By Art Edelstein
Arts Correspondent
For this holiday season we suggest homegrown music as presents to friends, family and yourself. These are albums we have reviewed this year. You can order CDs and/or streamed albums from the Internet by checking each artist’s website for information.
Colin McCaffrey: ‘The Cobbler’s Child’
Colin McCaffrey is usually the producer or engineer for new recordings but for “The Cobbler’s Child,” he recorded 10 songs in Nashville on a 37-minute album. McCaffrey’s singing is soulful, powerful and true to the country sound that is at the core of the music.
Dave Keller: ‘Live at the Killer Guitar Thriller’
Bluesman Keller’s first live album, “Live at the Killer Guitar Thriller” was recorded with his trio. We hear a performance as authentic as it gets. All 77 minutes and 15 tracks are great blues. Keller sings and plays guitar accompanied by bass man Alex Budney and drummer Jay Gleason.
Joanne Garten: ‘The Bee’s Knees’
Joanne Garten joins Alasdair Fraser, Laura Risk and others in the rarified field of Scottish fiddling. Her fiddling is as smooth as the best single malt Scotch. The tone is warm and comforting. On nine tracks and 45 minutes we get 25 different tunes as the tracks mostly include several melodies.
Molly Millwood: ‘Something Even Wilder’
Molly Millwood teams up with Colin McCaffrey, the talented producer and multi-instrumentalist, to create an album of 13 songs that highlights her sweet singing and strong songwriting. It’s a soft album, no sharp edges, lots of melodious instrumental backing and harmony singing in the 55-minute program.
Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy: ‘Golden’
Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy’s first duo album for this popular Brattleboro-based couple known for their work with Nightingale. With “Golden” we find these two musicians doing what they do best, playing a variety of traditional music, and music of their own creation, on fiddle and guitar that reflects their interest in Celtic and French styles.
Francesca Blanchard: ‘Make it Better’
Francesca Blanchard, the Burlington based bi-lingual singer-songwriter, released her second album, the nine song “Make it Better,” in digital format only. While Blanchard’s music has been categorized as “folk,” in reality this fine musician has recorded an album of introspective songs that seem more fittingly labeled as “pop” or “urban.”
Bidi Dworkin: ‘Beautiful Souvenirs’
This debut 12-track album is a compilation of songs selected from various genres including standards, and blues and folk. Bidi Dworkin adds a fresh take to the material. Among the tracks on the 50-minute CD are “How My Heart Sings, “The Song is You,” “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” and “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?”
Fern Maddie: ‘North Branch River’
This 27-minute EP is stunning in its simplicity and purity of sound. “North Branch River” resonates with a traditional mountain vibe haunting in its sound and lyricism. Fern Maddie’s voice has a purity that makes one think of a clear mountain stream with lyrics that evoke the Celtic origins of much of the music. She’s a fine clawhammer banjoist, the predominant style played in this old-time music.
Kimberley McKey: ‘Groundskeeper’
Kimberley McKey is the banjoist in the band Two Cents in the Till. Here on “Groundskeeper” she struts her stuff as a vocalist and songwriter on 11 tracks that feature her banjo as well as guest appearances by guitarist Doug Perkins and mandolinist Billy Corbett. Her voice has a light touch to it, and she sings with an ease that lies between pure country and modified folk. The band sounds a bit like Uncle Earl or Allison Kraus in its approach.
Western Terrestrials: ‘Back in the Saddle of a Fever Dream’
From the first thump of bass guitar on “Space Cowboy’s Got The Blues,” to the last steel guitar arpeggio riff on “Space Coyote Dub,” we hear a musically creative quintet that can navigate a variety of country-music styles, from Texas swing to rockabilly and Nashville cool. Each track from the alt-country Western Terrestrials has great energy and “Back in the Saddle of a Fever Dream” is definitely an album that you can dance to.
Maple Run Band
The self-titled album “Maple Run Band” is a reminder that strong songwriting, competent musicianship and singing can make an album of country based music very enjoyable. The album is reminiscent of music descended from Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Buck Owens, The Band, Uncle Tupelo and John Prine, Jason Isbell, The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile.
Gordon Stone: ‘A Retrospective Anthology’
Bluegrass banjoist Gordon Stone passed away this summer. This 21-track double album retrospective is available as a double vinyl LP and as a download from Bandcamp. There is a lot to like in the 90 minutes of music. The songs are representative of a recorded repertoire of over 100 songs from his five albums.
Spencer Lewis: ‘Solitude Is the Deepest Well’
Spencer Lewis’ most recent CD, number 30 in his growing discography, shows just how carefully he works to achieve the sound of layered acoustic guitar and violin that has become his trademark. “Solitude Is the Deepest Well” is an 18-track CD that is well-conceived and gorgeous in its sound.
Phil Henry: ‘Chasing Echoes’
Phil Henry’s fifth studio album, “Chasing Echoes,” expands on his strong songwriting and fine vocals. This is also a generous CD containing 16 tracks, 65-minutes, of music that is interesting in lyric content and musically entertaining. Henry’s subject matter is varied and comparative.
Maxine Linehan: ‘This Time of Year’
On Maxine Linehan’s new CD “This Time of Year” we discover a star power vocalist with the appeal of Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland whose program of songs leans heavily on a holiday experience that is neither a syrupy rehashing of over-recorded holiday pap, nor inappropriately jingly in this year of extreme political angst and pandemic concern. Some old songs, some less well known, some new make this the holiday album you’ll want this year.
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