Category: Folk

Brooks Williams Little Lion Kicks Off My Weekly CD Listens!

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Little Lion - Brooks Williams Album Cover

Little Lion – Brooks Williams

Amazon  Website

 

As part of my on-going effort to listen to music from MY music library, last week, I randomly selected  five albums and loaded them into my CD player. Then at some point in the week I listened to them. I confess that I did listen to one of them twice? Any guesses on which one? Anyway here are the five albums…..

This is one of my favorite acoustic guitar albums. The album was released in 2000. It was his second release coming on the heels of Brook’s Hundred Year Shadow.

My wife and I saw him at The Main Point in Bryan Mawr around the time of the release Hundred Year Shadow album, which had been getting a lot of air time on Philly’s WXPN. When I spoke with him during  the break in the show, I told him I was in awe of his guitar work. He said that was his first love. He also said he was working on an acoustic guitar album!

New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage (NPRS)

New Riders of the Purple Sage Album Cover

New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Ridersof the Purple Sage

Amazon  Website

While this is the CD version NRPS’s debut album, I do own the album on vinyl.  NPRS along with Poco laid the groundwork for my life long love of country rock.

If you guessed, at the beginning of this post, this was the album I listened to twice, you were correct!

My wife and I always say “we were hippies without the drugs” and I lived vicariously through the music of bands like NPRS and Jefferson Airplane. “Henry” is one of my an all-time favorite songs.

Step Right Up – Charlie Robison

Amazon   Website

Charlie Robison, his brother Bruce, pat Green and Jack Ingram and other Texas Music artists were are staples in my music rotation in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

During those years Charlie’s wife was a member of the Dixie Chicks. “ The Wedding Song” which features Emily’s band mate Natalie Maines is probably the best known track on the album. (Natalie’s father Lloyd Maines was, at the time,  a bandmate of one of my musical heroes Jerry Jeff Walker and a fantastic one of musics best steel guitar players)

As I listened to this album for the first time in a long time, I realized that Charlie was a damn good songwriter and storyteller. And his prowess is on display in songs on this album in songs like “John O’Reily”, “Desperate Times” and even “one in a Million” which he wrote with his brother Bruce”

Charlie released his last album High Life. 2013. He has now officially retired! I wish him well and after listening to Step Right Up I think I need to go back and visit some of Charlie’/ other albums in my CD shelves.

David Olney - Omars's Blues

Omar’s Blues – David Olney

Amazon     Website

David Olney was one of the myriad of artists who left us in 2020. He died in January of 2020 prior to the start of the pandemic. He was giving his third performance of the day at a folk festival in Florida when he became still dropped his head. It took several minutes before anyone realized he had passed.

David was a world class storyteller and songwriter. Note I say storyteller first because that to me was where he stood head and shoulders above most songwriters.

The late Townes Van Zandt famously said of Olney: “Any time anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are… I say Mozart, Lightnin Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney. Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard — and that’s true. I mean that from my heart.”…

For more on David Olney and his storytelling magic, check out my full post here.

Voices from Heaven – Vol.2 – Runaround Malonen and Trom Syverson

Now I will confess I didn’t listen to all of the fifth album Voices from Heaven. However you can read a post I wrote about the album back in 2017 here

On the sidebar is a playlist from Spotify containing songs from three of the above albums.  Omar’s Blues is not on Spotify. So here is an official video from David Olney’s This Side or the Other

Doc Watson – Elementary Dr. Watsonn – Always a Joy!

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Doc Watson - Elementary Doctor Watson

Roots: Doc Watson – Elementary Doctor Watson

Doc Watson is one of the foundations of my folk music library.
The other night, I revisited one of my favorite Doc Watson albums:
Elementary Doctor Watson.

Doc Watson was an essential part of the 1960s Folk Music Revival.
From Wikipedia:

Biographical Information
Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist,
songwriter, and singer of country and gospel music.
Watson won seven Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
His fingerstyle and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional
American music, were highly regarded.

Blind from a young age, he performed with his son, guitarist Merle Watson,
for over 15 years until Merle’s death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.

Elementary Doctor Watson (1972

I can’t remember which I bought first—The Essential Doc Watson (1973)
or Elementary Doctor Watson (1972)—but after 50 years,
it doesn’t really matter. Both albums became cornerstones of my collection.
Essential pulled from his Vanguard recordings,
while Elementary was his first on the Poppy label.

