Well, I have to say that the name threw me off course. I was expecting a seventeen stone blues shouter, but I was way off the mark. The core of Big Sadie’s actually two people; Elise Bergman (upright bass and vocals) and Collin Moore (guitar and vocals). They’re from Chicago, they’ve been together about ten years, “Keep Me Waiting” is their debut album and it’s a beautiful piece of work which reveals something different with every listen. It has that intimate feel that comes from recording the songs as if the band were playing a gig.
Elise and Collin have amassed a considerable repertoire of traditional songs, but “Keep Me Waiting” is all about their originals, split absolutely equally between the two. The quality of the songs is exceptional; apart from the instrumental “Anni’s Orchard”, each song is a perfectly constructed vignette where the vocal and instrumental arrangements enhance the message of the song. The opener, “Danny“, gives some idea of what’s to come with a neatly-told story of the ex-lover coming back to town and the futility of trying to recapture past relationships, set in a slow arrangement of banjo, upright bass and mournful fiddle. Oh, and gorgeous harmonies.
The two waltz-time songs on the album, “Before Morning” with Collin’s vocal and “Good Woman” with Elise leading, are given a melancholy feel by fiddle parts as they tell everyday stories of breakups and domestic drudgery respectively; the subject matter may be sorrowful, but the delivery is powerfully uplifting. Choosing standouts is difficult, the whole album is pure quality, but I’ll have a go anyway.
“Baby it Ain’t You“, is a slow country song with a powerful lead vocal from Elise and some perfect three-part harmonies in the refrain, and the title track acts as a showcase for the band’s individual and collective talents with the usual nailed-on harmonies and lots of solos. The perfect way to end a live set.
“Keep Me Waiting” is a masterful distillation of traditional playing styles and original songwriting across a wide variety of styles, from the Patsy Cline feel of “Baby it Ain’t You” to the pure bluegrass of the title song. The lead vocals and the harmonies are superb throughout and the band is completely convincing. You really should give it a listen.
“Keep Me Waiting” is released in the UK on Friday September 29th on Spindle Tree Records.
And yet another album from an artist with over fifty years of music-making, including thirty albums, behind him. “Bone on Bone” is his first album in six years and it’s a timely reminder of the quality of his acoustic playing and the depth of his songwriting. You wouldn’t say “Bone on Bone” was an easy listen lyrically; there are apocalyptic visions, environmental concerns and religious references alongside Bruce Cockburn’s robust and assured finger-picking. As good as the songs are, it’s his playing that stands out for me as he moves between standard acoustic, resonator and twelve-string acoustic, even including a guitar instrumental, the title track, finger-picked over a relentlessly repeated single note thumbed in the bass. And, as an interesting little aside for you, the lyric booklet is in English and French although only “Mon Chemin” is actually sung in French. If you know a bit of French, you can pick out subtle additional layers of meaning from the translations – the album’s opening song “States I’m In” translates literally as “My States of Soul”.
The album may be dominated by Bruce Cockburn’s acoustic playing, but that doesn’t mean that it’s predictable with styles ranging from the bluesy and slightly sardonic “Café Society” to the gospel feel of “Jesus Train” and the zydeco rockabilly of “Stab at Matter”. And it’s good to hear flugelhorn player Ron Miles adding some mellow brass voicings to the mix. What about the standouts? Well, “States I’m In” is difficult to beat with its almost-stream-of-consciousness lyrics stretching the song out to nearly six minutes, while “3 Al Purdys” is a vision of a manic street orator offering to recite three Al Purdy poems for twenty dollars.
The subject matter of the album is complex and, unlike our politicians on both sides of the pond, Bruce Cockburn doesn’t try to tell us that there are easy answers. There are lots of religious references, but these are much about the artist exploring his own relationship with his faith, rather than trying to sell a particular vision. “Bone on Bone” is a confident and mature album that doesn’t shy away from exploring complexity and resists easy paths. Recommended for anyone that’s happy to put in a bit of effort to get the most out of an album.
“Bone on Bone” is released in the UK on Friday September 15th on True North Records (TND678).
