Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Rash CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 The fourth is his son, Isaac, who loses his parents to an almost-lit eral Noah’s flood. The fifth and final narrator is the deputy sheriff, who casts a skeleton into the depths of a river forged by Carolina Power. This is a novel you don’t simply read, but feel, smell and see. The graveyard scenes are lush with dark imagery, rendering coffins and corpses. The pages read as if painted with the dry-mouthed sensation of interminable drought. * Water seems to be less a symbol of life than of death; for example: “I didn’t want to be on this water no more.... I wouldn’t be coming back here to fish or water-ski or swim. ” Rash makes water terrifying, and this makes Rash a flight of steps higher than your typical Anne Rice. The final scene where the deputy stares into the old town of Jocassee, now 200 feet under wa ter, is almost Faulkner-esque in its • f-—---; morbid wonder. Colloquial dialogue is hard to pull off, much less colloquial prose. Once knee-deep in the novel, as you become immune to the double negatives, you grow to appreciate the evocative Southern metaphors. But Rash lays it on a little thick in some places. Lines like, “muscles wrapped around his arms like muscadine vines,” work well, but would be even more provocative if rationed out. Some pages seem decorated with regional metaphors. It’s especially tough to lure read ers into a genre associated with so many stereotypes and prejudices. It’s also especially easy to turn off a reader with a character that might seem ignorant and uncul tured on the surface. But Rash’s characters breath, think and regret. Amy best represents the tone and theme of “One Foot in Eden.” Plagued by the memory of her brother’s death, Amy can’t over come the notion that God is pun ishing her for pushing her broth er off the second floor of her fami ly’s bam. But the reader has to wonder about her penitence. She contem plates sorcery and witchcraft in order to give her husband a child. When that doesn’t work she com mits adultery — Amy stands with one foot in Eden and the other in some lower level of Dante’s Inferno. The most interesting thing about Amy is that she’s the brain child of Rash. He just barely pulls this off —it’s hard to say whether Amy’s first-person voice is con vincingly female. But her emo tions and motives are believable enough. Rash has enjoyed a successful ca reer, and this novel promises much more success to come. Rash also authored three books of poetry, two collections of short stories and one children’s book. One hopes his first children’s book shies away from the gloom and doom of his first novel. It’s a little unsettling to imagine Ron Rash reading a fully illustrated version of “One Foot In Eden” to a class of first-graders. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Visionary DiFranco evolves, takes risks in latest release “EVOLVE” Ani DiFranco ★★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY ASHLEY VAUGHAN THE GAMECOCK Ani DiFranco has done it again. Just when it seemed that she had achieved the pinnacle of perfection on her last release, DiFranco makes taking risks look easy on her latest LP, “Evolve.” The title says it all, signifying the process of constant growth that fuels DiFranco’s music. Starting off the alburn is “Promised Land,” a daring but subdued track about discovery. Trembling trumpet notes cre ate a melancholy feel, while the addition of piano gives the DiFranco’s nostalgic, introspec tive lyrics an almost surreal feel. With its funky beats, “In the Way” is just as bold. While the song showcases DiFranco’s spec tacular voice, trumpets and ad ditional vocals add a harmonious texture to DiFranco’s signature guitar-picking. DiFranco’s eclec tic combination of instruments, including guitar, drums, accor dion and even clarinet on “Icaraus,” challenges the listen er’s expectations and illustrates DiFranco’s talent as a producer. Soulful songs including “Phase” and “Second Intermission” sound like secret confessions and demonstrate DiFranco’s deep understanding of human nature. The extremely V ♦ DIFRANCO, SEEPAGE 10 CD REVIEW i 0 » Album captures Edwin's acoustic concert H-1 « “THE AUSTIN SESSIONS” Edwin McCain ★★★★★ out of BY MEG MOORE tiieuamecock ^ In the pop-rock world, there are two general groups of artists: those that have genuine musical talent and those that are genuine ly talented at selling records. Occasionally, a performer will emerge that has the ability to do both, even if it is for just a fleeting musical moment. Hailing from Greenville, singer/songwriter Edwin McCain managed to score a ma jor-mainstream hit with his love anthem, “I’ll Be,” which sweet talked its way onto radio playlists in 1997. He set wedding bands a-singing with his follow up hit “I Could Not Ask for More” as well. Yet when radio listeners turned to edgier tunes in the fol lowing years, McCain’s brand of honest pop-rock became buried beneath rap-rock and bubble gum pop. Yet, as evidenced by his Feb. 25 release, “The Austin Sessions,” McCain has been anything but idle over the past few years. Anyone who has seen one of McCain’s live shows can attest to the fact that he is an almost in comparable performer, a true mu sician with an amazingly talented band that in many ways — from its unassuming appearance to the saxophonist’s sizzling solos — is reminiscent of Springsteen’s E Street-ers. “The Austin Sessions” captures what is arguably the most com pelling part of a McCain concert —the acoustic set. McCain is a phenomenal vocal ist, soulful and heartfelt; sans stu dio effects and over-production, McCain’s honest songs bloom into lush ballads and sprawl into bar room ramblings, as the case may be. The album includes a few pre viously unreleased McCain orig inals, including the opening tune “Let It Slide,” a song that chroni cles McCain’s bar-hopping ad ventures with a biker-esque bud dy in Memphis. Acoustic ver sions of tunes previously fea tured on McCain albums take on new lives on his latest release as well. “Ghosts of Jackson Square” which explores the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras ex udes a refurbished sincerity. McCain also includes a few cover songs on the 12-track album, the standout being “No Choice,” a folk tune that fittingly depicts the tor tured troubadour. Overall, “The Austin Sessions” is a masterful ‘unplugged’ album from a tremendously talented singer/songwriter. Although McCain has yet to schedule any shows in South Carolina this spring, he will be playing in Charlotte April 5. “The Austin Sessions” exem plifies the best of what Edwin McCain, one of mainstream mu sic’s most underrated songwrit ers, has to offer—honest stories, a candid delivery and a whole lot of Southern soul. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Directions: lust across the Gervais St. Bridse - left at Second Iioht _ * As an engineer in , the U.S. Air Force, there’s no telling what you’ll work on. (Seriously, we can’t tell you.) I, United States Air Force applied technology is years ahead of what you'll touch in the private sector, and as a new ■ i engineer you’ll likely be involved at the ground level of new and sometimes classified developments. You'll begin leading and managing within this highly respected group from day one. Find out what’s waiting behind the scenes for you in in the Air Force today. 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