Greg Brown, who recently turned 66, returned to A Prairie Home Companion a year ago to record this song. I do not know if it’s a newly written one or from one of his albums I haven’t yet bought. It’s not one of his most catchy songs but rather shows him at his most introspective, yet hopeful. And I haven’t got to mention that voice. Classic Greg Brown stuff.
2015 Red House Records
Pasture (Folk Songs) is yet another masterful release by The Pines, the first since 2012’s Dark So Gold album (review see here). It’s a 7-song EP, clocking in at just under 30 minutes. And mighty fine ones at that. Traditionals such as Wild Bill Jones and Banks Of The Ohio accompany well-chosen cover versions by artists such as Greg Brown, Iris DeMent, Mance Lipscomb, Mason Jennings and Joe Price.
The Pines are usually described as Gothic Folk, which in my opinion is slightly misleading, on here I only find it fitting to describe the Mance Lipscomb song Looked Dow The Road And Wondered. To be fair, the band is using that association quite often, e.g. in their cover artworks with a scarecrow on the front cover of Dark So Gold and an American Gothic-window on the back cover of Pasture. What I find much more adequate to discribe their music are associations with Dream Pop and even Shoegaze, as a variety of acoustic and electric guitars provide a dreamy background to almost all of their songs. Alex Ramsey’s piano and keyboards and Benson Ramsey’s lazy, sleepy vocals on most tracks adding the final flourishes making their music so engaging and memorable.
This is for the most parts, entirely calm and peaceful music, although it’s by no means always slow and quiet, as on airy and folky Greg Brown composition Are You Ready For The Fair? (which turns out wonderful, naturally), or the afore-mentioned Looked Down The Road And I Wondered.
Both traditional murder ballads Banks Of The Ohio and Wild Bill Jones are among the best songs on here (although it’s damn near impossible to pick the highlights on an EP is fabulous as Pasture), with both turning out utterly lovely in stark contrast to their violent lyrics. Joe Price’s Down On The Highway and (Greg Brown wife) Iris Dement’s He Reached Down, which is based on the biblical story of the good shepherd, are showing the Pines at their most gentle, dreamlike, and best.
I admit, I am an absolute admirer of The Pines’ music, and I belive they are one of the most singular bands in today’s Folk-Pop music scene and far ahead of most of their peers. This is music that’s good for the soul and mind, combining all the best influences and creating something wonderful with every single one of their releases.
Oh, and, happily Benson and Alex’s dad, Bo Ramsey, contributes his distinctive excellent slide guitar talents to Down On The Highway – nobody I can think of could grace a song quite so sparsely, yet soulfully.
A brand new discovery for me (they have been around for a few years though), The Pines totally enchanted me with this utterly fabulous and gorgeous version of their song All The While from their 2012 album Dark So Gold, which I don’t know yet, as I have only just ordered it. But if it’s only half as good as this track hints at, you probably will be reading about it on here soon. One of them is also the son of Bo Ramsey whom you can see talked/written about here before. Or here. And a few times more. If you also take into account that they are on Red House Records it’s perhaps no wonder they are this good. Anyway, here it is:
Danny Schmidt : Parables & Primes
(2005 Live Once Records)
Danny Schmidt is a singer/songwriter based in Austin, TX. He’s received tons of good press – and rightly so! I don’t want to drop the D-comparison (that has been done too many times before in the last 40 years or so), but I see him more in line of songwriters such as John Prine and Greg Brown, as he’s considerably younger than either of them it wouldn’t be wrong to call him the next generation.
The earliest of his 7 albums I bought to date, this beauty of an album enticed me because of the haunting and delicate violin part in album opener This Too Shall Pass that I knew from YouTube. This Too Shall Pass is quite dark in theme, and the violin does complement it to very fine effect indeed.
But as very soon became obvious, this track isn’t the only highlight on the album, far from it! Neil Young sounds a lot like, well, prime Neil Young (of the Harvest era, his finest period if you ask me), complete with a relaxed and somewhat sleepy acoustic guitar as well as a lovely steel guitar.