This album has always been a “go-to” whenever I need a lift.
The opening track, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”,
instantly puts a smile on my face. Then comes a heartfelt cover of Tom Paxton’s
“The Last Thing on My Mind”, and by the time I hit
“Freight Train Boogie”, I’m all in.

The bottom line: Elementary Doctor Watson is a
terrific album. I never lose my awe watching Doc play—he makes it all look effortless,
and he did it blind. Simply amazing!

Other Favorite Doc Watson Albums

  • Lonesome Road (1977) – with Merle Watson
  • Doc and Merle Watson’s Guitar Album (1983)

Note to self: give these a spin soon!

All told, Doc recorded 38 studio albums and 16 live albums,
along with 23 compilation releases. His music is timeless—check him out!

Links for Further Exploration

Doc Watson – “Going Down this Road Feelin’ Bad”

Helpimg out on this performance are the great Tony Rice, Dan Crary Steve Ksufman and Jack Lawrence

John Gorka – Land of the Bottom Line

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Land of the Bottomline John Gorka

I often divide my folk music collection into Roots, Branches and Leaves. The roots are artists who I listened to in the 60s and 70s. The branches are folks I discovered in the 80s through 2010. Finally, the leaves are musicians I have discovered since 2010, when I started to write about music. Today I listened to the music from one of those branches musicians – John Gorka.

Discovering John Gorka

I first encounter the music of John Gorka on Legacy: A Collection of New Folk Music a compilations disc Windham Hill released in 1990. The album was designed to introduce listeners to a new crop of young singer-songwriters….Some of the artists included on the compilation went on to major label record deals. Others remained fairly obscure. Windham Hill began long term relationships with some of the artists. John Gorka said the following about the album….

.…: “Windham Hill decided to include one of my songs on the first Legacy songwriters compilation. Before it was even released, Will Ackerman called to say that they would like me to record for them. Land of the Bottom Line came out shortly thereafter….

Likewise, it wasn’t too long after I found that I bought my first John Gorka album which was the aforementioned Land of the Bottom Line.  As a sidenote, Bill Morrissey also appeared on the album and it was long after that I bought Inside which was the first Bill Morrissey album I bought.

Land of the Bottom Line

Anyway , let’s get back to Land of the  Bottom Line. . Like many of my folk albums, I haven’t listened to this album for a long time. As a result, I have forgotten what a terrific album it is! From Wikipedia:

Land of the Bottom Line is the second album by contemporary folk singer-songwriter John Gorka. The album was also Gorka’s major label debut for High Street Records/Windham Hill Records. The album was highly acclaimed by critics at the time, and continues to be cited by some as Gorka’s finest work. The album’s fifteen tracks and near hour-long length also provided an unusually large amount of music for a recording of that era. As Sing Out! editor Mark Moss noted in a review, the topics covered run “the gamut of John’s favorite subjects: love, hard luck, local characters, and more.”[3]

John Gorka has the ability to say a lot with a few words. And that ability is fully on display with the opening line from “Land of the Bottom Line.”….

I couldn’t bribe a wino on what I used to make
My Fortune was as sure as the wind
But I was free to wonder and time was on my hands
It was mine to burn and to bend

The Playlist

There are a ton of great songs on the 15 song album. The playlist below includes my top six songs from the album. They are “Land of the Bottom Line”, “Stranger in My Driver Seat”, “Dream Street”. “The Sentinel”, “I Saw a Stranger with Your Hair” and “Armed with a Broken Heart”.

Artist Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Amazon

The Video

Here’s John performing “The Sentinel” from Land of the Bottom Line

 

Ellis Paul a Celebration of His Translucent Soul

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Ellis Paul Trnslucent Soul

Last night and this morning, I was thinking about which folk musician to listen to today.
When I stumbled upon the album The Speed of Trees, I took it as an omen:
it was time to spend the day with Ellis Paul.

That decision was doubly confirmed when I received a Facebook notification that today was Ellis’ birthday!

Translucent Soul (1998)

This morning, I cued up Translucent Soul,
the first Ellis Paul album I ever bought.
The album was released in 1998, but I probably picked it up a year or two later.
While I liked the whole album, it was the title track that really turned me into a fan.

His best-known song, “The World Ain’t Slowing Down”,
also appears on Translucent Soul and gained wider recognition when it was used as the theme song
in the Farrelly brothers’ movie Me, Myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger.

About Ellis Paul


Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician.
Born in Presque Isle, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the
Boston school of songwriting—a literate, provocative, and urbanely romantic folk-pop style
that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s.
His pop-folk songs have appeared in movies and on television, bridging the gap
between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
Read More

The Day After Everything Changed

After listening to Translucent Soul,
I followed it with The Day After Everything Changed,
which may be my favorite Ellis Paul album.

