THE BOB MACKENZIE GROUP: Assume Nothing

The Bob MacKenzie Group

Assume Nothing

© 1999 Bob MacKenzie (SOCAN) and others (624193040621)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

SPECIAL: 20% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

Canada's unique folk music ensemble features cross-genre songs and spoken word performance that touch the heart. "Although this album is entitled 'Assume Nothing', it would be safe to assume one thing: this is a CD not to be missed." (CanEHdian.com)

tracks

1 Life is a Poem
2 First Star
3 The Dandelion Song
4 Barb, Because You Were
5 Elsa
6 Some Times of Night
7 A Man Came by Today
8 Hands
9 Betrayal
10 Wanted
11 The Fast Moving Blues
12 Cowboy Rolly Rose
13 Phoenix in the Garden
14 Rain
15 Glad for this Love I've Found
16 Turning
17 In the Desert
18 Pyramid
19 The Fast Moving Blues (reprise)
20 The End of June, 1966

notes

Bob MacKenzie & Poem de Terre

The Bob MacKenzie Group (Poem de Terre) is a multi-disciplinary ensemble melding live folk music and spoken word with contemporary and more established musical forms. Begun in the summer of 1993 by the six artists performing in Beyond the Light, the ensemble now known as Poem de Terre has evolved organically to develop a sound and style unique to the Kingston, Ontario music scene, featuring a strong repertoire of original material as well as rearranged versions of music and spoken word pieces previously performed or recorded by other artists.

While the musical style of Poem de Terre's material crosses all genres, at heart the music is folk. Building upon this foundation of folk music, Poem de Terre draws upon many influences to create music for the new millenium. As much as the music, words are central to Poem de Terre's work, bringing stories and ideas to the community in the form of live performance.

Poem de Terre features an ever-changing ensemble cast, ranging in size from 4 to 12 members on stage depending on the occasion (more than 40 people have performed as part of Poem de Terre through the years). The one constant is group leader Bob MacKenzie, around whose poetry the group was founded.

In the summers of 1996, 1997, and 2001, Poem de Terre presented summer-long outdoor concert series at historic Newlands Pavilion in Kingston Ontario. The 2001 series drew artists from across Ontario and the Eastern United States.

The Poem de Terre philosophy

It's good to be creative and to contribute your ideas; it's also good to listen to others and to learn from your colleagues. Where no one is the star, each one gets to shine as part of the whole. Respect for one's self, respect for one's colleagues, respect for the audience -- all are part of a professional attitude. Doing the best one can is good; perfectionism is not. We are professionals. Poem de Terre is a business. However, if we cannot have a good time doing what we do, and if we cannot impart that feeling to the audience, then it is not worth doing. As well as a business, we are also a community and an integral part of the larger community in which we live. Poem de Terre is about saying something worthwhile and it is about love.

From Review by Betsy MacDonald (CanEHdian.com):

With twenty explorative songs and the creativity of several different musicians, Assume Nothing is a project that has produced dazzling results. A balanced combination of spoken word and singing from different vocalists, this album is hard to turn off midway. ... "Pyramid" touches on more serious subject matter than other songs on Assume Nothing, revealing to a fuller extent MacKenzie's astounding talent as a writer. ... Although this album is entitled "Assume Nothing", it would be safe to assume one thing: this is a CD not to be missed.

From Review by Jon Sears (PiC Press):

This enhanced CD offers top entertainment value for anyone who has access to CD-ROM technology (CDN $18.99). Setting aside the bonus of navigating session notes, lyric sheets, biographies, photos and a complete mystery novel entitled Ghost Shadow, the music on Assume Nothing - 20 songs, three producers, five vocalists, six instrumentalists, and more than a dozen composers - stands on its own. It's eclectic entertainment and an intriguing experiment.

Discography

2006: War & Love, compact disc, 18 songs [16 original]

2002: Live at Newlands Pavilion, Part One: Folk, compact disc, 12 songs (recorded in Summer of 2001) [10 original]

2002: Live at Newlands Pavilion, Part Two: Rock, compact disc, 13 songs (recorded in Summer of 2001) [all original]

1999: Assume Nothing, compact disc, 20 songs [all original]

1995: Pyramid, 4 track recording on cassette, 9 songs [all original]

1994: Windfall, 4-track recording on cassette, 8 songs [all original]

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • Spoken word, poetic imagery, creative inspiration and much potential.
    author: Christine Donovan (copyrighted)

    This album is largely spoken word supported by creative musical arrangments. The musicians surprise you at times with their spontaneity unexpectedly. Not afraid to be experimental. Its raw, and real--and you can FEEL the emotion....if you closed your eyes you could imagine they were doing it live right there beside you! It shows a lot of potential that I feel has just been nicked on the surface....it could be even better with a tighter band and harmonies and bigger production. In saying that...who knows what the future holds? Anticipate that Bob McKenzie and his creative partnerships should be watched for in the future! Also enjoyed the refreshing simplicity of sticking to a stripped down take on the songs...primarily often just with acoustic guitar and very little else in way of embellishments. Even without extensive production and drum loops, multi tracking and all that "icing" from a big studio it hit its mark and the songs stood out just fine. Really believe this is just the beginning of a continuing evolution of a creative vision that is still unfolding. Assume Nothing is an album worth listening to .... I mean "listening" ...the words are really important in this case as we are listening to poetry in music. I particularly liked these songs: Dandelion Song and Some Times of Night. Their folky, lovely melodies and well constructed lyrics were really appealing. Good songs. The composition Pyramids is a very experimental piece and it's thought provoking. Enjoyed that as well. No fluff here!

email

Please log in to email this artist.