Dark Eyed Prince is prime Danny Schmidt, mainly him, his (as mostly is the case) fingerpicked acoustic guitar and a captivating, memorable story, in this case about a prince that has got it all in a material sense, but behind all that wealth he’s hiding his deeply hurt soul, by a princess long gone – as Danny Schmidt is quite often speaking in metaphors and allegories this probably has a universal meaning, but being able to package a thought and idea like this in a story so imaginative and memorable, is what makes a (song)writer as good as he clearly is (which is evident in most of his work).
Other fine examples of this ability are Stained Glass and A Circus Of Clowns. Stained Glass is only accompanied (like This Too Shall Pass) by violin and his acoustic guitar and the story does concern a stained glass church window being damaged by a storm and being only rudimentarily restored by the 90 year-old dad by the master glazier – upon seeing the finished product the church congregation is sceptical at first, but quickly recognizes that perfection isn’t what counts most, but being able to pour your heart and soul into something is much more meaningful and, in this case, beautiful than doing something perfectly – that’s my interpretation of the story at least. Plus that violin between the verses is amazing – it’s mixed somewhat into the background, but it kind of floats around in your room (provided you listen to the record on a proper stereo, not on your computer or those cheap in-ear headphones) – hard to explain that effect adequately, but it sounds simply wonderful.
Riddles And Lies and Esmee By The River are both simple, straightforward Folk song and only accompanied by lovely mandolin and accordion parts respectively (and acoustic guitar, naturally), which is actually all they need to be from a first-rate songwriter of his ilk.
Ghost became something of my favorite on the album (as far as it is possible to name one from an album with so many excellent tracks on it), maybe for the Wild West imagery (‘…swing swing, gallows swing…’) but most probably for the somber mood and stripped-down arrangement with only an acoustic and an electric lead guitar.
In contrast to this are the next two songs Beggars And Mules and A Circus Of Clowns, which are both, for his standards I should add, lavishly arranged. The first one with a nice, relaxed 70’s Country-Rock beat and arrangement with a soft lead guitar and female backing vocals (some of Arlo Guthrie’s work springing to mind) and A Circus Of Clowns, suited perfectly to the circus theme of the song with trumpets and marching drums, which I am quite fond of, when it’s done in moderate doses (it’s probably all the church visits in my childhood that did that). Lyrically it’s a political allegory and a slightly madcap story about a circus coming to town and the townspeople, after much fanfare in the beginning, slowly coming to realize that maybe the clowns aren’t really up to any good, but by then it’s too late and they aren’t really able to get rid of them all that easily.
The title track and album closer is quite unfinished intimate acoustic guitar only track and more of an afterthought than a fully finished song, which isn’t to say it’s not worth listening to at all – more reminiscent of a live recording.
If you don’t know his work yet and are into Folk-based singer/songwriter fare telling and imaginative storytelling you could do much, much, worse than checking Parables & Primes out. This is top stuff (as are all of his other records I know to date – keep checking back here for more reviews of his other albums). His website is http://www.dannyschmidt.com
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer : Seven Is The Number
(2006 Tracy Grammer)
I hadn’t heard about Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer at all until a few weeks ago, when the album was recommended to me by iTunes (of all things, oh well, at least Apple is good for something). As (to my knowledge) it isn’t available on CD anymore, I had to make do with downloading it, which I normally try to avoid if at all possible as I greatly prefer CD’s/LP’s, old-fashioned as I am. They were only active together from 1998 up to his death at the too-early age of 49 back in 2002, but Tracy Grammer released Seven is The Number after his death and has by now found a home at Red House Records, as always one of the finest purveyors of fine Folk albums so that is a nice fit. In US American Folk circles they achieved quite a bit of renown and went on tour with John Baez in 2002 – but all of that hadn’t reached me, but better late than never.