The only time I saw Ellis live was at The Tin Angel in Philadelphia,
when he was touring in support of The Day After Everything Changed.
It was a wonderful show, and after the set he autographed my copy of the album,
which now has a special spot in my collection.

The bottom line: Ellis Paul is a terrific singer-songwriter
with a unique, distinct, and expressive voice.
If you haven’t explored his music, today is a good day to start!

The Storyteller’s Suitcase a Great Album

Ellis continues to write powerful, socially conscious songs.
One standout is “The Battle of Charlottesville”,
written after the tragic events in Charlottesville.
It appears on his 2019 release The Storyteller’s Suitcase
and shows his ability to blend storytelling with current events.

Explore More Ellis Paul

Greg Trooper – Day 9 – 30-Day Folk Challenge

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greg Trooper - straight down rain

2026 Update:

When I wrote this post in 2021 i had been blogging for 11 years, The first 4-5 years my main musical focus was on Americana music: Folk, Blues, Bluegrass and othe roots music. Somewhere around 2014 my focused shifted and I was writing more posts about Jazz, New AGe and Progressive Rock. Americana music slipped into the background. In 2021 I created this 30-day Folk Challenge to challenge myself to listen to more Folk music. I don’t think I cpmpleted the challenge but I did write several posts.

Now in 2026 through A Sixties – Seventies Men I am going back and rekindling my love for Americana music. Overall, the s. ite will be how I weave music into my daily life. And Mini Challenges like this is one way. Stay tuned to hear about all the ways.

Greg Trooper – Day 9 – 30-Day Folk Challenge

Today January 13,2021 would have been singer-songwriter Greg Trooper’s 64th birthday. Unfortunately for the music world he died two days after his 61st birthday in 2017. The cause of the death was pancreatic cancer.

Greg Troop was a fellow New Jerseyian. He was born on January 13 in 1956 iin Neptune Township, New Jersey. He was raised in nearby Little Silver.

I  started today listening Straight Down Rain, which found it’s way into my music collection around 1999. I remember I found the album in the discount bin at Tunes,  which was our go to CD store at the time.

His prior release Popular Demons which had been released  in 1998, quickly was added to my music library. Popular Demons had been released on Koch Records and was produced by Buddy Miller.

All total Greg Trooper released thirteen albums. Three of those albums were live albums.

After I listened  to Straight Down Rain for the first time in a long time, I listened to songs from several of Trooper’s other albums.  Of Trooper’s thirteen albums here are the five that are in my music library….

Between a House and a Hard Place
Floating (2003)
Popular Demons (1998)
Straight Down Rain (2001)

Here’s a Baker’s Dozen Greg Trooper Playlist

Final Thoughts

So far this 30-day challenge has been  very rewarding. personally. It has given me an opportunity to listen to many albums that I haven’t heard for too long a time! In addition, I have a renewed interest in searching out new Americana, and Folk music.

Likewise, because I was looking for old vinyl albums I have organized those albums by genre, so now I know where all my folk albums can be located, as well as, my jazz and rock albums! so maybe there’s a 30-day classic rock and jazz challenge in the future. Stay Tuned!

Artist’s Website
Dutch Website
Wikipedia
AllMusic
Discogs
Spotify
Amazon

Here’s is Greg performing on of my favorite Greg Troooper songs “They Call Me Hank”

 

Tony Rice – Day 7 of Folk Music Challenge

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On Christmas Day last month the Bluegrass world lost a true legend, when Tony Rice passed away. Rice is arguably the best bluegrass guitarist ever!

I confess that through the 70s and 80s I knew who he was , but never listened much to the groups in which he was a member. Progressive bluegrass groups like J D Crowe and the New South and the David Grisman Quintet.

Tony Rice -nCold on the Shoulder

EK Finds Cold on the Shoulder amongst his Vinyl….

I probably became aware of Tony and his fantastic guitar in the mid to late 80s. Most likely it was through Gene Shay’s folk radio show here in Philly. Anyway, I bought two of his solo albums Cold on the Shoulder and Me & My Guitar  at a used record store at the now defunct Pennsauken Mart.

 

I found those two records the other day, when I started to organize my vinyl collection by genre. I am counting listening to Cold on the Shoulder as day seven of my 30-day Folk Music Challenge.

