Dan Bern New American Language Grand Phony
Like meeting an old friend again after many years, this album was initially released in 2001 (on the fateful day of 9/11) and is getting another deserved run out in this remastered version, some 22 years later, next month in 2024 (and on vinyl for the first time too). It was produced by the trio of Will Masisak, Colin Mahoney and Chuck Plotkin. At the time, it was placed in with the emerging Americana movement, but as with its subject, it was not without its bite and featured some hard-edged guitar alongside the more tender moments. If I remember correctly, there were comparisons to The Boss and to (reasonably obviously) Bob Dylan. However, Bern never-the-less created his own body of work through the years that has stood the test of time.
Two of the three producers (Masisak and Colin Mahoney) were also part of the assembled band alongside Eben Grace on pedal steel, guitar and banjo (which was enough of a link back then into the roots/rock movement). There were nine others whose contributions are essential elements of the overall sound. Bern's distinctive vocal, harmonica, guitar and songwriting skills were, however, still the central core of the release. The back cover of the original CD booklet names the key six-man team as Bernstein and the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy, indicating that Bern was not a man afraid of courting controversy. That particular wording may no longer be the case on the new vinyl version.
The title track shows a seeming ambivalence to a relationship with the opening lines: "She said love, love, love is everything / I said ok, I guess, whatever." But the closing line shows a difference in attitude: "I dream mostly about love." There are also tracks that are effervescent, like Honeydoo!, even when the lyrics suggest a man scorned. Toledo and Albuquerque Lullaby are songs full of atmosphere and lyrics that evoke a place and a spiritual search. But the track that really stood out on first listen was, and still is. Black Tornado summons up an inner turmoil of moving around in a way that is a "Budweiser, Budgetel, Bukowski kind of night." By all accounts, the final track took a long time to record and capture the feeling required for Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's an epic ten-minute song and a lyrical tour de force that covers a lot of observation and insight from Bern that is both poetic and prescient with lines like "And life is like a fairy tale / every step like a dream / that keeps on getting nearer / and more and more extreme."
As its title suggests, the opening track, Sweetness, is a touch more power pop-orientated and opens the album as an inviting welcome. Alaska Highway is a somewhat rougher Neil Young-ish sound that evokes some well-known but diverse names as he travels along, wondering, "Who's goin' my way / on that great Alaska Highway." It turns out that they include Leonardo Di Capri, Eminem, Britney Spears, Keith Richards and others. Another thoughtful song that deserves a listen is God Said No, where the protagonist meets God, and he asks if he could go back in time to save Kurt Cobain, but God, well, you know what he is going to say. Equally, he asks to be allowed to go back and take out Hitler but receives the same answer and the reasons why. His final denied request is to take Jesus down from the cross. This and other tracks on the album show that perhaps his vision was different from one that was likely to find overall favour in the mainstream either then or now - despite having parallels in the work of the two iconic artists mentioned above. However, as noted at the start, it is getting an opportunity to find a new audience and remind those who have encountered his work before that Dan Bern is one of those individual artists who always gave their best to their music.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Terry Klein Leave The Light On Self Release
Primarily a singer/songwriter, Terry Klein is adept at doing what time-honoured troubadours have always done: to tell a story and get to the heart of the subject with insight and impartiality. Songs that are honest and crafted from the perspective of the individual song’s subject. These ten songs are given a wide-ranging sonic exploration, many in a subdued enhanced folk setting and others taking a more country-orientated slant without breaking a sweat. The album was produced by the noted Thomm Jutz, who himself is both an artist and a facilitator to others. Jutz also worked on Klein’s previous album, GOOD LUCK, TAKE CARE. He is an ideal producer to bring out the best for all involved in what are often short-lived studio situations. In this case, a reported six-hour session, which tends to promote intimacy, vulnerability and spontaneity, all of which are on show here.
There was a selection of musicians tasked with bringing these songs to life in the studio, including both Klein and Jutz on guitars and vocals and a deft rhythm section who were joined, when required, by pedal steel and acclaimed fiddler Tammy Rogers. It was a versatile team employed to bring Klein’s ten songs (one a co-write) to a broader listening public. Klein sat alongside those writers who, despite their craftsmanship, remain primarily outside either the mainstream or the acclaim in the indie world. Klein has received praise from other songwriters who may be considered to have a higher profile in this world, such as Rodney Crowell and Mary Gauthier - as well as by our own Declan Culliton on this site for his review of Klein’s previous album, TEX. Other names that are linked to his work, in terms of comparison, include Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver, and fans of both will find an affinity here.