If you, like I was, are new to their music, the album opener and title track is a good pointer to what you can expect, both lyrically and musically. Instead of some dumb 666 Satan crap as you find on stupid rock albums here seven is the number for mankind with all its weak and strong points that clearly was/is of great concern to them. I am not sure of there’s some direct lyrical connection to some religious or spiritual belief or work, from what I read on their Wikipedia page Dave Carter was very much influenced by spiritual and mystical works, so that might be the case. The track is also rather short, and therefore almost seems like a statement of intent to me.
The sound throughout the album is airy and light, (which isn’t meant in a derogatory way at all) and dominated by Carter’s soft, gentle voice, with him playing the guitar and doing most of the lead vocals with Tracy Grammer mainly playing the violin – very fine indeed, as on, what is possibly the most melancholic song on the album, Red (Elegy), although a certain downbeat, sad feeling is evident on most of the songs on the album. Pretty much the only exception being the Hillbilly sounds of Texas Underground, a song possibly not meant to be taken too seriously, about a daytime nightmare, the devil and ‘… a smokin’ little band with a Country sound…’, done in the Carter/Grammer way as Carter most definitely didn’t possess any of Steve Earle’s raucous tough guy image. With regards to the possible involvement of other musicians I can’t really be certain, as I haven’t got a booklet and so am short on more background information, but there’s various other instruments to be heard, such as the mandolin on Gas Station Girl.
Instantly my favorite track became The Promised Land (it also went straight onto my Desert Island Playlist). It’s slightly more uptempo than most of the other songs on the album and a tune that found its way straight into my heart and refuses to get out. That haunting organ in the background is just too beautiful. Lyrically, it’s touching story about people on the fringes of the American society ‘I’m just doing what I do best, running with the devil and the dispossessed, waiting on a mission trying to make a plan, chasing my angel through the promised land’. The lovely following Hey Tonya is a tad more relaxed and also permeated with a touch of sadness. Gas Station Girl was actually the first song I heard of theirs, I couldn’t resist checking out a song with a title like that, could I? Glad I did though, as it’s a excellent, relaxed Country waltz, complete with mandolin, lyrics about long interstate drives and ‘the lips of a gas station girl’ – (classic theme, isn’t it).
Words fail me how to adequately describe the beauty of next track Long Black Road Into Tulsa Town, it’s unremarkable enough stylistically, just another slow Folk ballad, but that chorus is just heavenly, full of emotion, meaning and, for me at least, it’s impossible to be utterly captivated by lines like ‘… states of misery, states of grace, trouble and joy on a young man’s face, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, take me down that long black road into Tulsa Town…’. Wonderful.
Working For Jesus is a gorgeous tune too, it’s about a couple probably not looking eye to eye when it comes to the religious beliefs. Gun Metal Eyes is yet another song made that good by the story being told about an Indian meeting his fate in a confrontation with a company of loggers and the police – very poetic from start to finish and a new spin on the old story of confrontation between white people and Native Indians, ending as you would expect.
One doesn’t have to think too hard about who Carter and Grammer’s sympathize with, and it’s also got a nice Southwestern touch which is very well suited to the song’s theme. The album closes with Sarah Turn ‘Round of which I can’t say much more than that it’s beautiful, it sounds rather optimistic and sunny, in contrast to most other songs on Seven is The Number.
As I said before, the album isn’t exactly easy to come by, but everybody into music steeped in 60’s Folk traditions (I am more than once reminded of Arlo Guthrie’s work), should definitely check this very fine album out. Let Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer calm your soul and make your day a better one – at least for the 47 minutes Seven Is the Number lasts and most probably even longer than that.
I know I am repeating myself as I posted another Danny Schmidt video a few days ago, but this is just too nice not to. I promise the next video I post won’t be one of Danny Schmidt’s though.
