraced in Dublin, Glasgow, or Belfast long ago – and on the contemporary side, everything from Celtic new age to Celtic electronica to Celtic punk can be found if one knows where to look. The fact that there are so many styles to choose from shows the overall health of Celtic music, and the fact that a Celtic folk-rock band like Tempest is willing to look to many different places for inspiration on The Double-Cross exemplifies the sort of open-mindedness that isn't hard to find on the modern Celtic scene. Essentially, Celtic folk-rock is the best way to describe this 50-minute CD; there is no reason why Tempest and similar outfits shouldn't wear that term like a badge of honor. But that doesn't mean that their material cannot come from a variety of places – and on The Double-Cross, Tempest puts their stamp on everything from "Eppy Moray" (a traditional Scottish song) to the traditional Norwegian folk song "Per Spelmann" to the Finnish polka "Sakijarven Polka" (which is incorporated on lead singer Lief Sorbye's "Black Eddy"). Of course, performing Scandinavian songs in a Celtic-oriented setting isn't a stretch when you consider the Nordic influence in Celtic culture – the Vikings who invaded the British Isles before and during the medieval period (which lasted from 1000-1450, according to historians) clearly left their mark – but still, the inclusion of songs that didn't originate in Ireland, Scotland, or Brittany shows Tempest's very global outlook. The Double-Cross is an album that rocks passionately on both instrumentals and vocal offerings, although there is never any doubt that Tempest's roots run deep on this fine addition to their catalog.

by Alex Henderson, allmusic

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Tempest: CD Collection (1992 - 2010)

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Tempest have been on the road for 20 years, but they still mange to make their music – a blend of Celtic, Norwegian, British, and American folk and good ol' rock & roll – sound fresh. Like all good folkies, Lief Sorbye and his mates constantly reinvent themselves by blending contemporary and traditional sounds. Another Dawn continues their evolution by showing off their songwriting on seven tracks and featuring their first pop cover, a Celtodelic reinvention of the Grass Roots hit "Let's Live for Today" featuring a blazing wah-wah guitar solo from James Crocker and a vaguely Caribbean backbeat supplied by drummer Adolfo Lazo. Ewan MacColl's "The Moving-on Song" is a tune about the Celtic Gypsies known in Britain as tinkers. It's played in Tempest's more acoustic style, with fiddler Michael Mullen providing his usual energetic fills to complement the tune's singalong chorus. "Black Jack Davy" is Sorbye's take on the old ballad "The Gypsy Laddie," here given a dark, dramatic reading with Sorbye growling out the lyric with Crocker adding a searing solo. "Never Tire of the Road" is an Andy Irvine song that he wrote as a tribute to Woody Guthrie, but it could just as easily be Tempest's theme song. It's played with a boozy élan that's halfway between Oklahoma and the Emerald Isle. Sorbye wrote "The Great Departure" after his father's passing as a celebration of the cycle of life and death; Crocker's long sustained notes and Sorbye's tinkling mandolin play off each other, creating musical tension that suggests the struggle of life and death, darkness and dawn. "Jomfru" is one of oldest songs in the Norwegian vocal tradition. Sorbye sings it in Norwegian with Lazo's funeral beat and Mullen's emotional fiddling giving the moody tune the gravitas it requires.

by j. poet, allmusic