Reviews
Record reviews for Four Legs Good:
Sing Out!
Cool yet taut acoustic roots and sardonic urban folk music from a five-piece band of quick-picking, saddle-smooth singing throw-backs from Middle Canada. Headlined by talented songwriter Murray D. Evans and the accordion and vocals of Karla Ferguson, their sound blends twangy country, klezmer, bluegrass and irreverent jazz pop most comfortably. A gem of an album that shouldn't get overlooked.
Penguin Eggs
What the heck was that? A feisty potpourri of sounds that slams country, swing, klezmer, bluegrass and jazz against a wall to see what sticks results in a uniquely distinctive effort in which everything sticks. Gone Gone Gone suggests a wry Dan Hicks that features the powerful presence of Murray Evans' vocals whereas Mariachi Song visits a smoother, more worldly Joe Ely with a side of Doug Sahm. This is kooky yet professionally produced material that is loaded with heart and personality. Take Four Legs Good with its gypsy groove and Last Train to Clarksville imprint, amidst sheep bleats and hints of Celtic accordion. I want some of whatever these guys are on. Take Karla Ferguson's turn on lead vocals with Don't Be a Man - bent lyrics set against the backdrop of a heartfelt ballad (featuring a quick stab of slashing guitar by guest Murray Pulver). But whatever you do, take heed. This twisted, irreverent quintet's take on originality might intimidate at first but the disc's pure musical approach will quickly hit its mark.
Uptown Magazine
"A" “You were never you, you were always someone else in the dark.” Great line from a great writer, found on Someone Else, the last (but for one hidden track) cut on this dozen-tune album. Brandon’s Murray Evans has been enlightening ignorant Winnipeggers on an intermittent basis for well over a decade now and, damn it, it’s about bloody time someone realized that Western Manitoba harbours a guy who is the real deal. das macht Show presents itself visually as a cabaret act but it’s really a vehicle for all the styles its members can play. From country to bluegrass to folk to straight ahead acoustic pop, it’s all showcased here. Best cuts are a loping take on Elvis Costello’s Veronica, a surprisingly disarming children-of-the-Vietnam-era tale of Charlie Territory and the wonderful, aforementioned Someone Else.
Stylus Magazine
Three words: good clean fun. das macht SHOW! is the hyperactive bastard spawn of burlesque and bluegrass. Much like new-grass pioneer Bela Fleck, their reverence for tradition is evident in each and every song. However, like Fleck, they are determined to take traditional into the future. Do they succeed? With flying colour! They have created their own niche in roots music with a wry sense of humour and unique blend of folk, country and bluegrass. The common thread between the three genres is a strong story, and dms lyricist Murray Evans is certainly growing into his own as a story-teller. Four Legs Good, das macht SHOW's sophomore effort is fresh, new and exciting, yet steeped in tradition. Did I mention their peculiar sense of humour? das macht SHOW's razor-sharp wit allows them to tackle serious and sensitive subjects with the greatest of ease and the largest of shit-eating grins. The title track, for example, comes from Orwell's dark classic Animal Farm and features our animal friends doing their best to turn humans on to tofu and vegetarianism. One of the best albums to come out of Manitoba in 2003.
All Music Guide
With the bandmembers spread across the continent -- some still in Manitoba, others in Toronto, and one in Arizona -- Das Macht Show!'s second release still manages to sound more together than the debut (no doubt due to the regular get-togethers for shows and festivals across Canada). The band draws on a number of acoustic influences again, including folk, bluegrass, swing, country, klezmer, and even mariachi. Mostly, the songs have a very traditional feel; you could easily imagine much of this emerging from an acoustic jam at the beginning of the previous century if it weren't for lyrical tip-offs like "Don't Become a Man"'s plea to a friend not to get that sex change (or for the occasional tasteful electric guitar solo or turntable break, for that matter). It's that traditional sound and the sense of humor shown throughout the rest of the album that makes it possible for Murray Evans to throw in his political commentary without it feeling like a hammer in the face; the charged commentary of "Charlie Territory" and "Marching Over the Bones" is split down the middle by "Holidays in Space," the pro-vegetarian "Four Legs Good" is followed up by "Don't Become a Man," and the emotionally heavy "Lips Like Secrets" is followed up by chicken clucking in the cover of Bernstein/Sondheim's "Jet Song." The drawing point for many will certainly be Das Macht Show!'s version of the Elvis Costello song "Veronica," but the rest of the album certainly holds its own next to such a killer tune.
Winnipeg Free Press
Brandon's das macht SHOW! plays western swing, old-school country and Celtic pop with a sense of anarchic goofiness, despite a genuine respect for the underpinnings of the roots music they explore. Great Big Sea should be jealous of their version of Elvis Costello's Veronica, which melds well with the quintet's populist quasi-folk. Former Winnipeg Folk Fest director Pierre Guerin co-produces.