Shimmers and Hums, in a gentle mood, immediately lets you get acquainted with Klein’s warm, slightly world-weary voice. The pedal steel glides across the landscape on Blue Hill Bay allowing the sweeping atmosphere of lonliness to pervade. It is a song that looks at a lord of his domain, which happens reflected in the song title. More touching is Wedding Day Eve, wherein advice is given, whether wanted or not, the guitar and steel adding to the thoughtfulness of the song’s sentiment. More up-tempo and punchy is This Too Shall Pass, which has an effective guitar break from Jutz. It is not too far from the work of another artist, James Mc Murtry, who is not as well-known as he should. There is a much darker side to the tale of murder, Well Enough Alone, a subject that Klien, as a trial lawyer, previously may well have had direct experience with. It’s also a song that immediately impacted this listener and features Rogers’ fiddle effectively.
Another tale of bad times is the hard luck of the man from the the fringes of society looking to scrounge some the money for a pack of cigarettes, certainly not the kind of cash needed for anything harder, that is A Dollar, Two Quarters And A Dime. Also reflective of a less positive relationship, Oh Melissa has the protagonist reaching for the cigarette again. The seemingly endless routine of the daily travel to get to and from a less than satisfactory work situation has ended, leaving a contemplation of that journey from a different frame of view than exists for him now in That Used To Be My Train.
The details of the life of a struggling musician is told in Sky Blue LeBaron, his car and mode of transport and perhaps, on occasion, his sometime bed. It tells of once being in a band and that oft-told tale of almost being signed to a deal and achieving a long lost dream, but that is now something that is well in the rear-view mirror. The simplicity and understated acoustic articulation all the more effectively illustrates the life left for the artist now past his prime and career possibilities. Contrastingly, the closing song, Starting At Zero, co-written with Aaron Smith, relates to trying to start again and gain some new life traction. That’s certainly not the case with Klein’s fourth album, which should receive the critical response and wider recognition he has been building towards. A thoughtful and well-rounded career-best (to date) release.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Chris Carrapetta Nothing To Lose Self Release
Twelve songs from Australian artist Carrapetta who is based in Sydney, New South Wales and releases his second solo album. He employs the talents of Dean Bennison to co-produce the album with him and they are responsible for almost all the instruments used in the recording process. The credits show Chris Carrapetta (guitars, bass, vocals, harmonica, keyboards, drums), with Dean Bennison (drums, percussion, guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals), and Becky Bennison (backing vocals, keyboards).
The album kicks off with a nice mid-tempo tale of lost love and the questions that linger. Can You Help Me Out sets the tone for the twelve tracks with some melodic playing and interplay between guitars, keyboard and harmonica parts. Caught Out In the Rain has a message of troubled times and needing to leave town. It has some fine backing vocals from Becky Bennison and warm keyboard sounds. On Golden Light the glow of new love is in the air and the dual vocals of Carrapetta and Bennison blend perfectly as they move around the sweet melody.
A number of the tracks have an early 70s California sheen in the production and songs like I Hope It’s Not Too Late reflect on the urge to live each day like its your last. Carrapetta has a nice vocal tone that partly echoes Graham Nash and reminders of Crosby Stills and Nash do echo in the background. The song Nothing Left To Lose continues the message of listening to your inner voice and stop trying to be all things to everybody. Peta Caswell on backing vocals and David Eaton on keyboards guest on this particular song and turn in strong performances as the sound builds towards a fine climax.
This Is Not the End speaks of taking chances and not getting trapped in familiar routine, the song arrangement bouncing along on nice guitar lines. The slow tempo of One Day At A Time reflects on a relationship challenge and seeking peace of mind. It strikes me as perhaps a personal song among the others that channel similar emotions and share in the vagaries of vulnerability and letting down your guard in order to love and grow. It’s all is summed up by the message on both Hard Times and When I Am Lonely with the reflection that all we can do is keep trying, through both good and bad experiences, and hope to have someone there by your side . Engaging music throughout and performed with polish and vitality.
Review by Paul McGee
Orit Shimoni Winnipeg Self Release
This Canadian artist has been living the life of a free spirit for many years now, with no regular abode and just the promise of new adventures around every corner. Her musical talent is richly honed across many experiences and encounters that inform her creative process. Covid lockdown however, changed everything and forced a temporary halt in the nomadic wandering of Shimoni for an enforced period of staying still and taking stock.