Needless to say, it sounded great. It is also just a coincidence that it has the same title song as day ones pick.

While reading the back of the album, I discovered  this was the first album Tony recorded consisting of all vocal tracks. While there are no all instrumental tracks on the album, Rice picked songs that allowed space for individual solos.

The  space for solos is filled with a group of outstanding musicians. If I didn’t know who Tony Rice was i would  have bought this album just on the people who play on it.

An Amazing Supporting Cast 

The supporting cast includes:

Vassar Clement – fiddle
Jerry Douglas – dobro
Todd Phillips -bass
Sam Bush – mandolin
Bobby Hicks – fiddle
Larry Rice – mandolin
J D Crowe – banjo
Kate Wolf – harmony vocals
Bela Fleck – banjo

What a fantastic line-up of musicians! And several times while I was listening to this album I stopped what I was doing and said. “Wow”.

Tony Rice in Rice, Rice Hillman and Pederson

ony Rice in Rice Rice Hillman and Pederson

My next contact with Tony Rice’s music was when he became part of the group – Rice,Rice, Hillman and Pederaon. I added their album Out of the Woodwork to my music library.

The group consisted of: Tony, his brother Larry, Chris Hillman from The Byrds, Manassas, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Herb Pederson. The group only released three albums and I need to check out the other two!

The bottom line is that Tony Rice was a great talent and his passing is a great loss for the folk and bluegrass community.

If you’ve never listened to Tony’s music do it. As for me I want to check out some of his earlier solo albums, along with the J.D. Crowe and David Grisman albums!!

Links for Further Explorations

Wikipedia
NPR: Tony Rice Was My Guitar Hero
Rolling Stone: Was Bluegrass Music’s Great Experimentalist
Spotify

In addition to the above, after watching the following video I need to check out any albums from the Tony Rice Unit…. four of my favorite musicians!!

Gordon Lightfoot Kicks Off My 30-Day Folk Music Challenge

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Yesterday I said I had started a 30-day Folk Music Challenge early last week. Well, as a result yesterday  was the sixth day of the challenge. Blue River Eric Andersen’s 1972 release.was the album of the day. In this post I’d like to start to catch up and write about the albums I listened to on the first 5 days. Gordon Lightfoot kicked it off!

Cold on the Shoulder - Gordon Lightfoot

 Cold on the Shoulder – Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot’s Cold on the Shoulder was the first album I listened to as part of my 30-Day Folk Music Challenge.

While Gordon Lightfoot was never a  huge favorite of mine, his impact on the genre was immense! Some of the earliest folk music I listened to was Peter, Paul and Mary who covered  at least two Gordon Lightfoot songs “Early Morning Rain” and “For Lovin’Me”.

However, I didn’t have any Lightfoot albums in my music collection until his 1972 release Sundown. The second album I added to my collection  was Cold on the Shoulder.

Here’s some biographical information about Gordon from Wikipedia:

 

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr….(born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He is often referred to as Canada’s greatest songwriter and is known internationally as a folk-rock lege

“Rainy Day People” – Cold on the Shoulder’s Hit

The big hit on Cold on the Shoulder was “Rainy Day People” again from.Wikipedia……..

Rainy Day People” is a song written and recorded by Gordon Lightfoot, released on his 1975 album, Cold on the Shoulder, and also as a single. “Rainy Day People” went to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Lightfoot’s last of four songs to reach number one on the Easy Listeningchart, spending one week at number one in May 1975.

Lightfoot’s  discography consists of 19 studio albums, 3 live albums and 16 computation albums Eighteen of his nineteen  studio albums were released between 1966-2004. The last Gordon Lightfoot album I added to my library was  A Pilgrim Passes By released in 1998.

Gordon Overcomes Major Health Problems

In 2004 Lightfoot almost died when he…

….underwent emergent vascular surgery for a rupturedabdominal aortic aneurysm, and he remained in serious condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Lightfoot endured a six-week coma and a tracheotomy, and he underwent four surgical operations.

In 2006, Lightfoot suffered a minor stroke in the middle of a performance. The stroke left him without the use of the middle and ring fingers on his right hand. It took him many months to recover.

In spite of his health problems, Lightfoot has not retired. Last year Lightfoot released his 19th studio album Gordon Lightfoot Solo. from Gordon’s website:

Nine of the songs come from two CDs of songs he had recorded back in 2001 – 2002 and which he had forgotten. He discovered them when cleaning his office, listened to them, and decided to make an album with just him and his guitar, removing other instruments that had been added. The 10th song, “Easy Flo,” was written and recorded more recently.

