Chalkdust The Bandit Factory

Review

“The Bandit Collection” is both vintage Chalkdust and contemporary Chalkdust. The latter is a follow-on from the 2005 “Pan in We DNA” recording where a medley of Christian hymns are presented. But this is no ordinary plunking down of familiar hymns in a ‘me too’ fashion.

Chalkie is contemporaneous without being ridiculously in vogue. “The Wake” is a medley twenty-three minutes long interspersed with contextual introductions of each hymn. Most striking is the historical perspective from which each one is presented. The masterful combination of snippets of history and the indigenous rhythms form a coda to the classic Chalkdust calypso of social commentary. [eCaroh/ Ron ­ June 2006]