With eleven albums to her impressive catalogue she embarked upon an interesting new project upon meeting a fellow musician by sheer happenstance. While considering her next move in pre-Covid Winnipeg as news of lockdowns appeared, she met Glenn Radley a local musician who offered her the chance to collaborate across a possible project with his friend Bryn Herperger. The meeting turned into collective companionship and writing new songs to create this new album. The players are Orit Shimoni (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo), Bryn Herperger (bass, backing vocals), Glenn Radley (drums, backing vocals), Bob Cohen (additional guitars), Paul Balcain (horns), Scott Duncan (fiddle), Bart Groenendijk (keyboards). The initial tracks were recorded by the trio before additional parts and instrumentation were enhanced by remote musicians getting involved in the process of colouring the basic songs. The flexibility of remote file sharing has certainly liberated the creative process, and even if you still can’t beat the joy of playing live with fellow musicians and bouncing off each other, on this record Shimoni got to have the best of both worlds in letting the overall process inspire her. Occasionally her vocal is reminiscent to a young Lucinda Williams in the delivery, with that sweetly tired and soulful tone. Winnipeg is a love song that looks across the distance and misses a lover in another place. What Does It Matter displays a certain despondency brought on by the lockdown and thoughts about what the future may look like and Numbers is about the need to try and control our random daily lives. As if mere statistics can provide safe haven and reassurance, more likely to perhaps scare everyone half to death with doom laden messages ‘Everyone’s an expert on those stats, Wearing self-appointed expert hats.’
Bananas is a clever play on the conspiracy theories and suspicions that ran though the pandemic and those who believe that society is being controlled and manipulated by the authorities who invented the virus. When This Is All Over is another love song about getting back to someone you love once the borders reopen. Its interesting to look back with perspective on the influences and opinions that we held over the months of isolation. ‘Til then the days are long and time feels kinda strange, Like everything I’ve ever known has gone and rearranged.’
New York is a love letter to the iconic city and reflections that ‘You seemed like a movie set of yourself when I came out the station.’ Another song I Can’t Wait is the longest track included and looks at the pain of longing. The frustrations of missing a lover across the miles is reflected in the slow burn and sadly seductive vocal delivery of Shimoni ‘To stand or lie beside you in the same damn place, I can’t wait to touch your face.’ Love is a call to arms and a prayer to endure during times of deep change and loss ‘And victimhood is a lottery, And some of us will be unlucky, Staying healthy is the key, We can’t even see the enemy.’
Witness is a touching song about racial segregation and the inequality in society between different ethnic populations. No matter how we express the concept of one love there is always a deep divide under the surface, something that has returned in the aftermath of the pandemic unfortunately. When will we ever learn?
Over finishes the album with a rueful look at what makes us such a divided society, victims of our nurture and childhood. Still, we continue to hope for a better tomorrow where peace and love can truly reign ‘Cause I’ve had some ideas, You know the kind, Where everybody gets along, And no one seems to mind.’ Maybe in an ideal world, but in the meantime we can only work to change ourselves and what lies before us every day. Another excellent collection of songs from a wandering minstrel that shows great insight into the human condition and our collective conundrums.
Review by Paul McGee
Edward Abbiati To the Light Appaloosa
This album release is a follow up to the excellent solo debut, Beat the Night, which appeared back in 2019. Abbiati was a long-time member of Lowlands, a roots-rock band that had a great run over fourteen years, and with their demise in 2018 he began to collaborate on various projects with other musicians including Chris Cacavas, Mike Brenner and Joey Huffman. On this new recording, Abiatti reunites with many old friends, including bandmates from Lowlands, to self-produce a very enjoyable album.
Starting off with Three Chords and the Truth, and a love song to his partner who has stuck with him through all the bad decisions made in his younger days ‘Three chords and the truth, The holy grail of our youth, In the end that was not enough, I got lost and mixed up.’ Now that he has found a sense of direction Nothing Left To Say looks back at a romance that was never going to work out ‘Go left and go home, Go right into the great unknown, Or we can stay right here, And for once face our fears’ - the road not taken and the choices made indeed! This band of musicians really know how to deliver a dynamic sound and they bring the songs to life in their performance. Just About Now has the addition of strings and horns to colour the driving beat and the regular bass lines of Enrico Fossati keeps everything on the money, with drum duties shared by Winston Watson (four songs) and Mattia Martini (five songs).
