"Bone Walker wasn't supposed to be a major project." So begins the liner notes for this new album from Crime and the Forces of Evil. What it was supposed to be was a Kickstarter bonus to go along with Angela Korra'ti's Free Court of Seattle series. Of course, as you read on in the liner notes, you see that it turned into a major project: Extra musicians coming into the project, enriching (and complicating) the arrangements, health problems and software problems delaying the production, and no doubt countless other more minor problems that by comparison weren't worth mentioning.
But then you listen to the album and you know that - for you the listener, at any rate - it was all worth it. Ten songs and 4 readings (with background music) transport you into the world of the Free Court of Seattle. The songs are a mixture of traditional and original material (often within the same song), in a range of moods and tones. If you like SJ Tucker or Blackmore's Night (to name couple a few of the musicians mining this same mythic vein), I feel confident in recommending Bone Walker to you. You can get it at Amazon, Bandcamp, iTunes, or the band's own website. Do your ears a favor and go check it out.
DISCLOSURE: I'm friends with the leader of the band, and she provided me with an advanced listening copy of the album in exchange for a review. Not necessarily a positive review, mind: A free album can't buy that, and neither can friendship. (If needed, friendship can buy some awkward feelings and an email saying "I really didn't like it - are you sure you want me to write about it?" Fortunately that wasn't necessary in this case.)
