Dr A’s Secret Remedies

FOUR MEN & A DOG: “Dr A’s Secret Remedies” (Castle)

WHEN WORD seeped through a couple of months back that Four Men & A Dog were working on their third album in Levon Helm’s studios in Woodstock, New York, the sense of anticipation was palpable. It all seemed so right, that this country’s premier roots act were recording and possibly collaborating with members of America’s greatest interpreters of the mythical spirit of their homeland.

But it also understandably may have raised expectations beyond the capability of the Dogs to deliver, so it was with some trepidation that I sat down to listen to this album. The first thing to say about Dr A’s Secret Remedies is that it is not that radically different from the band’s last album Shifting Gravel. Four Men & A Dog’s seeming unwillingness to stick to one category or style of music has become something of a trademark — thus we get a mix of instrumentals, ballads and mainstream songs, all done in their own inimitable and occasionally chaotic manner.

The opening track, ‘Papa Gene’s Tree’, is typical of the kind of thing they excel at; a sort of a white spiritual, it’s an energised distillation of Irish and Appalachian influences containing the joyful line: “God has ordered from on high/Let’s go forth and multiply.” ‘Bertha’ boasts a slower, more complex rhythmic structure with a heavy bluegrass feel featuring Cathal Hayden’s flowing fiddle and Gerry O’Connor’s sharp banjo to the fore and underpinned by percussionist Gino Lupari’s solid bodhran contribution.

‘Mother Of Mercy’ is the first of Kevin Doherty’s exquisitely-wrought ballads using a full line-up of bass, drums, hammond organ and strings. The sense of intimacy is even more heartfelt on ‘Heading West’, a plaintive, pleading song that stands out from the general rowdy atmosphere of the album. Gino is the star of ‘Sometimes Samba’, an unruly, extended piece of clowning which takes in the ‘Samba Reel’ and ‘Samba Rap’ while the Dog’s happily embrace carnival music on ‘Last Night’, a rousing celebratory number with an oom pah pah rhythm supplied by tuba, trombone and trumpet. The closing track, ‘Hector The Hero And Me’, one of Kevin Doherty’s more upbeat songs, fittingly completes the group’s first real exploration outside their Irish roots.

Garth Hudson of the Band makes an appearance playing piano and accordion on a couple of tracks and Four Men & A Dog’s line-up is augmented by various session musicians including producer Aaron Hurwitz, who previously worked with Bruce Hornsby and The Violent Femmes.

Yet another chapter in the ongoing story of Four Men & A Dog, Dr A’s Secret Remedy should see them consolidate their international reputation.

• Colm O’Hare