New Multitudes - Farrar, Johnson, Parker, Yames

New Multitudes
Farrar, Johnson, Parker, Yames
Rounder 116619129
2012

I was fortunate enough to catch these guys playing this album at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen.  The Mayan is an intimate venue and I got up close to the stage, close enough to bask in Yim Yames' aura as he shredded on bass.  This album is a project in which modern musicians provide music for lyrics written by Woody Guthrie that he never recorded.  The music is composed by Jay Farrar of Son Volt, Will Johnson, Anders Parker and Yames (aka Jim James), the leader of My Morning Jacket.  The end result does not sound much like Guthrie, but I'm not complaining.  I admire Guthrie, but I listen a lot more to Son Volt and My Morning Jacket than my Guthrie records.  The sound is mostly alt-country and folk-rock and it manages to sound both contemporary and traditional at the same time.  Farrar's "Hoping Machine" is my favorite track on the record.  In the lyrics Guthrie urges the listener to keep hoping despite the problems of the world.  The words are rather awkward and unwieldy but Farrar's high mournful voice makes them ring true and when the majestic "out of order" chorus takes off, the song becomes extremely powerful.  It is a fantastic collaboration that in itself makes the project worthwhile.  Parker's "Fly High" is more subdued and conventional.  It is a sweet love song.  The album hits another high with Yames' "My Revolutionary Mind."  This is my favorite set of lyrics as Guthrie expresses his need for a left-wing lover because "ain't no reactionary baby can ease my revolutionary mind" after a hard day of class struggle.  I presume that Guthrie intended the song to be humorous, but with Yames' sensitive treatment and gorgeous vocal the song becomes a heartfelt and soulful plea.  It is a brilliant adaptation and as a bonus it concludes with a brief, noisy rave-up - Yames just can't help himself, the man was born to rock out.  Johnson's "V. D. City" is a Springsteen-style rocker with the propulsive music adding punch to an apocalpytic portrayal of a city ravaged by venereal disease where "Syph Alley" and "Clap Avenue" are overrun by lost souls. The fast tempo continues with Parker's "Old L. A." which is alternative rock reminiscent of R. E. M. and supports a lukewarm paean to Los Angeles.  Yames closes out the side with the folky "Talking Empty Bed Blues."  Yames' plaintive vocal underscores the loneliness expressed in the lyrics.  Side two opens with Johnson's "Chorine My Sheba Queen" which is a moody and romantic folk song that reminds me of Iron and Wine.  Farrar takes his turn with "Careless Reckless Love" which is another album highlight.  He uses an alt-country approach to the song investing the simple lyrics with great feeling.  The song builds in strength as it goes along propelled by a fine guitar solo.  Parker's final contribution is his best, the excellent "Angel's Blues."  The song is a rocker built around a ringing guitar riff suggestive of Neil Young or Richard Thompson.  The song is sexier than you might expect from Guthrie as he boasts about his romantic prowess.  Even Jim Morrison never came up with a line as good as "I got more little angels, than you'll find in the promised land."  Johnson's "No Fear" is a bluesy shuffle in which Guthrie looks forward to dying.  I find the song a little monotonous but the lyrics are impressive and remarkably dark.  Yames wrote the music for "Changing World" which is a minimalist folk song.  The lyrics are about not being afraid to change and live the life one wants to live.  Farrar finishes the album with "New Multitudes" which is about how the new generation will make the world a better place.  I think Farrar's three contributions to the record are the strongest among the four collaborators.  He really has a feel for Guthrie's vision.  The rest of the record is good too, one of the best of 2012 in my opinion.  I like the multifaceted portrait of Guthrie that it provides.  I don't claim to be an expert on the man, but I have a bunch of CDs and albums of his work and I find the breadth of material covered on this album to be revelatory.  I'm used to hearing Guthrie do old folk songs, union songs and earnest protest songs.  On this record he writes about sex, death and loneliness as well as politics and I like him better for it.  Kudos to Farrar, Johnson, Parker and Yames for giving these wonderful old songs life.  If you are not a vinyl nut, you probably should buy the deluxe CD version of this album (which costs less than the vinyl LP) which gets you a second disc with 11 extra songs plus a booklet with facsimiles of Guthrie's original handwritten lyrics as well as his artwork.  The album has none of that much to my chagrin.  It is still a great record though that sounds wonderful and I'm happy to have it.  Recommended to people who like "Another Side Of Bob Dylan" better than "The Times They Are A-Changin'."

Woody's Roots - Woody Guthrie

Woody's Roots
Woody Guthrie
Rounder 11661-1164-1
2009

A post for Woody Guthrie in honor of his 99th birthday.  I'm not a big folk fan, when it comes to Guthries I'm more likely to put on Arlo than Woody.  But among the old school folkies, Guthrie is my favorite.  Like a lot of people I first encountered Guthrie in music class in grade school via "This Land Is Your Land."  As a kid I thought the song must be over a hundred years old like "Oh Susanna" or "The Star-Spangled Banner" and most of the other songs we sang in class.  Little did I know that the author had just died a few years earlier.  In high school I got into Bob Dylan and from Dylan I learned about Guthrie.  Thanks Bob.  It took me awhile but I finally came to appreciate Guthrie's great contribution to American music.  I have an excellent CD comp of Guthrie's recordings, but frankly it is just too big.  I rarely have a hankering for that much Woody.  Besides I think he just sounds better on vinyl.  When I feel like some Guthrie, I usually reach for this record even though most of it isn't actually written by him.  It is part of a 4 record series entitled "My Dusty Road" put out by Rounder from the celebrated Asch recordings that were rediscovered a while back.  The Asch recordings were made in New York City in 1944 and 1945 and feature Guthrie alone as well as numerous recordings where he is accompanied by Cisco Houston which are the ones I find particularly appealing.  It was also issued in an elaborate box set on CD.  Each of the 4 records has a theme, this one is traditional music.  If you are into traditional folk music you've probably heard lots of these songs before, "John Henry," "Stackolee" and "Gypsy Davy" have been recorded many times but Guthrie's versions are about as good as any.  There are also some nice versions of old timey songs like "Put My Little Shoes Away" (with harmonica accompaniment by Sonny Terry), "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone," "What Did The Deep Sea Say," the Carter Family's "Little Darling Pal of Mine" and "A Picture From Life's Other Side" which I know from Hank Williams' version.  A lot of these tunes have Guthrie copyrights even though I know he didn't write them, like "Buffalo Skinners" and "Stewball," an English variant of which appears on the Steeleye Span album "Ten Man Mop."  I believe that "Poor Boy" really is one of his compositions and it is first rate.   My favorite songs are "Hard Ain't It Hard" and another Carter Family song "Worried Man Blues" which are essential Guthrie recordings.  They feel like America to me.  This is a wonderful record, an artifact of authentic and historic music, a piece of our culture that perhaps no longer exists, yet remains a part of what we are.  Recommended for fans of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.