WILLEM VERMANDERE
"Onderweg" (1999, Universal, 546 777-2)
Songs (click on the -icons
for a small audio-sample) 1.
Morgen in de Moeren
2. Onderweg
3. El Camino
4. De spiegel
5. Tokkeldingske
6. De veugelkes
7. Joske's danske
8. Wafwaf
9. Dat raapt geen stro van d'eerde
10. Vive le roi
11. Mijne stamboom
12. Langs de regenboog
13. Trip trip trap
14. In 't Heuvelland
15. Willem's testament
16. Die laatste dag
17. De snelweg
18. Naar huis
Musicians :
- Willem Vermandere (guitar, clarinet, tin whistle, chalumeau)
- Pol Depoorter (guitars, mandolin)
- Freddy Desmedt (clarinet, flute, sax)
- Frank Tomme (accordion)
- Bart Zegers (upright bass)
Recorded at "the Groove", Schelle
Cover picture : Patrick De Spiegelaere
Lay-out : Jan Vermandere
My opinion
If this ginger-bearded bard speaks, Flanders listens : more than a good singer,
fine musician or talented sculptor, Vermandere is a masterly storyteller. It's
a rare thing to hear a man speak with more conviction & kindness about the
things he believes in and stands for, without any pose whatsoever.
"Onderweg", the title of this cd which means "on the road, on one's
way" in Dutch, is the theme and the message of the story this master in the
art of living dishes up : ranging from being on the road between life and death
(in "De Laatste dag" - "Ne mens ga nie dood op dien laatsten
dag, met sombere klokken en rouwbeklag, misschien overleed ie al zonder geween,
nauwelijks merkbaar zoveel jaren geleen"), or about the gypsy in everyone
of us ("onderweg ben je nomade, soepel plooiend speels van geest, je geeft
u over aan de genade, je wordt vrij en onbevreesd, want je botste met tegenstrevers,
elkendeen zegt zijne zeg, leer geduldig incasseren van tegenliggers onderweg")
or from the home-lover looking at the freeway wondering where everybody is going
to all of the time (De Snelweg).
But also in the numerous instrumentals on the cd the music is always "on
the road". The group of Vermandere excells in mixing various influences :
from greek bouzouki to spanish guitars, from Slavic spleen to Eastern mistery
.. in the warm sounds of the instruments, the four corners of the globe shine
trough.
I'm less charmed by the songs in which he hauls up the irony ("Wafwaf",
"Mijne stamboom", "Mijn testament"), although I realize this
"mischivous" or self-mocking side is just as essentially Vermandere
as is his deeper, philosophical side.
"As I'm sixty years now, I ain't gonna make it abroad or invent new things,
but what I can do is getting better at my own thing, purify it", I heard
him say on TV just the other day. There's still space, there are still superflous
nooks and crannies, the chisel hasn't been everywhere yet .. but he's getting
near.
And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about
this cd ? Send it in, and I'll put it up here !
This Album in the Press
- Jempi Samyn in Stage : "Listen carefully to the music and
you'll be astonished by the frequent changes that are caused by almost imperceptible
rhythm changes or subtle introductions of this or that instrument. ... Wine of
a good year gets better with the years. Apparently, 1940 was a very good year."
4/5
- Gerry De Mol in Weekend-Knack : "The works of this West-Vlaming
becomes ever richter, hardly needs any words anymore. The ballast goes overboard
without mercy. And if he rhymes, it's self-mockery". 4/5
- Dirk Steenhout in Metro/De Morgen : "The eternal nomad WV roams
from folk music to gypsy jazz, makes a link between the witty and the profound
and vows to simpleness without getting simplicist.". 4/5
Did you see a good (or bad) review of this album ? Tell
me about it !
Where to buy this CD ?
You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on February
2, 2000, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).
The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't
take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more
than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those
for customers in Belgium.
Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop
with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations
: let me know.
More about this group :
- Hmm. Nothing found ... Probably should add a page about him in the Archive
soon.
Watch it : This site pays royalties, and was built and maintained in
accordance with the terms and conditions negotiated with SABAM,
the Belgian society of copyright-holders. Consultation of this site is free, but
this exludes downloading, reproducing or public performance of any part of this
site. Please do not copy. Link!