John Prine in Roanoke

Long-time fans of singer/songwriter John Prine, including yours truly, expect a lot from one of his concerts. With a deep catalog that includes nearly 20 albums since his eponymous 1971 debut, there's a lot of great - indeed some would say classic - material he could cover. Last night in Roanoke, Prine mined his canon with energy and passion, covering many favorites dating back to his first album.

Prine opened with "Spanish Pipedream" and "Six O'Clock News" from his first LP, which by any accounts is one of the great debut recordings by any singer/songwriter. By the end of the evening, over a nearly 2 hour set, Prine played a total of six songs from the album. After all, it's some of his finest work, and showcases his ability to create characters, strip raw emotions and situations down to plain language, and open up the listener's empathy with raw evocation that's never sappy or saccharine. For instance, halfway through the set, with a moderately rowdy bunch of fans shouting requests, Prine brought the crowd to a hushed whisper when he launched into the achingly beautiful "Angel From Montgomery," as potent evocation of an aging woman's feelings as any man is capable of writing. He also played "Sam Stone," about the drug addled veteran who comes home from "the conflict overseas" sporting "a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes."

As if that wasn't enough from his first album, he delivered another crowd-stilling moment with a version of "Hello In There," again about aging, lonely people, and wrapped up the show with "Paradise," his song about the lost town of Paradise, Kentucky, which was razed by a coal company.

But Prine didn't just bask in past glories - his set list was a balanced mix of earlier fare and songs from the last couple of decades, including his Grammy-winning 2005 album Fair & Square.

Prine sounded in fine form, even if his range isn't as great and his voice a bit huskier after his battle with throat cancer. All told, a great evening of music from an American legend.

John Prine Set List:
Roanoke, VA Feb 21, 2009

With Dave Jacques, electric and upright bass, backing vocals
Jason Wilber, guitars & mandolin, backing vocals

Spanish Pipedream
Six O’Clock News
Souvenirs
Grandpa Was A Carpenter
Storm Windows
Fish and Whistle
Glory of True Love
Long Monday
Far From Me
Angel from Montgomery
Dear Abby
It’s A Big Old Goofy World
Please Don’t Bury Me
Sam Stone
Bear Creek Blues
That’s Alright By Me
Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
Hello In There
Lake Marie

ENCORE:
Killing the Blues
In Spite of Ourselves (duet with Carrie Rodriguez)
Paradise (with Carrie Rodriguez, vocals, fiddle)

Credit: Photo of John Prine live in 2008 from the JPShrine fan site.

Playing with tradition: new music by Crooked Still and the Biscuit Burners

Two new CDs by Crooked Still, Still Crooked, and the Biscuit Burners, Take Me Home, show how creative the “new folk revival” (as its been dubbed by folks much more widely read than this humble scribe) truly is.

There are similarities between these two young bands. Both are fronted by extraordinary musicians who could run as stars in their own right, but forgo flashy instrumental spotlights in favor of an organic, ensemble sound. Sure, there are dazzling solos, but within the context of a group performance. In the instance of Crooked Still, they’re led by banjomeister Gregory Liszt, who sports an innovative four-fingered picking style. The Burners’ frontman is dobro player Billy Cardine, who has been praised by dobro deity Jerry Douglas for his expansion of the dobro’s possibilities. (Photos: that's the Biscuit Burners above, and Crooked Still below- see photo credits below.)

Each band has recently expanded or changed their instrumentation, in both cases by adding fiddle to their basic lineup. In Crooked Still's case, Brittany Haas has joined the band on 5 string fiddle, expanding the group to a quintet. For the Burners, Shannon Whitworth's departure on banjo and guitar resulted in the addition of fiddler Odessa Jorgensen to the band, who adds an equally distinctive second and harmony voice to the vocal mix. Each band is working from a bluegrass/traditional wellspring, with the Burners employing dobro, bass, fiddle, and guitar, and Crooked Still using their unique low-end lineup that includes cello and bass, along with guitar, fiddle, and Liszt's banjo.

The distinctive sound of each band starts with the talents of their remarkable lead vocalists. The Biscuit Burners' bassist/singer Mary Lucey adds a mesmerizing tone and delivery, one that’s repeatedly dubbed “hypnotic” by the bluegrass press. Crooked Still’s Aoife O’Donovan’s vocals have been characterized as somewhere between the intense earthiness of Appalachian icon Hazel Dickens and the lightness of pop star Karen Carpenter. Oddly, that's not a bad description.

What characterizes the "new folk revival" is how a new generation is approaching traditional folk material, and these two bands have been honing and developing their individualistic approach to the folk canon over several distinctive CDs.

A quick glance at the songwriting credits shows that, on these new CDs, the Biscuit Burners play a setlist that’s mostly original material and songs by contemporaries, crafted with a strong sense of tradition. Crooked Still adds some older material, including songs by Olla Belle Reed, Mississippi John Hurt, several 19th century American ballads, but also includes a few originals.