Another Day Another Song
Another Day, Another Song
Iowa Folk/Blues giant Greg Brown on the joys of being single
(2003 Red House Records)
Greg Brown (b. 1949) has been releasing records for a very long time (his first album Hacklebarney was released in 1974), how I managed to miss all of his (most probably) fine records all those years is a mystery to me, but better late than never, as they say.
When I finally made up my mind to buy one of his CD’s after paying his home state Iowa a visit in March of 2013, I stumbled upon this collection. Being a visually oriented person it didn’t take much convincing to buy the CD/DVD combo, containing the 1993 documentary, Hacklebarney Tunes The Music Of Greg Brown. So when it arrived in the mail, watching the 46-minute DVD was pretty much the first thing I did after opening the package. Having watched it a few times since, it still fascinates me as much as it did the first time I watched it. Sure, the visuals feel a little bit dated, having been filmed in the early 1990’s/late 1980’s, and the clothes being worn by the people shown in the film are slightly cringe worthy, (I’m not trying to make fun of anybody here, I, like mostly likely you reading this, wore the same styles back then, regrettably).
But what is shown and especially to be heard here, is anything but. I can’t really think of a documentary about a musician that inspired and enthralled me half as much as Hacklebarney Tunes (I am thinking about the very boring one about Gram Parsons and the rather touching one about Townes Van Zandt which I would very much recommend to anybody reading this, but I can’t remember the title, sorry) does.
It shows first and foremost a first-rate singer/songwriter well versed in a number of styles, all firmly within the Folk/Roots music field, with Folk being the most prominent, but unsurprisingly for somebody that has released a lot of records (his Wikipedia page lists about 25), there also have been other styles creeping into his recordings (as far as I can tell at this point in rather moderate doses though). It also shows a person being firmly rooted in his native Midwest/Iowa and seemingly at ease with his place in the world and his musical career (at one point sitting in his car on the way to go fishing he states ‚I’ve got so low ambition nowadays, it’s amazing to me’), there’s none of the depression of the likes of T. van Zandt on show, and no self-destruction in evidence – which I like a lot (although his is certainly no happy-go-lucky music and is thematically often quite serious).
Being produced by the University Of Iowa it starts of with some nice shots of the Southern Iowa countryside accompanied by a splendid version of Folk standard Pretty Boy Floyd with him, Bo Ramsey on guitar and a bass player, (an equally excellent version of Hank Williams’ Lost Highway from the same session can be seen later in the film).
His dad being a minister, the family moved quite a few times in the Midwest in Greg’s childhood and youth (as being recounted by his dad in the film). When he grew up he (like a lot of people) left to live in places away from his roots, but his love for the areas he grew up in is obvious as is the respect and love for his family. There’s a sequence of the older generation of his family and including his uncle Roscoe Brown (who’s interviewed in the film too), making music together in a living room with (what I believe to be) his grandma on the pump-organ and his granddad on the banjo, Roscoe Brown on the guitar and a fiddle player – very old-timey and lovely. Apparently he bought his grandparents farm around the time the documentary was filmed, although he seems to be living in Iowa City now with his second wife, fellow singer-songwriter Iris Dement.
Interviewed too is his childhood-friend Jimmy Chapman, telling the story of the catch they did in Earlville, Iowa’s Plum Creek while out fishing, told about in the compilation’s title-song If I Had Known. Also shown are some of the various places in Iowa he lived in growing up, small, rural farming towns with all their attendant problems, a theme recurring in a number of his songs. Ample room is given to various live versions of his songs – indicative of his recording style is perhaps the fact that these live versions often don’t vary all that greatly from the recorded versions that can be heard on the CD, (with the exception of Canned Goods which I like better in the faster and more stripped-down version in the film). Evidently he’s very entertaining live (haven’t seen him playing live, sadly), just note the live rendition of Poor Back Slider (from 1992’s Down In There) about guys trying to stay away from booze after visiting church – but ending up drinking even harder after a couple of months abstinence.
