Old Stock

The resonantly crackling baritone voice of Ben Caplan dominates the proceedings on Old Stock, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native's third album. It is the soundtrack to a musical production called Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, which features text by fellow Haligonian Hannah Moscovitch and songs written by Caplan with theatrical director Christian Barry. The musical recounts the darkly comic saga of a Jewish Romanian refugee couple (inspired by the playwright's great-grandparents) who immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s. The musical premiered to considerable acclaim at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and enjoyed a highly successful multi-week run in New York earlier this year.

The album's 13 tracks follow the play's narrative structure, with Ben Caplan alternately singing and narrating, accompanied by an expert band of merry modern klezmer musicians providing piano, organ, accordion, clarinet, saxophone, violin, drums and acoustic guitar. The opening two tracks, ‘Traveller's Curse’ and ‘You've Arrived’, provide the perfect introduction to the wildly energetic, smartly swinging and emotionally volatile Roma spirit that permeates the album. The affecting though occasionally overwrought story and sparkling musical performances are distinctly complementary and compelling, resulting in a highly enjoyable, deeply moving listening experience.