Another LP bought solely on the strength(?) of its cover art, because how often does a record cover make you laugh out loud? Particularly one that wasn't designed with comedy in mind... But you gotta love it: the haystacks, the three guys wearing what looks like their school uniform, and of course the shepherd and his sheep which steal the show. The bucolic scene reminds me of my first years in The Netherlands working in a rural area at the east of Groningen, and all those Dutch cowboys visiting my practice in their work clothes. Rarely visited by tourists and/or other foreigners, the northern provinces stick closer to tradition than the densely populated West where I now live. I'll hazard a guess that these guys also come from the North, particularly Drenthe. One of the reasons is the song "Mien Mooie Drenthe"/my beautiful Drenthe. Then you have "I Kom Út Norg"/I'm from Norg (a village in Drenthe). "Ik Kom Út Veen" is a bit confusing (and so is the spelling throughout, which is I guess a local idiom or an older form of Dutch). Maybe they mean Hoogeveen? the word veen literally means turfland, or swamp, as for the Jenever of the title it's the traditional strong Dutch drink, of which English Gin is a descendant. It's served in a small tulip-shaped glass filled to the brim, so you have to drink the first sip on the counter before you can raise it in your hand. Next time you visit Holland, just ignore the coffeeshops (as if you can't get drugs at home), step in the nearest kroeg and order yourself a few shots of jenever. That'll grow hairs on your chest boy, marijuana is for sissies. That's the stuff that the Dutch sailors drank when they built their global commercial empire of the 17th century. Beer too, of course, but that was mostly used as a healthier substitute for water - even children drank litres of it. Regarding the actual music, if I had to use one phrase to describe it, I believe "Hank Williams at the Oktoberfest" would come close enough. Opener "Veen, Jenever en Achterdocht" (Turf, jenever and suspicion) is typical, a country-ish throwback to the "good ole times". I say country-ish, because probably these old European tunes influenced American country rather the other way round. The following "Een Muzikant" (in similar style) tells a universal tale irrespective of genre, nationality and time period: "My grandpa was a musician, like my father and myself...a musician's life is booze and women", etc. It's one of many jaunty folk tunes ("Mien Mooie Drenthe", "Ik Kom Út Norg", "Als Een Meisje Je Laat Staan", "Ik Kom Út Veen"), while there are also a lot of old-timey ballads ("Isabelle", "Mijn Moeder Wil Me Niet"), polkas and waltzes ("De Rooie Koe", "Angelina", "Marian", "Als Ik Rijk Was"). Overall, I really liked the music in this record. It's quaint enough to keep you smiling (just like with the album cover) and played with enough gusto to carry you along, the work of authentic traditional musicians rather than revivalists. Not that I hate it when music scholars revive traditional folk, it has yielded on occasion great results. The worst crimes against tradition are committed by real folk musicians trying to modernize their sound - go to a Greek panigyri (village festival) to see it in action. The LP has never been re-released and the band has never made another album, though a couple of songs were included in CD compilations of traditional Dutch music. I say if you ever come across a copy, get it. If for some strangereason you don't like the music, you can always frame the cover and get transported to the bucolic Holland of old every time you look at it. And use the vinyl as a serving tray for jenever.
**** for Veen, Jenever en Achterdocht, Een Muzikant, Ik Kom Út Norg, Ik Kom Út Veen
*** for Mien Mooie Drenthe, Isabelle, Mijn Moeder Wil Me Niet, Als Een Meisje Je Laat Staan, Angelina, Als Ik Rijk Was
** for De Rooie Koe, Marian
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