For 30 years, singer-songwriter, novelist and poet Bob Jensen has been a successful booking agent at his PEI-based company, Jensen Music International. His recent focus has been on his poetry and collaborations with other artists.
Jensen's poems are typically accessible. In notes about his poems he writes, "Sometimes when I read poetry, I have no idea what the poet is talking about. When I write I want people to know exactly what I’m saying and why I am saying it, and very few of my poems are what I might describe as cryptic. To me poetry should be an arrow straight to the heart.” And who better than Annie Gallup to set these poems to music? Her own work springs from poetic lyrics, sung and spoken to her impeccable sense of rhythm and melody. Her work is always arranged with loving care and performed with nuanced musicianship. By setting these straight to the heart arrows to music, Gallup helps us more easily connect to the power of Jenson’s poetry. Piano reverberates as if in a cathedral and heavenly harmonies greet the ear in the first track "For The Million Candles Burning," while the lyrics pack references to modern tragedy and biblical destruction on “the last night of the world.” Prayers go unanswered; "And from his poet’s grave/ The prophet marvels at the shame/ For the million candles burning/ For the help that never came.”
"Who But Daniel," about a dream of a laughing baby boy who never arrives, entwines joy and sorrow with loss and connection as only a poetic song can. “I saw him in a dream/ so many years ago/ Laughter beyond measure/ from that small aortic flow… “For the hopeful place that we had set/ For one as yet to come/ Would be taken from our table/ Before the morning sun.” “A Heavy Millstone,” is a different kind of straight shot, using stark and unflinching language to condemn the pervasive complicity that covered up the sexual abuse of children by priests. Jenson and Gallup are also effective exploring things that sustain and inspire. The clip-clopping banjo driven rhythm (an echo of "Ghost Riders in the Sky”?) of "Run For Me" is absolutely perfect for this poem celebrating the heart thrill and hope embodied in horses running free.
"The Poet's Advice to His Younger Self" is the kind of song you may want to send to yourself at various times in your life.
“Go forth into that morning/ And ride towards the sun/ And climb your a hundred apple trees/ Before the day is done.” Jensen penned "Into the Peaceful Night” as a rebuttal to Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle," inspired by his father's peaceful and dignified passing. Unlike the other songs in this collection, this one is presented with only Gallup's layered vocals, but like the other songs in this collection it is beautifully phrased, emotionally accessible and beautifully sung. Did You Hear the Red-Winged Blackbird is a serendipitous collaboration, for Gallup, finding words for her music and for Jensen, hearing his words faithfully inhabited and made into music. The serendipity extends to anyone who takes a moment to let these beautiful poems be sung into their soul. —Michael Devlin
Vance Gilbert is a musical renaissance man in an era of niches. Watching his YouTube isolation Monday Night Acoustic Pajama Parties, one is astounded by the breadth and size of his catalogue as he sings song after song that make you draw breath in a new way. On Good Good Man he bounces from style to style, comfortable and in command. Several of the tracks sound like they could have been at home on an early 80’s Al Jarreau album. (Vance has obviously heard of the man… witness his stunning cover of “Could You Believe.”) Though the styles of his songs won’t stay put in anyplace but excellence, his guitar work and vocals have always been informed by jazz. Even the most “singer-songwriter” tunes show that he is not satisfied with ho-hum guitar work. “Zombie Pattycake” with jazzy chords, upright bass and trombone strikes a perfect balance between whimsical and cool. The sheer artistry of his cover of “Wildflower” left me saying “Wow!” out loud the first time I heard it, reveling in the guitar work and the gorgeous phrasing of the vocals. I don’t know what made Gilbert write “Hitman” (not the musical kind), but he imbues his subject with unexpected pathos and complexity. The compression of detail and emotion in every line makes one fall in love with his word-smithing all over again. “Cousin Shelly’s Stationwagon” manages to be wistful while calmly observing the passage of time, “I’ve seen you work your magic up on the silver screen/ And play the part of the mother of the girl you used to be.” His bio on his website quotes him saying, “I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” which may explain why he enlisted the help of Chris Smither for “Another Good Day Above Ground.” Vance Gilbert’s shows are totally involving, with great songs and musicianship, comic moments, social commentary, but I always find myself eagerly awaiting the moment he puts down the guitar and dramatically sings “Spencer the Rover” or “King of Rome.” “The Day Before November” is a spoken word piece filled with the childhood pranks and chills of Halloween against a backdrop of the openly acknowledged bruises caused by one of the boy’s father. I’ll be waiting for this one the next time he comes to town. Good Good Man is a proof that this great, great artist is still the best of all imaginable Vance Gilberts! —Michael Devlin