This is the “folk revival” sense that Bob Dylan embodies so perfectly: writing original songs rooted in traditional lyrical and musical forms. According to Benjamin Filene, author of the essential study Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and American Roots Music, there's something to be said about this creative element and the "folk process itself," one that many folk purists have never come to terms with:

Some contemporary revival practitioners have managed to sidestep the strictures of authenticity and ally themselves not with a certain canon or a particular sound but to the folk process itself—the process of digging for vernacular roots, creatively combining them into new forms, and giving them fresh life through personally meaningful art. ("Oh Brother, What Next? Making Sense of the Folk Fad". Southern Cultures, 10.2 (2004), 50-69)

Both bands breathe fresh life into the musical forms they embrace. The Burners, for instance, embed Bengali song forms into one tune, while evoking traditional Appalachian imagery on tunes like "Sweet Red Wine" and "Drunk Up All The Whiskey." They pen a few original ballads, one about Annie Oakley, as well as a tribute to the environmental activist heroes of Edward Abbey's novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. Crooked Still's use of deep, plucked cello and bass runs sound unlike anything in the traditional canon, but their picking and interplay has a strong old-time and bluegrass feel. In this way, each digs deeply into their roots, creates new forms, and gives them fresh life. As Ben Filene points out, this is what the "folk process" is all about.

Photo credits: Crooked Still from the Signature Records website, Biscuit Burners from their own website.

Cowboy Junkies revisited

I just turned 50, and I’m happy to announce that I’m skipping giddily into my second half-century. Yeah, it's a time for musing, to be sure, but I'm of the opinion that aging gets a bad rap. There’s something delightful about accumulating experience, and something equally comforting about amassing a seemingly endless sea of touchstones and allusions through individual and collective memory. What we’ve done, where we’ve gone, books we’ve read, events we've witnessed, and oh so much music we've enjoyed – it's the ongoing reflection on all these, either deeply or as hints of allusion – that adds luminance and luster to where we are in the present. Heady, sure, but 50 does that.

The whole thing – this living in the world – is far more enjoyable thanks to the rich cultural anchors we latch on to along the way. Musically speaking, new friends come and go, and some you hang to for the long haul. For me, the Cowboy Junkies are such a band, a musical family that creates meaningful art that enriches my enjoyment and understanding of this earthly pale. That’s what good art does, and this Canadian family does it with lyrical beauty and musical depth. I’ve eagerly awaited each new release over the course of several decades, and it’s this history and appreciation that makes the release of the CD/DVD set Trinity Revisited such a delight.

Two decades ago, the Junkies cemented their sound and musical personality by recording, in the space of one November day in 1988, a set of twelve tunes in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. With The Trinity Session the three Timmins siblings – guitarist/songwriter Michael, vocalist Margo, and drummer Peter, along with bassist Alan Anton, defined the Cowboy Junkies sound. Their original material was dark and spare, evocative, elegiac, and utterly captivating, from the lover’s lament “Misguided Angel,” to the sliding bass hook and Margo’s haunting vocals on “Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis).” They were putting their remarkably original sound on old and new traditions, from the dirge-like take on Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” to their remake of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane,” which put Margo Timmins on the map as one of the most unique voices in music. It was a brilliant, influential album, and launched an illustrious career, one I’ve followed closely ever since.

Trinity Revisited features the Junkies back in Holy Trinity, singing the same songs, with a stellar set of guest musicians. The music has gained depth and context after two decades, but sounds wonderfully fresh in these takes. Guests include Natalie Merchant, who shares vocals with Margo on “Misguided Angel,” Vic Chesnutt, longtime Junkies musical companion Jeff Bird, and the hugely talented Ryan Adams. It’s great stuff, no doubt.

But the real beauty here is the sound and sight of the DVD. The band and guests sit in a circle, with masterful lighting by Eugene O’Connor and Johnny McCullagh, whose carefully placed spotlights and on-stage candles impart a warm glow to the church, with the stained-glass windows adding further ambiance. Listening to the audio CD doesn't capture the beauty of the DVD, so wonderfully filmed by Pierre and Francois Lamoureux. It’s a fitting tribute to the original recording that made the Junkies famous. Not to mention a nice birthday present for an old guy like me. Thanks, Junkies.

Photo of Margo Timmins from the Cowboy Junkies' website.

Appleseed Recordings 10th Anniversary Sampler

Sowing the Seeds: The 10th Anniversary

Soon after Appleseed Recordings was founded in 1997, this fine label gained critical acclaim with the release of Where Have All The Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger. A folk music festschrift, Where Have All The Flowers Gone featured 37 different versions of songs associated with Seeger, and put Appleseed on the map as a folk label to watch. The album contained all new recordings by luminaries like Bruce Springsteen, Odetta, Billy Bragg, Jackson Brown, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Paxton, Bruce Cockburn, Roger McGuinn, and other well-known folk musicians. Gathering such musical talent together was impressive feat for a small, relatively unknown record label.

