Nick A.
Zaino III: September,
2001

I Am a Man of Constant Searching

Hello, Goodbye

There’s nothing worse than discovering a great new artist you want to follow, and then discovering that artist is dead. That wouldn’t be a shock with most of the artists on a soundtrack like O Brother, Where Art Thou, which is, after all, based in country and folk tunes that have been passed down through generations over a century or two. But not John Hartford. Hartford was in the goddam movie, and he was the emcee for the concert that preceded the movie’s release, the wonderful Down from the Mountain (which just hit theaters). His fiddle playing is full and vibrant, rising above the music like a strong, refreshing breeze. I must have missed the news, must have fallen asleep for a month, must just not have been looking hard enough or in the right places. Because John Hartford died before I even knew who he was, about two weeks after the Down from the Mountain concert took place, before O Brother ever hit theaters.

It’s a revelation in a lot of ways. First, no matter how much you pay attention or how much you think you know, you’re always going to be missing something. And as long as there might be something as worthwhile as Hartford out there, you can’t stop looking.

I also know of Hartford now from only three albums and one movie - the O Brother soundtrack, the Down from the Mountain soundtrack, John Hartford: Live from Mountain Stage, and the Down from the Mountain movie. But the movie is an undeniably powerful document of the humor, energy, and elegance of John Hartford. He leads Gillian Welch through “Indian War Whoop”, prodding her to contribute the “whoops” on the fly, and sings a perfect and fluid “Big Rock Candy Mountain”. Through most of the show, you can see Hartford’s strength wavering, his lips trembling. But there’s not a sour note anywhere. Whatever is eating at him, it never got to the place where he kept his music. His backstage interviews are interspersed with footage of him piloting a riverboat, something he did throughout his life until his cancer got too bad. Perhaps the most evocative moment comes as a choir is shuffling out after a number with Alison Krauss. The lights dim to a low red, and Hartford plays a short but beautiful dirge to lead them out. Knowing what the next two weeks had in store, it’s a sad and eerie sequence.

Since seeing the movie, I went out and bought Live from Mountain Stage, which just solidified my hunch that I’d been missing out on some great music. And thank God that O Brother came to him, and came to us, in time to make sure I didn’t miss him altogether.

Beaver is Back…

Another happy finding - Beaver Nelson’s new album, Undisturbed, comes out on Black Dog records on September 19th. I hadn’t realized it was coming until I read he’d been working on some new stuff, and got in touch with his management, who advanced a copy to me a couple of days ago. Every time I hear Nelson has a new album coming out, I get excited to hear it, the way I used to wait for a new album to hit stores when I was a kid. It’s a dream come true that as a grown up, people send me this stuff before it even gets to the store. And that there are artists like Nelson who are making music worth looking forward to. Undisturbed isn’t the country folk album that was The Last Hurrah, or the Stonesy-rock of Little Brother. I don’t quite have a handle on what it is yet, but it’s the work of an artist who is able to put their mark on a song without repeating himself. Check out www.beavernelson.com and www.blackdogrecords.com for more info.

… And so is Phil Lee

Phil Lee seemed to come out of nowhere with The Mighty King of Love a couple of years back. It was an album of grit and sincerity, and earned him critical acclaim. Now Lee’s new album, You Should’ve Known Me Then, follows that same tradition. If anything, Lee has gotten grittier and funnier. Lee is joined by folks like Jay Bennett, John Stirratt, Ken Coomer, Billy Joe Royal, Gilliam Welch, and Allison Moorer. Check out www.phillee1.com and www.shanachie.com for more info.

After Thought

Gillian Welch kicks ass. She just does.

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