Eliza Gilkyson has been traveling the troubadour road since 1979, yet she’s not just “still around.” She’s a revelation every time she performs, collaborates or puts out new music. Her songs are ripe with images and phrases that give you goosebumps as she sings them into your heart. Her voice, always a dusty alto, has never sounded better, ready to get the most out of her poetic songs. Gilkyson’s recent albums have commented on the state of the world as it spins from disaster to hope and Home is well aware of the world, but it is more about where the heart is. As usual, there is attention to detail in the varied arrangements, with the vocals always front and center. The first track, “True North,” is typical of the care given to the production and arrangement. It accumulates a guitar, fiddle and harmony vocals on top of the opening pluck of a banjo, building the mood without burying the lyrics. Her duet with Robert Earl Keen, “How Deep,” asks the “did I?” questions appropriate to a long back catalogue of life. “Did I dance did I sing/ Did I do everything/ I promised myself I’d try to do./ Did I follow my heart/ Finish what I started/ Pay attention to the music coming through… And most of all, how deep did I love.” To say the least, these two have what it takes to sing such a song. “Sunflowers” is a song commissioned by Craig Hella Johnson for the internationally acclaimed, Grammy-winning choral ensemble, Conspirare. It is inspired by the Ukrainian people, for whom the sunflower has long been a symbol of peace. Such an assignment could have produced a more anthemic song, but taken without any other context, “Sunflowers” is a personal appreciation of the normal, peaceful things in life like “roses round the gate,” “simple gifts of kindness/ and the blessing of more time,” and sunflowers. “Witness” is a gorgeous grown up love song, sensual and spiritual, as complete as the new discovery of old love. She lists the many lovely things she appreciates about her lover, including “The way you hear me out when you know I’m hurting/ You’re the compassionate one.” Not exactly kids stuff! Also notable is the cinematic “Man in a Bottle,” a multi-part tribute to her father featuring bits of his music. The music shifts smoothly as different singers transition the song from scene to scene. Home is a perfect amalgam of textures, rhythms and poetry illuminated by long experience, easily one of the best albums of Gilkyson’s excellent oeuvre. She has been nominated for Grammys in the past… maybe this time? —Michael Devlin
True in Time sounds like the work of a musician who has been perfecting his art since the late 1970’s… because it is. In three days in a studio full of fine musicians and with vocals by fellow singer-songwriters Lucy Kaplansky, Eliza Gilkyson and Jonatha Brooke, he has produced another masterful album of songs that must be considered to be among his finest. No matter whether the songs are whimsical or profound, Gorka’s rich baritone is still the perfect instrument, and his playing has never sounded better. The title track was written in collaboration with Pete Kennedy shortly after the consecutive deaths of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Gorka quoted Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” (“a mother and child reunion is only a motion away”), and Pete responded saying, “maybe all songs come true in time.” The song that sprouted from this topical seed grows into a reflection on the nature of truth in passing time. “Crowded Heart” is classic John Gorka, nailing a bit of truth and beauty with gentle humor, pondering what it feels like to be filled “with all that living brings.” “Fallen for You” recalls the alert system ads, “I’ve fallen for you and I can’t get up,”with a wry senior romantic twist. True in Time is an essential listen for anyone who finds truth in a crowded heart. —Michael Devlin