Over the last decade a long list of progressive musicians have recorded for Appleseed, attracted by the label’s philosophy succinctly stated in their motto: “music that sows the seeds of social justice and conveys the timeless essence of the folk tradition.” This ideal is embodied by the looming presence of Pete Seeger’s voice and vision, as well as the ethics of label founder Jim Musselman, a former attorney who worked with Ralph Nader in the 1960s. Those familiar with Appleseed were quick to spot the roots of Springsteen’s recent Pete Seeger tribute recordings back to Appleseed’s Where Have All The Flowers Gone.

Appleseed has thrived over the last decade, amassing an impressive catalog of over 80 CDs by a range of respected artists. Sowing the Seeds celebrates the label’s musical legacy, and serves as a great sampler of the label’s talented roster, which includes Pete Seeger, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Peggy Seeger, and other folk icons.

Highlights abound. There’s Joan Baez and Jackson Browne’s duet on “Guantanamera,” as well as Tom Paxton and Anne Hill’s “There Goes the Mountain,” a song that resonates regionally as mountaintop removal ravishes Appalachia. There’s also “If You Miss Me on the Back of the Bus,” by Kim and Reggie Harris, a rousing sing-along that features Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame. The label has become home to a number of 60s folk-rock legends, such as Donavan and John Stewart. Stewart, the former Kingston Trio star who penned the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” passed away a few months ago. He released a handful of excellent CDs for the label.

There’s a strong anti-war theme on this sampler, and it shows up in a powerful version of “Bring Them Home” featuring Pete Seeger, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, and Anne Hills trading verses. Canadian folk singer Eric Andersen and Haitian hip-hop star Wyclef Jean join forces on Phil Och’s potent ballad, “White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land,” while another Canadian, Bruce Cockburn, delivers a stylized version of Seeger’s take on the Biblical book Ecclesiastes, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” which was a hit for the Byrds in 1966.

Speaking of the Byrds, the band’s founder Roger McGuinn recorded a CD of folk songs for Appleseed, Treasures from the Folk Den, and his version of the traditional “Dink’s Song” appears in this collection. Also included is a cut from David Bromberg’s great acoustic blues album from last year, Try Me One More Time, the first recording by this master in 17 years. You might remember Bromberg singing tunes from CD during his excellent gig at Floydfest in 2006.

Several new recordings add further luster to this sampler. First and foremost is a duet with Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen of “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” In this rendering, Seeger’s spoken dialogue simultaneously evokes 21st century America and the dust-bowl Depression era of John Steinbeck, adding further depth to Springsteen’s already powerful ballad.
Ani DiFranco recorded a new version of “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” for this CD. In her take, Pete Seeger’s Vietnam-era song sounds like it could have been written about the war in Iraq. Donovan adds a new version of his classic “Universal Soldier,” his 1965 hit that still stands as one of the finest anti-war songs ever written.

Seeger adds a few more new tracks for this sampler, including the darkly humorous “The Ross Perot (George Bush) Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions,” a song co-written by Seeger and author Calvin Trillin, and sang by Seeger and his grandson, Tao-Rodriquez Seeger (who fronts his own fine band, The Mammals).

For the record: versions of this have been published in other sources by the Bantering Bibliocrat.

David Crosby, and the dream of a better world

Sometime today David Crosby’s “Tamalpais High (At About 3)” came into my mind, and hung around with me for hours. A haunting, wordless track from his wonderfully spacey 1971 album, If I Could Only Remember My Name, the tune gently rolls with multi-tracked vocals by Crosby, along with guitars by Jorma Kaukonen and Jerry Garcia. This LP has been a favorite since the early 70’s, one of those albums I wore the tracks out on, and never replaced on CD until just recently. There's so much to love -- the long, electric saga "Cowboy Movie," the graceful cry for peace "What Are Their Names, " and the breathtakingly beautiful "Traction in the Rain" and "Orleans." The record cover unfolded to reveal a photo album of San Francisco's finest, including members of the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and CSNY. The album was reissued last year, and I finally got reacquainted with this old friend after several decades away -- and discovered that I still knew nearly every lyric and melody by heart.

If I Could Only... came at the right time in my musical progression, when I was about 14 or 15, and the album had been out a year or so. Crosby wasn't afraid to shuck any pretense of commercialism, and he recorded a record awash with rich harmonies and all the promises and hopes of a better world. As a young kid listening to every record he could get his hands on, Crosby's message resonated: music is love, a small cabal of men run this country and they don't care about peace, art and politics belong together, and there is beauty amidst the clamor. It was a time when the nightly news was filled with Vietnam, the cities were rumbling, race relations in my home North Carolina were shaky, and I was catching hell because I tried to grow my hair out. This recording embodies the whole hippy dream, of course, and the message was beautiful and the music and singing gently soared above it all. There wasn't a hit on the entire record, and that was just fine. Art transcended money any day, he seemed to be saying, and it's a message that's resonated ever since. So I'm thankful on a day when one of these melodies comes to romp in my conciousness for a while, making me smile and hum to myself as I do my quotidian tasks. Thanks, David. It's still a great record.