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Nick A. Zaino,
III: January, 2001
Pops
and the Pastures of Plenty
One
of the most charming and intriguing albums I’ve happened upon
this past year was Pops Farrar’s Memory Music: Songs and Stories
from the Merchant Marines (www.skuntry.com).
This would be interesting were it anyone’s father, but this
Pops belongs to Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. There
are 36 tracks stuffed onto this album, some classic tunes
and some rambling stories about how Pops got into performing
for his fellow marines as a way to get a 72-hour weekend pass.
You can hear the years in the man’s voice as he works his
way through tunes like “Darling Clementine”, “Frankie and
Johnny”, and “Swing Low”. And in just about any other context,
“Old Black Joe” would be horribly offensive. As it is, Pops’
exaggerated diction and slightly off-pitch rendition can’t
be anything other than comical, and even a little sad. A handful
of tracks are nicely produced, with full band arrangements,
but most of the disc sounds like it was recorded with Pops
sitting out on his porch with his accordion and harmonica
reliving the tunes he sang when he was in his prime. You can
hear planes passing overhead, maybe some traffic in the background,
and a forest full of birds and critters. Funny, but the picture
on the back of young Pops in his captain’s hat and wool jacket
makes him look a tad bit like Les Claypool.
Sonny Farrar (also known as Jay) is also starting to get a
bit busier. He’s started scheduling solo dates, and should
have a solo album out sometime early this year. The music
is apparently already in the can, and the album is tentatively
titled Sebastapol. There are a handful of dates scheduled
now, but nothing past January. Son Volt hasn’t officially
broken up, but there aren’t any plans in the works for the
band to work together anytime soon. So the closest you’ll
come to new Son Volt material will be their cover of Bruce
Springsteen’s “Open All Night” on the Badlands: A Tribute
to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska disc. It’s a good cover, definitely
within the band’s range and personality.
There are a few standouts on the Badlands album, most notably
Dar Williams’ “Highway Patrolman” and Damien Jurado and Rose
Thomas singing “Wages of Sin”, which is one of the bonus tracks.
Jurado has a wonderful, passionate voice, and this album should
help expose him to a lot more people in 2001. He has a new
album, Ghost of David, which is his follow-up to last year’s
Rehearsal for Departure. If either of these albums are anything
like his contribution to Badlands, he could be quite a find.
Another great addition to the Badlands disc is Johnny Cash
singing “I’m on Fire”, also a bonus track. Cash’s rendition
is one of the few on the album that really lay claim to the
song. Cash doesn’t try to mimic Sprinsteen’s mood or cadence,
and sings it, as he has with so many over his past three albums,
as a great Johnny Cash song. Of all sources, USA Today is
reporting that Cash went to work on the follow-up to his American
III album the day after he finished recording it, and that
he never had Shy Drager’s Syndrome after all. He’s currently
wintering in his Jamaican home, working on new tunes. God
help the creature in charge of forcing this man’s spirit from
this world.
Switching gears a bit, there’s a new series in Boston dedicated
to roots music called Pastures of Plenty. Alastair Moock (www.moock.com)
is the brains behind the series, which debuted December 14
at Club Passim in Cambridge, featuring Laurie Geltman, Les
Sampou, Rob Laurens, Chandler Travis, Lori McKenna, and Laura
Risk. And these are some deep roots. Risk played several fiddle
pieces from the 1800s, while Les Sampou saved “You Are My
Sunshine” from Oscar-Myer hell, restoring it to the sad, glorious
song it was meant to be. Moock himself covered a lot of territory,
playing original rough-hewed tunes that fit nicely with the
obligatory Woody Guthrie cover and a nod to John Prine. The
series will pick up again in February with a night at Johnny
D’s in Sommerville.
Coming up: Alejandro Escovedo has a great new album to be
released in April. I’ve been listening to the advance copy
of Man Under the Influence, and the faithful will not be disappointed.
Ex-Backslider Greg Hawks also has a solo album due in March,
titled Fool’s Paradise. It also includes a Springsteen cover
(“Tougher Than the Rest”).
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