Low Tide, things have been taken out to sea, never to return, other things uncovered under the sky, and the promised return of a teeming flood—this is the shore that Tracy Grammer looks out from. After years of curating and completing her duo work with her late parter, Dave Carter, she has produced an album of mostly her own songs, finding her own voice and aural space. The work with Carter was somewhat wryly referred to as “post-modern, mythic, American folk music,” and was the product of soaring genius. Where to go from there? The love of language and finely crafted songs is still central to Grammer’s work, but she now sings her own story and observations. The album opens with “Hole,” a song with some very Dave Carterish touches (such as the use of the word “shatterlings”), but also a bold new sound, attitude and personal viewpoint. Romantic disappointment is the theme of “Daffodil Days” and “Were You Ever Here.” “Good Life” is a song from the point of view of her father who passed away in 2013. He reviews his life as its end approaches, acknowledging mistakes and lessons learned, still summing it up as a good life, enjoying a peach, “with the juice from that fruit dripping all down my face/there is only this moment, only this place.” The cover of Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting” will surely get stuck in you head with its string-laden arrangement and catchy chorus. The song is even more interesting upon discovering that it is based on Peter Reich's 1973 memoir, A Book of Dreams. The new recording of “The Verdant Mile,” a song that totters between despair and acceptance of her partner’s tragic passing, illuminates Grammer’s personal and artistic journey. Previously recorded for The Verdant Mile EP, the song has undergone a complete makeover. The original featured an uptempo beat and urgently emotionally vocals in an acoustic arrangement without drums. This version features a marching drumbeat complete with glockenspiel, a complex, moody arrangement and stylized vocals. Once one gets over the fact that Tracy has altered a song that was a part of the healing process for Dave Carter’s many fans, one can clearly see and appreciate that she is no longer looking at her grief from the inside. That point is more specifically made in the last song, “Free,” the last lines of which state, “whatever comes will be okay/ you know it will.”Low Tide is more than “okay,” with engaging songs beautifully sung and arranged. The rising tide is eagerly awaited! —Michael Devlin
You would think they would be running dry with all of their recent output, but they just keep getting better. Hat Check Girl, Peter Gallway and Annie Gallup, make lots of music, some solo, some with others, but most wonderfully together. They take turns writing songs, taking lead vocals, and are outstanding on multiple instruments. They seem to be in complete agreement about their style, intense yet unhurried and quiet, poetic as they enjoy each other in deep partnership. The songs are populated and cinematic, with stories they have heard and things they have felt. “My Dream Last Night” written by Peter from a comment by Annie, features duet interplay, quite literally showing them to be a couple who finish each other’s sentences! The same can be said for the way Annie’s pedal steel and Peter’s guitar compliment each other. They craft their songs, lyrics creating and flowing through melody and rhythm. The production provides the space for their virtuosity, as they sing snapshots in lines that stay with you. In “Everybody Dance And Sing,” a song about a successful touring duo Annie sings, “The third and fourth martinis / smell like a first aid kit.” In “How Far Will You Go” Annie sings, “Eyes like a wolf and the colors don’t match/ Why would he drink himself under the table/ straight from the bottle that has a skull with an eyepatch?” then Peter sings, “I like the label.” “Earl Had The Night Shift,” a song about a parking lot worker who “Had something in his pocket made you slip away,” appropriately has a Tom Waits vibe in the rhythm section. Although they have moved from coast to coast, “Moving West” is not exactly their story, but there is something knowing about, “Take the 10-cent goldfish, the credit card and a couple hundred bucks.” “He Loved Horses” is impossible to get out of your head, but why would you want to? The song is as beautiful as the title suggests. “Kiss Me Quick” is a jazzy opposites attract duet. His words are cynical, hers reveal craving for what is not good for her, both maybe not quite understanding themselves. As notes for the album coyly state, “Almost a love song.” If you want more than a peck on the cheek from your music, Kiss Me Quick is for you!—Michael Devlin