The one acoustic track is a memory of living in London circa 1998 and Rags tells of losing your way and waiting for something to happen in empty days. Coast Of Barcelona is a completely different tale with a big sound to accompany memories of travel and being young ‘Late at night dreams were whispered and laughter was strong, Our lives still to be made, The story could be so long.’ Hammond organ (Joey Huffman) and lap steel (Mike “Slo Mo” Brenner) adding greatly to the melody. On nine of the tracks Maurizio “Gnola” Glielmo features on electric guitars and backing vocals and his playing is a very strong feature of the album. On the up-tempo Going Downtown his playing is something that lifts the arrangement in a song about protest and Alvin Davis features on trumpet, trombone and saxophone sounds to enhance the melody ‘We all walk down these streets, But it feels like we never meet, How can we call this a promised land, With all this hate and blood on our hands.’
While a number of songs deal with looking back at the past and mistakes made, others lean towards a better future, such as One Step At a Time, To the Light and Stairs To the Stars. The closing track Love Note is a celebration of everybody in Abbiati’s life and all that they bring. With twelve players featured, it’s a big statement in sound and one that embraces love as the only way forward. Another interesting album from an artist who continues to grow and expand his vision. Worth forty minutes of your time to enjoy the songs, strong production and superb musicianship.
Review by Paul McGee
Peter Gallway Grace Street Gallway Bay
There is very little that this accomplished New York native has not experienced over his career in music. Spanning six decades, he has released close on thirty albums, whether working as a solo artist, as a duo in Hat Check Girl (with Annie Gallup), or in other collaborations such as Parker Gray with British musician Harvey Jones. In addition Gallway has produced over fifty albums and worked with artists such as Laura Nyro, along with other special projects.
On this new release Gallway took inspiration from a solo tour of Japan earlier in the year. With just a guitar for accompaniment, Gallway has now revisited ten songs from his extensive back catalogue and has come up with alternate versions that will please his many admirers. There are six different albums included across the ten songs, going back to 1994 and 2009 to select three songs from a pair of his solo albums, choosing another song from his album with The Real Band in 2022 and dipping into the Hat Check Girl catalogue with a further five songs covering three of their albums as a duo.
The results are predictably bare and stripped back in the delivery.. There is an intimacy in the performances and once you can accept the simple approach of just guitar and voice, there is a sense of almost being in the same room witnessing the playing. The guitar of choice is a Godin 5th Avenue model and the rich and deeply resonant sound is perfect for these gentle tunes that burrow their way into your senses to bring both relaxation and sublimation. Gallway doesn’t possess a big vocal range and yet his almost spoken words carry great character. He has been called the master of free verse and there is a strong impression of the joy this musician takes from composition.
The songs were captured live in his studio which is located in Maine, and also at his home on the coast. If there is a central theme running through these ten song selections then it is that of love and its place in our lives. From the sad longing of Under Those Trees to the challenge and mystery contained in Steel Clouds and Cold, Cold Rain, Gallway seeks the answers and comes up with the conclusion that love should always be what matters, as evident on the gentle You’ve Got Your Heart. There is also the desire and habitual compulsion of It’s Deliberate to shake things up, but the abiding rule on Not This Time is to face the changes that life brings and to test yourself.
Music is the subject of Just Think Back and memories of that first song you ever heard on the radio, followed by Texas and a nod to the influence of the classic singer songwriters in that southern state. The storms of life and what may lie beyond is tackled on Nor’easter and growing up in a rural environment lends itself to living the simple life on Up In the County. The final song is Nine Bridges and a love letter to NYC and the welcome extended to immigrants on its shores as they struggle in finding a new life. One would hope that the same optimism still applies in these days of fractured living but the original song was written back in 2009 and perhaps Gallway includes it here as a reminder of who we really are as a society and to suggest an environment of care and inclusion as we face an uncertain future. This is a very timely reminder of the songwriting talents of Gallway and a worthwhile addition to any music collection.
Review by Paul McGee
C. Daniel Boling New Old Friends Berkalin
This album is the ninth release from Folk artist Boling and it turns out to be a very pleasant listen over fifteen tracks and forty-five minutes. He has an easy guitar style and the acoustic songs sit nicely into his interesting insights and tales from the experience gained in racking up more than one hundred concerts a year.
