Dana Robinson, Avenue of the Saints (Threshold Music, 2002)
Not too often do I like a collection of songs right away. This one I did! Dana Robinson has put together a group of songs that are lyrical and thoughtful, yet also melodic. I have become an instant fan!
I must admit something to everyone right off the bat. The first thing that grabs me when I listen to new music is the music itself. The lyrics could be the greatest poetry ever written, but if nothing appeals to me musically, I find it difficult to force myself to analyze the lyrics. I must have that part of the song for the other part to have any meaning at all.
This CD is what I think country music should sound like. It is stripped down to the bare essentials, with sparse arrangements that feel like they were recorded in your living room. I mean that in the most positive sense. The acoustic guitar sounds wonderful, as do the other instruments. Robinson has a percussive style on the guitar that drives the song along without the need of drums. He fingerpicks a melody while keeping the rhythm going, without missing a beat. There are drums here, but they are tasteful rimshots and brushes on cymbals placed where they should be in the mix. Keith Leverault handles the sticks with a nice light touch.
This is a wonderfully recorded disk, with a reverence for simplicity pervading the entire collection. The title track is a tribute to and a longing for the simple life. "Silos like Buddhas near Indian mounds, Sunflower monks watch the world turning round." Guitar, banjo and drums are the only instruments on this tune, and they are tastefully used for certain. Lui Collins does some vocal harmony and provides the banjo as well.
"One Way Ticket" is a quiet little tune about life on the road. It's a sparse arrangement punctuated with a little lap steel played by Rose Sinclair, who also plays banjo and accordion on other tracks.
"What Would Woody Do" is the fourth song on the album, an up-tempo rhetorical question paying tribute to Woody Guthrie. The song is a call for a return to a simpler world, where consumerism is decried and the value of the individual extolled. "He'd say when you find a thing that's wrong put your finger on it, 'Cause you don't need to be a poet to write a song about it.' Refreshingly naïve, but thought provoking. Robinson makes you think anything is possible if you look for what is really important.
The man can sing as well. His voice reminds me of what Cat Stevens would sound like if he had gone to Nashville instead of the Middle East. A little more vibrato in the voice, but the same gentle quality that is appealing -- to me at least. "Safe Home" is dedicated to some folks who put him up while on tour in England. It's just a simple, nicely expressed homage to "home."
If you like folk music with a country twang, but without the tight jeans and cowboy hat, I can recommend this disk with no doubt that you'll enjoy it. I'm going to check out the other disks on Robinson's Web site.
