James Nicoll Reviews

Nancy Louise Freeman’s 2007 Stardust County is a 2‑CD album of SFF-adjacent Western music. From the source website:

Cast: Lon Austin, Nancy Freeman, Larry Warner, Maya Bohnhoff, Jennifer Ashley, Tony Fabris, Tom Tuerff, Michelle ​“Vixy” Dockrey, Forrest Ashley, and ​“Decadent” Dave Clement.

Also featuring: Fiddler Cat Taylor (Avalon Rising); Karl Franzen (Broceliande) on harmonica; and the legendary Jeff Bohnhoff on pyrotechnic guitar, bass, and Every Other Damn Thing

All manner of folk travel along the Stardust County rail line, which runs the length of this eldritch version of the Old West: folk that include traders, travellers, and criminals on the run. Nigel of Ephesus and Nimue fall into the last class.

Nigel and Nimue split up, hoping that at least one of them will manage to shake off the relentless hunt that pursues them. In fact, both escape, at the cost of Nimue’s glass guitar.

Nigel needs to find Nimue. Nimue needs to get her guitar fixed. Neither is successful. Nimue is left with a magic glass sword, not her beloved guitar. Nigel makes the mistake of trusting to appearances and has his human form stolen from him by a malevolent shapeshifter, who leaves Nigel a wolf.

Nimue is next on the shapeshifter’s to-do list. Here the being’s plan goes slightly awry. Rather than look her stalker in the eye, Nimue runs it through with her glass sword. Complications ensue when corrupt officials simply arrest Nimue on the spot for murder. Not being over-fond of time-wasting legalities, the town proposes to hang Nimue as soon as possible.

Lucky for Nimue that she has local allies…

~oOo~

I find audio a bit more difficult than text to follow. If my attention wavers, the songs keep going and I must backtrack. This review is appearing a couple of weeks later than I’d have liked. 

In the town’s defense, Nimue did flat-out kill the shapeshifter (albeit in self-defense). Also, it’s likely that she’s guilty of many crimes for which she’s never been punished. But that’s neither here nor there when it comes to the current case. That’s not why they’re set on executing her; there’s a power struggle going on in the town and Nimue and her sword stumbled into the middle of it. 

I don’t have a libretto for this album, so I am unsure how many words there would be in the lyrics …. probably no more than a novella’s worth. The album can’t indulge in much infodumping, even over a two-CD span. You’re not going to learn everyone’s life story. On occasion, their motivation remains elusive. Still, it’s easy to tell the dark gray hats from the light gray hats. 

There isn’t a musical adaptation of John Findley’s Tex Arcana (yet, anyway) but if there were, this diverting album would be a cousin. Less horror, more enigmatic fantasy, set in a fairy-tale version of the Old West. I enjoyed it and you may enjoy it as well.

Stardust Countyis available here.