This is an album that could only be made by an artist whose life’s work has been to write and sing from her heart. Janis Ian has never sounded better. She still has a lot to say and knows how to sing it and back it up with some fine guitar work. Although her songs are often on an intimate level, focussed and emotionally telling, she has never shied from commenting on societal issues. Janis considers “I’m Still Standing,” a song that embraces the lines that time brings to one’s face, as an update to “At Seventeen.” She is more sure at seventy as perhaps she was not at seventeen, that “Only lovers understand/ Skin just covers who I am.” “Resist” could be seen as the evolution of the girl in “At Seventeen” to the woman who calls out the ingrained misogyny of our culture. The thump and grind of the band and Janis’s biting guitar underscore the righteous anger of the song. The next song, “Stranger” needs only Ian’s quietly expressive vocals and exquisitely picked guitar, to explore the many ways an immigrant experiences being a stranger, which is even more heartbreaking when they are deported after establishing a life here. “Wherever Good Dreams Go” is specifically a song Ian wrote for a friend who lost a child, but it morphs as one listens to fill the empty spaces in one’s own heart. “Do you see me down here/ Talking to the empty air?/ In my memories of you,/ I’m just a little closer to/ Wherever good dreams go up there.” You will find yourself incapable of doing anything but listen as she sings the simple hope that love endures. “Nina” is a complex tribute to Nina Simone. Although it was not easy to be her friend, Ian’s respect and admiration are summed up, “you were always beautiful to me.” “Perfect Little Girl” is inspired by Cindy Bullens who has transitioned to Cid Bullens. This song is such a good example of what makes Janis Ian’s work special. Her songs connect emotionally, from phrase to phrase, even before you know what the song is “about” on a literal level. “Better Times Will Come” is a song conceived during the pandemic that inspired the Better Times Will Come Project. Ian is joined by an all-star cast on the tune and I can’t help thinking that the spirit of Pete Seeger was with them as they sang. The Light at the End of the Line is a flame kept burning with care, dedication, talent and craft. Ian’s power to illuminate has grown with her as she shines her honest light further into her life and the lives of all of us who have spent a lifetime loving her music. —Michael Devlin
Through her songs Lucy Kaplansky has made all who would listen welcome to the big, real things she has lived through. If you were listening, you remember a family reunion when she was a child, the night she met her husband, the moon that hung over her and her daughter, her mother and her dad as they grew old. We looked with her out the window of a Brooklyn train at a hole in our hearts in late 2001. Her lyrics compress details of clear observation while her phrasing lingers for a closer look. Her voice is an old friend among old friends (Richard Shindell and John Gorka), she sings and you know who she is. Most traces of her Chicago accent have disappeared, and when her songs have a place, it is New York City, the place she has lived ever since music was her livelihood. “Song Of The Exiled” is a tale of two taxi rides, one in 1995 and one present-day. In the first ride, the driver is a Hungarian survivor of the the WWII camps. The second driver is from China. Both are happy to be here as their stories weave themselves into the fabric of New York and “the promise of our flag.” The title track picks up the story of Lucy and her daughter. I remember when the arrival of her daughter first inspired some of her best songs, so I share her dismay that eighteen years have passed and now she’s going off to college. Kaplansky packs boxes and worries, “Hope her bed is soft enough, hope at night she’s not afraid/ And I hope her friends will be caring and kind.” In “Independence Day” her vocal style may remind you of Mary Gauthier as it matches the defiance of her heroine singing “This is where it ends, this is where it ends/ Not setting foot in that house again.” As usual, Kaplansky takes some songs from other artists and makes them her own. The cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days” is slow and contemplative. “These Boots Are Made for Walking” defies expectations of a campy rendition, instead becoming more of a companion piece for “Independence Day.” The last track shows that the heart of New York beats strong in the unsung heroes who hold it together. “Elmhurst Queens Mother’s Day” recalls the early days of the pandemic, “Then I read about a nurse’s day in Queens/In cotton scrubs she is the infantry/Weaponless soldiers in the fight/ Trenches painted in fluorescent light.” No vaccines, few masks, heroes coming home from work and isolating from their families. The Last Days Of Summer is once again Lucy Kaplansky letting us into her heart and her city, and the music plays in our heads, and we feel a connection. We are a little more at home in this time, and if you are a New Yorker, this place. —Michael Devlin
