Fiddle and Violins: Spirit

Wild Colonials: Spirit

[Purchase]

I have previously written about the band Wild Colonials and even then mentioned that they had a fantastic violinist that participated on almost every song.

Their violinist, Paul Cantelon, works with numerous bands and also scores movies, including The Other Boleyn Girl, but I know him as a founding member of Wild Colonials, a band born of collaboration between talented artists that had made careers for themselves, but enjoyed working together enough to form this dynamic band.

This track from their 1996 album "This Can't Be Life", and I enjoy the way they use the violin to temper the song, it works beautifully. The song also features strong songwriting, exceptional vocalist Angela McCluskey, and backing vocals by Rickie Lee Jones as well.

If: If

Wild Colonials: If

[Purchase]

Wild Colonials are a Los Angeles-based group of musicians fronted by Scottish vocalist Angela McClusky, who now is a solo artist. Her vocals are incredible with her signature husky quality, and as powerful as her voice is, she can warble out a ballad and make it sound just as interesting. As if her vocals weren't great enough, the band also includes a fantastic violinist who whales so hard on that instrument that when I saw them play in concert he had lost so many strings by the time they were done I was wondering how the thing was still sounding as good as it was.

The song "If" was featured on their 1996 album "This Can't Be Life". The statement that she is saying beginning with that one little word is "If you don't love me, someone will", in other words, your loss, not hers, she's moving on.