''Super Raoul'' is the debut LP from
Fishtank Ensemble
Fishtank Ensemble was a gypsy rock music group from Los Angeles, California, known for their unique, high-energy and virtuosic stage show that blends a wide range of styles including Balkan, Romanian, gypsy, French hot jazz, flamenco, Turkish, Gr ...
. The album was recorded live at Fishtank in
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
in early 2004 and completed over the course of two weekends. At this time, the band had only been playing together for three weeks.
Super Raoul
A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange by Mark S. Tucker
Track listing
All tracks feature traditional music and/or lyrics except where noted.
#"Bordeas" – 6:55
#"Itty Bitty Snitty Little Frenchman" (A. Seeman, 2004) – 3:44
#" Papirosen" (lyrics by H. Yablokoff, 1932) – 3:02
#"Troll Wedding" – 6:37
#"Pegasus Vaulters" (A. Seeman, 2004) – 3:33
#"Ringo Bushi" (Narita Unchiku, 1954) – 2:51
#"Arabu Andaluz" – 4:36
#"Hora di Bucharest / Hora de Fabrice" – 6:48
#"Le Kidnappeur"" (D. Smolens, K. Kmetz, 2004) – 6:22
#"Hopa di Bida" – 4:10
#"The Last Shamisen Master" (K. Kmetz, 2003) – 4:39
#"Suite Romaine" – 4:42
#"Doina Sonnambule" – 4:49
First and second editions
''Super Raoul'' has been released in two editions. The first edition was released through a limited Mimicry pressing and has a cover with a photograph montage that refers to the band as "Fishtank". There is no copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
on the disc.
The second edition was independently released. The album cover features a cartoon by Garth Kauffman on the cover and refers to the band as "Fishtank Ensemble".
Besides purely aesthetic differences, there are significant differences between the sound quality of the releases. Though both of the CDs have the same tracks in the same order, the Mimicry pressing of ''Super Raoul'' is inferior to the quality of the independent pressing; notably so on the songs "Hora di Bucharest/Hora de Fabrice" and "Suite Romaine". On the Mimicry pressing, these songs "skip
Skip or Skips may refer to:
Acronyms
* SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene
* Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol
* SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...
", then abruptly silence repeatedly. This is most likely due to an error in transferring the data of the tracks. On the second edition, these tracks do not have such problems. Though the first edition is technically inferior in quality, it is perhaps likely to become a collector's item
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any Physical object, object regarded as being of value or interest to a collecting, collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types ...
.
Many consumers who have purchased the first edition CD from CD Baby
CD Baby, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. It was established in 1998 and offered distribution fo ...
have been sent a replacement CD along with a short note of apology.
Personnel
*Fabrice Martinez - violin, violumba
*Ursula Knudsen - vocals, saw, violin
* Kevin Kmetz - shamisen
*Aaron Seeman - accordion
*El Douje (Doug Smolens) - guitar
* Tim Smolens - acoustic bass
* Adam Stacey - percussion, accordion on "Le Kidnapeur"
Notes
External links
Official Website
''Super Raoul'' at CD Baby
{{Authority control
2004 albums