I also love the scene where standard Will The Circle Be Unbroken is sung by a church congregation – a true insight into, what I as a European at least, believe to be small town religious US-American life. As mentioned before, the struggle of people living in these small towns face is a theme of many of his songs, for example what is at the moment, my favorite of his songs Our Little Tow’ (from One More Goodnight Kiss) which can be heard here interspersed with photos from Earlville, IA (where his dad was a minister at one point). It’s a simply arranged song with just his deep, resonant voice and an delicately strummed acoustic guitar – all he needs in fact to stun you/me – very beautiful, if troubled, you simply cannot make Folk music any better than this.
Our Little Town is also featured on the 17 track CD. Unsurprisingly the songs on the CD vary quite a bit stylistically and one or two of them don’t work that well in my opinion, especially arrangement-wise, for example Good Morning Coffee (although the unusual pan pipes are not without a certain charm), and I am not too fond on the clarinet in Downtown either, a quite dark song in theme and sound also featured on the DVD in an acoustic guitar and harmonica version which I prefer, mainly for the haunting harmonica.
But the songs to be loved are by far in the majority, starting with the compilation’s title tune If I Had Known. Another highlight for me is Ella Mae an acoustic-guitar-and-voice-only live recording from 1982, originally released on the One Night album (1983), it’s an ode to his grandmother and not one bit mushy or overly sentimental – it’s honest and all the better for it. Canned Goods is bemoaning the fact that said canned goods haven’t got the sunshine in them like his grandma’s used to have – it certainly IS sentimental (and maybe arranged a tad too sweetly for my taste) but I love it nevertheless.
Laughing River (which can also be heard in the documentary in a scene where we see Greg Brown fishing) is another song much to my taste – folky, slightly up-tempo and showing Greg Brown at his best. The song is dealing with an artist longing for a place after spending a long time on the road – so it is tying in nicely with the documentary and one can assume is rather more autobiographic. As is clear for a Brown-novice like myself from watching Hacklebarney Tunes, he can make almost any song work with only his voice and acoustic guitar (which is of course a sure sign of any exceptionally talented singer/songwriter)
Worrisome Years is probably the most pessimistic song on the compilation, about a guy living in a small town, clearly not happy with his life and in some sort of economic tight spot ‚ …can you please tell me when does the good part start?’ clearly he’s run out of options ‚I think about leaving, but where would I go? How would I get there? I don’t know…’. Actually it doesn’t really sound that depressed, it’s a rather lovely folk-tune with a beautiful fiddle and backing vocals by Shawn Colvin.
I also like The Train Carrying Jimmy Rodgers Home a lot, it’s an old-timey Country tune with the sound mimicking that of Rodger’s era and of course featuring some yodeling – good fun. Spring Wind is amazing too – an acoustic guitar, some wonderful background vocals, a little bit of bass and harmonica and understated yet highly effective percussion and a gorgeous tune. The Poet Game is another song I have to mention, the thoughtful, intelligent lyrics recalling various people and situations in his life, both sad (a good friend he doesn’t talk to him anymore) and nice (a particularly happy time with a girlfriend) coupled with a melancholic melody and a lovely electric lead guitar by Bo Ramsey.
Where Is Maria is only very slightly marred by a in my opinion somewhat inelegant chorus, but otherwise a very fine, understated, acoustic Folk song too. Boomtown is the one track on here standing apart quite clearly stylistically from the rest, being a sort of all-electric and slightly bluesy up-tempo R’n’R/Pop song, I like it very much, especially the oh-so-true lyrics. The two last tracks on the compilation Two Little Feet and Driftless do round up the album rather nicely, the first one a midtempo Folk track and the album closer another melancholic song with Bo Ramsey on both electric and a Weissenborn lap guitar – Roots music at its best.
Now the only question left to answer is which Greg Brown albums to get next first. I guess I will either be going for The Poet Game or One More Goodnight Kiss (mainly because it’s got Our Little Town on it), well, most probably both.
Back Road Bound 