The Pale was the name for a limited geographical area of Tsarist Russia within which Jews were allowed to live. So
Beyond the Pale
is the perfect name for a band that plays
klezmer
music (the jazzy
folk
music of Eastern European Jewry) but refuses to be bound by
traditional
stylistic limitations. And a live recording is the perfect way to experience
's joyful, sophisticated, and frequently humorous music. Led by mandolinist
Eric Stein
, the group takes you on a tour of
music past and
music future. There are songs both touching (a Yinglish song of unrequited love titled
"Oy, I Like She"
) and hilarious (the slightly risque
music hall
song
"Halevaye,"
here reworked into a galloping
ska
groove and retitled
"Skalavaye"
), as well as original instrumentals of both scintillating energy (
"Reunion"
) and quiet, bittersweet beauty (
"Moses Nign,"
"Bulcharescu"
). Not a single track is weak, obvious, underplayed, or overplayed --
Consensus
is probably the best
album of 2004. ~ Rick Anderson