Lightfoot says this about the album….

“I thought my fans would be interested in hearing what songs sound like when first written”

So if you’ve never listened to Gordon Lightfoot You really need to do it….as for me I’m checking out Gordon Lightfoot Solo.

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Gordon Lightfoot

Artist’s Website

Spotify
Amazon

Here’s “Rainy Day People” from Gord’s Gold

 

 2026 Update

Gordon Lightfoot passed away on May 21, 2023. Over the last few years I have been adding Gordon Lightfoot albums to my music library. As this blog develops you’ll b readng about those additions so stay tuned!

A 30-Day Folk Music Challenge leads to a Revitalization

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2026 Update: Looking back, this post marked a turning point. My 30-Day Folk Music Challenge reminded me where my musical journey began. Although I would continue exploring blues, jazz, progressive rock, and many other genres, this challenge eventually led me back to the folk and Americana music that first captured my imagination more than fifty years ago. That rediscovery would eventually inspire this website.

A Return to the Beginning

Well, it’s quite an understatement to say I haven’t posted much lately. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I have started at times many, many posts and somehow I can never complete them. However the other night, I had a wild thought why not go back to where it all started at least musically!

For the majority of my adult life I listen to mostly Folk and Americana music. In college I listen to a combination of rock and folk. However, as the years past and the rock groups that I loved weren’t on the radio anymore, I listen to my folk musician favorites from the 60s and 70s. In the 1980 and early 90s I added several more Folk and Americana favorites.

Then in the mid-90s I discovered Texas Country music. I also started to listen to a variety of blues musicians. (Thank- you Stevie Ray Vaughan)

In 2014 after blogging about that music, I started listening to several different music genres. I started listening to and writing about more New Age music. In conjunction with this Instarted listening to more jazz and progressive rock.

Since the number of hours in the day available to listen to music is limited the amount of time I listened to Folk and Americana music diminished.

Creates The 30-Day Folk Music Challenge

Until last Tuesday when I decided to create a 30-day Folk Music Challenge. I that challenge I am going to listen to albums from those artist who I have listened to over the last 50 some of years!

Folk Album of the Day – “Blue River” Eric Andersen

It is now the sixth day of the challenge. Today’s album was ……

a30 day folk music challenge album - blue river

Eric Andersen’s 1972 release Blue River. Eric was part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the mid-1960s. His most popular songs from that era were “Violets of Dawn” and “Thirsty Boots” which as been recorded by many, many people.

Blue River was probably his most commercially successful album. It climbed as high as 169 on Billboard’s Top 200. My favorite tracks include: Is It Really Live at All?” and “Wind and Sand”

Links

As I was reading about the album at Wikipedia I read that a number of musicians who played on the album were the reason I took a chance on several albums in the 1970s. They were a group of the best session musicians around and included….

  • David Bromberg – dobro, acoustic guitar
  • DavidBriggs – organ, keyboards, celeste
    Weldon Myrick – steel guitar
  • Norbert Putnam – bass
  • Kenneth Buttrey – drums, percussion, tambourine

In the 70s, if I picked up an album and saw these guys listed on the album, I’d pick up the album. Sometimes even though I didn’t know the artist. I knew at least I’d like the music!

The Challenge Leads to New Folk/Americana

So after listening to some of my favorite folk music over the last several days, I decided to check out the Folk Charts at Roots Music Report.

I found several artists I’ve never listened to before, give thEir stuff a quick listen and was pleased with what I heard. I also remember  the Euro-Americana Chart and checked it out finding more new folk/Americana artists! So expect to hear about those new albums mixed in with the old albums.

Finally, I also listened to some new Blues today and found two groups I really liked. The first one was Terminal Station and the second The Bluesbones. The later was my favorite so you’ll probably hear about that one first

Here’s “Is It Really Live at All” from Eric Andersen

 

 

 

John Wort Hannam – Acres of Elbow Room – A Winner!

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So this morning I did some grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. I started the trip listening to the Perpetual Optimism latest release from jazz drummer Herlin Riley.

But after getting my coffee I decided to listen to some Americana on my way instead of jazz. The reason is that I can listen to lyrics of folk songs better when I’m in the car! I

decided that on the way there I would listen to Acres of Elbow Room the new album from John Wort Hannam and then on the way back I’d listen to Voices by Tom Rush. Tom Rush’s Voices was released in April of 2018.