Co-produced with Jono Mason in Santa Fe, New Mexico and featuring Tom Paxton on five songs, the playing is very impressive across the ensemble of players that assisted in bringing these songs to life in the studio. Boling plays guitar and sings, while Mason adds guitar on vocals and is joined on selected tracks by Jeff Scroggins (banjo), Jason Crosby (piano), Jon Gagan (upright bass), Michael Handler (harmonica), Char Rothschild (melodica, accordion, tin whistle), Kenny Mulhollan (mandolin, upright bass), John Enges (dobro) and Bill Ward (piano).
The songs came together over zoom calls during the Covid virus lockdown and opening Get A Life is about getting off the couch and jumping back into social activities now that things have moved on. New Old Friends is a testament to the joys of reaching out to each other and forming reals bonds. Bear Spray and Barbwire is a true story of hiking in the hills and the mishaps that can occur, while This Town Has No Café is a light and breezy arrangement with a more serious message woven through the lyrics.
There are love songs (Of You and Me and How Did You Know?), political statements (Leaving Afghanistan and Red White and Blue), old age (The Keys and We Can Still Waltz), with reflections on the pandemic captured in The Missing Years. It’s a gentle album with lots of variety and many highlights to engage the listener.
Review by Paul McGee
Wayne Brereton The Robin’s Call Self Release
This seven-song EP plays out over twenty-seven minutes and marks the debut release for an Irish singer-songwriter who brings plenty of inspiration and potential. A native of Co. Offaly and a fluent Irish speaker, Wayne has played music for most of his life and been a band member in groups such as Turas and The Cardinal Sins. He also plays with Derek Warfield and the Young Wolf Tones, but getting to grips with a solo project is a very different challenge. Happily, it’s one that Brereton rises to in some style.
Recorded at the Nutshed studio in Clara, the production by Joe Egan is very engaging and leaves plenty of space for the musicians to be heard in the clear sound. Wayne plays guitar, bass and provides lead vocals. He is joined by Trisha Mulraney (fiddle, piano, whistle), John Tobin (bodhran, bouzouki), Bernadett Moran (whistles, backing vocals) and Eva Coyle who contributes piano and vocals on The Mountains of Pomeroy.
There is a lovely Irish traditional lilt to songs like Shepherd Lad with bodhran, fiddle and tin whistle lifting the melody in a tale of young love. The Diamantina Drover is another fine example of a traditional air and a tale of emigration to Queensland, Australia, leaving a sweetheart behind. There is also a song in Irish called ‘S Cuma Grain No Sion which translates as “I don’t care for sun or snow.”
The tale of courtship and thieving, ending in arrest at the hands of the authorities, is the subject of When First Unto This Country and Come Rain Or Come Shine is a song the promises lifelong fidelity to another. Keg Of Brandy tells of a roving life and getting older while the love of a good woman lingers in the memory. Wayne has a warm vocal tone and the playing here is quietly restrained in highlighting the fine melodies. I look forward to hearing more from this talented new artist and this is a very promising start along his chosen path.
Review by Paul McGee
Mean Mary I’d Rather Be Merry Woodrock
A talented singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who started performing at the age of six, Mary James was given her stage name by the press after her debut song Mean Mary from Alabam' went public. Despite several releases over the years she has stuck with the original performance name and it probably does her no real favours in terms of trying to predict her musical style.
However, if you have seen her perform live then you will know that her reputation as an impressive musician and personality is well earned. On this new album we are given a real sense of Christmas, even through the overall feel is not as rooted in tradition as most other seasonal offering. We have a few of the old favourites performed, such as Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, I Saw Three Ships and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Not always sticking to the original arrangements, Mean Mary mixes things up to include interesting melodic twists, with banjo and other instrumentation included in the arrangements. She is joined by her brother Frank on eight of the songs, contributing vocals and 12-string guitar. Their co-writes I’d Rather Be Merry and Cardboard Box are very funny and full of mischief in the delivery.
O Holy Night and The Holly and the Ivy are two more classic Christmas inclusions and some of the other players on the project include Nomad (accordion, piano), Larry Salzman and Jon Sterckx (percussion), Oli Hayhurst (upright bass), David Larsen (bass), David Henry (cello, upright bass) and Andy Kruspe (bodhran, percussion). The most upbeat song is the version of Here We Come A-Caroling with the band in top gear as the tempo spins out into a joyful declaration of the season. The laid-back, quietly considered It Came Upon A Midnight Clear is superbly delivered with just simple guitar, piano and vocals, and the final song Ding Dong Day is soulful reflection on the big day and the conflicting emotions it can bring. A seasonal fare with much to savour and one to be dipped into on more than one occasion for optimal pleasure.
Review by Paul McGee