First impression, magnificent! Two women singing harmony as expressively as a skilled fiddler plays two strings together… backed by exactly that kind of fiddle playing by Lisa Maria. Add the equally impressive Amy Lou Keeler on guitar, banjo and fiddlesticks and the air vibrates with harmony and melody. What… there are words too! I’ll confess that it took a second listen to register the lyrics, so captivating is their sound. Mama’s Broke is like nothing you have heard and everything you have heard, breathing in the air of many traditions and singing it out with their own voices. Both women seem most comfortable in the alto range, so perhaps you could you call it a low lonesome sound? The title track has a descending riff that takes a dizzying extra step down, perfectly suited to the lyrics. “We can’t hold it all/ Our hands are just too small/ The best we can do is break up time/ And keep it on a narrow line.” The third track, “Between The Briar & The Rose,” is an absolutely fascinating sound, with banjo and fiddle, sounding at once like chamber music and like something wafting up from a holler. Sometimes banjo and fiddle play like a single instrument, sometimes they diverge to take turns establishing the rhythm. There is a feeling of grandeur as the song reaches a smoky Appalachian peak. The instrumental “Pick the Raisins from the Paska” has a baroque flavor. The most narrative song “How it Ends,” tells a quintessential country story. “Cause even when it was bad, you were the best I ever had” and “but you wrote the same old story in another woman’s bed,” —all set to a toe-tapping fiddle beat. Many reviews of their music call it dark as if that is a surprise; after all, they are heavily influenced by traditional music. Stark images abound, intense but non-specific. The impressionistic lyrics are slow to give up their secrets, but perfect for pondering as the melodies and instrumental and vocal harmonies wash over you. This is a deeply satisfying album to spin frequently, enjoying the musicianship and synergy of the duo. —Michael Devlin
This is Pierce Pettis’s first studio album in almost a decade. The album opens with “Wouldn’t Change It For the World,” an autobiographic look at the life of a songwriter and troubadour. He covers similar ground with Jesse Winchester’s “A Showman’s Life.” One could read some of the same theme into “Very Same Moon,” a song he sings with (and possibly too) his daughter, who last sang with him at the age of nine on 2009’s Everything Matters. In an interview for The Music Matters Review back in 2001, Pettis said of his songwriting, “Sometimes I feel like an idiot savant. I accidentally come across things that everybody knows. I have long since come to the conclusion that I have nothing to teach anybody, but the best I can do is to try to remind people of the things they already know.” [Click here for full interview.] He expresses this even more succinctly in “The Adventures of Me (and this Old Guitar), “So I just breathe in all the details/ And sometimes exhale a song.”
With his quiet vocal style and vibrato, his best songs are subtle, grounded in profound truth. “Your Father’s Son” is simple and hauntingly effective, letting us fill in the particulars of our own relationship with our fathers. Over the years Pettis has written songs that you will find yourself needing to hear at a significant events in your life. Set at a graveside, “More” is such a song. “This is not the hardest part of all/ This is just a seed that had to fall.” “Mr. Zeidman,” a memorial to a small town’s “one and only Jew,” tells his story through the eyes of people who did not know him well, yet reveals his essence between the lines. It is a masterpiece, enhanced by Andrea Zonn’s beautiful string arrangement. Pettis covers “Look Over Your Shoulder,” a beautiful song by his late friend, Mark Heard. The last track “Instrument” is a songwriter’s prayer, “So if anyone should pay me any mind/ Let them catch a little glimpse of you.” As one would expect from an artist who has devoted his life to his craft, you will find these songs in your head enriching your spirit and ready to turn to fully when you need them. —Michael Devlin
The Fretless are a Juno Award winning string quartet, playing a shifting blend of folk genres with fresh energy, intricate arrangements, impeccable musicianship and easy (sounding) interaction developed over more than a decade together. If there was a music festival for folks like this, one would expect to see them sharing a bill with the Kronos Quartet and Goat Rodeo.