I first discovered the music of John Wort Hannam when I started this blog back in 2010.. First,  I started by listening to his second album Dynamite and ‘Dozers which was released in 2004. The songs on that album were impressive, so I quickly sought out Pocket Full of Holes. Then Came 2009’s Queen’s Hotel. You can read my posts about those albums here and here.

About John Wort Hannam

In 2001 John Wort Hannam quit his teaching job and spent 10 months depleting his savings while sat at his kitchen table, wearing a lucky hat, writing his first ten songs. Those songs would become his first recording Pocket Full Of Holes, released in 200

Seventeen years later, the Alberta musician is releasing his seventh full-length recording Acres Of Elbow Room and has a few feathers in that lucky hat for his first six offerings. Feathers that include a JUNO nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Album of the Year, a CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award, a Kerrville Texas New Folk win, and numerous Western Canadian Music Award and Canadian Folk Music Award nominations

Over the last few years,John has had both good and bad come into his life. The good included: becoming a Dad, turning 50 and moving to the “big City” of Lethbridge. While the bad included a long, deep bout of depression, and episodes of losing his singing voice. But John has weathered all his storms and new days are shining brighter. I think that Acres of Elbow Room is his best album since those three albums I wrote about earlier

About Acres of Elbow Room

I love the opening track “Acres of Elbow Room” in it John laments that while he loves the big city of Lethbridge there are times when he needs to get back out to open spaces.Can’t most of us relate to that!

He also writes about ” The Quiet Life” and how he’ll be fine living in that “Quiet Life”  As a quiet life person, I can relate to this song! He also wrote a song for his young son….and several other great songs!

The bottom line is that Acres of Elbow Room is a really, really, good album. So Check It Out!And you may think you need acres of elbow room, if after listening to the album, you end up in a small Trader Joe’s store!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of John Wort Hannam

Artist’s Website
Facebookhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NnOyQEZrRM
Twitter
YouTube

Here is the title track from Acres of Elbow Room

Ed Romanoff’s Self-titled Debut Album is a Winner

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Ed Romanoff - Ed Romaoff Album

Ed Romanoff – Ed Romanoff

.So when I listened to “St. Vincent De Paul.” the first track on Ed Romanoff‘s self-titled debut album for the second time on my four mile run tonight, it reminded me of Mary Gauthier‘s album The Foundling. Wait you listened to the song twice! I thought this album must be very short! But,  no the run was really long! The  ten track album clocks in at about 40 minutes, at which point, I was still a little way from my finish and was struggling along at about 11 minute per mile pace

Now back to the music! There’s a reason that the song reminded me about Gauthier’s album. Well, that’s because it appeared on Mary Gauthier’s album The Foundling. Ed wrote the song after he accompanied Mary to the orphanage where Mary had been left on the day she was born!  After the trip, they became good friends, subsequently, Ed at Mary’s request joined her on the road as a sideman, writing partner, and later in taking a DNA test. Mary wanted to learn more about her biological past, but Ed got the shock! In taking the test, Ed found the father he grew up with was not his biological father. “Sometimes you write a song and sometimes it writes you back,” he says.

About Ed Romanoff

Now this a great collection of well-crafted songs about life, the good and the bad. It’s not really a pick me up album. However, I think, the album was a good pick for today’s run. What did I say the other night? ” misery loves company” Well, I needed the company tonight because my left leg was giving me misery!  But because I was going so slow, I was able to focus on the music rather than the pain in my leg and there was alot to pay attention to:

There’s a song about unrequited love  “Breakfast for one on the 5th of July” , one about the disappearance of a  man on a winter’s day “Lady Luck”, and the random shooting of a man and woman necking in a car, “Yellow Rose”. He made it, she didn’t. See not much to put you in a good mood there, is there.

“I Must Have Done Something Right” is the one somewhat humorous song on the album. In the song a guy recalls all the terrible things he’s done to his best friend. However, somehow the friend remains loyal through it all. All included: that night I slept with your sister/You know I meant to keep that a secret”

The album has been on all the charts. It’s currently No 12 on the Euro-Americana Chart and No 22 on the FAR Chart. In addition, Ed was the 1st place winner in the lyrics category of the 2011 USA Songwriting Competition.  “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July” was the winning song.

Crit Harmon produced the album. Harmon has worked with: Martin Sexton, Lori McKenna, and Mary Gauthier. Josh Ritter, Tift Merritt, Meg Hutchinson, and Mary Gauthier provide harmony vocals on the album!

So once again the run was tough, really the pits, but the music was great! Here’s a performance of the award winning “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July”

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