The Man From God Knows Where

The Man From God Knows Where is a folk opera. American country legend Tom Russell and friends each play a role, as Russell attempts to chronicle his Irish/Norwegian family's history in America, from the 1820s to the present day, through a mix of country, blues and traditional Irish and Norwegian folk music.

Russell & Co. recount the development of the "American primitive man/In an American Primitive Land" - from Patrick Russell who "tilled the soil of Iowa, grew a spate of girls and boys" to Dolores Keane's character of Mary Clare Malloy, whose "first taste of the New World turned to ashes very fast": she was shipped to Ellis Island to stand in line with the rest of the steerage folk. From then on, it's a mixture of country and folk as the cast narrate the hardships of making a life in America, from 'Ambrose Larsen', sung by Sondre Bratland, who learned "how to balance misery, with God's eternal love", to the disillusionment of 'Acres Of Corn', beautifully portrayed by Iris DeMent.

'Sitting Bull In Venice' paints the sad and lonely picture of the once-proud native American chief, now a part of Cody's Wild West Show, as he reminisces on past glories: "I close my eyes and see the Bighorn Valley, long harvest moons ago/And the bloody scalp of Custer hanging from our victory pole".

The highlight, for this listener, however, is the swampy delta blues of Dave Van Ronk's 'The Outcaste', a stirring, invective-filled yet hilarious chronicle of a land which was "settled by bastards, drunks and thieves".

The Man From God Knows Where is a phenomenal 26 tracks, a spiritual sibling of E. Annie Proulx's novel, Accordion Crimes, chronicling America's history since Russell's ancestors first set about taming the new world. Ambitious certainly, but this is much more than that. A brilliant concept album, where the quality of the music lives up to the scope of Russell's vision.

These songs could stand on their own outside the confines of the album. A shining achievement.