"Caledonia" is the song that first grabbed my attention, hearing it for the first time one afternoon on Folk Alley; surely a stop what you’re doing and stare at your speaker moment! It opens with a mysterious swell of lower register strings that immediately grab your heart. This was also my introduction to the voice of Madeleine Roger, who brings to mind the lovely timbre and phrasing of Aoife O’Donovan. The interweaving melody and textures of the strings and vocals are irresistible. The song set off a chain reaction, resulting in a long YouTube dive into The Fretless back catalogue, with side trips to Madeleine Roger's work and comparison viewing of work by similar artists. Hours flew by!
The first track on Glasswing, “Lost Lake,” treats one to lively bowed and plucked strings, soaring and swooping somewhere between Celtic and classical, high energy and complex, fun and conversational. Album credits identify viola, cello and fiddle (videos of The Fretless in concert show that they are indeed fiddlers as they play standing!). Cellist Eric Wright needs a violin/fiddle equivalent monicker for his cello; he is frequently the “percustringist,” plucking and chuffing the strings while bowing the low melodies. The arrangements never stray from what can be done in concert and the attention to aural detail in the production heightens the sense of luminous communication the band has developed over the years. "Turtle Bay" is a particularly lilting composition, cinematic and haunting. Songs such as “Tree Finder” and “On The Hook” are almost narrative with their lyrical melodies, as rhythms and motifs emerge from one another like Russian dolls. "Pipe Dream" is a pop song at heart, but the string arrangement levels it up in complexity and sonic interest. "Icarus" again finds Madeleine Roger lending qualities of melodic phrasing to match that of her stringed accompaniment. The arrangement is punctuated by processed fiddling that sounds like startled birds taking wing around the soon to fall Icarus—stunning! Have a listen to Glasswing and we’ll chat about it at the No Fret Rodeo Festival! —Michael Devlin
The sound—roots music with banjo and guitar riding the edge of a driving beat. And then there is the thrill of the harmonies, with Cara Luft and JD Edwards blending their voices into a glorious third thing. “Long Long Moon” with its ancient theme of a lover lost at sea, embodies a lot of what makes The Small Glories unique and exciting. Even with a foundation of clawhammer banjo and body percussion, there is nothing “small” about the sound, with booming bass drum and layered vocals. Their songwriting works on many levels, triggered by details of story and place, shaping melodic songs full of hooks and melodies that echo in your head for days. The album takes its title from the confluence of two rivers in Winnipeg. Three of the songs specifically reflect their Canadian roots, “Alberta,” in which a lover comes in second to the allure of the province, “Johnson Slide,” a first person elegy set in the disastrous mudslide that befell a remote valley and “Winnipeg,” a whimsical song that could win a chamber of commerce contest conducted by the city. The rousing “Don’t Back Down,” with high register banjo, accordion and fiddle has a Celtic feel as it supplies a soundtrack to face down hard times. This song really needs to be in a stand up and cheer kind of movie! “Pieces of Me” stands out sonically with its guitar amp reverb cranked up enough to produce coiling artifacts to match the duo’s vocal vibrato. This album has something new to discover each time you listen, an unusual harmony, an idiosyncratic bend of a note, a haunting turn of phrase… and you will probably want to give yourself a lot of opportunities for such discovery! —Michael Devlin
