Though Voices
contains mostly original material, it actually opens with a cover (one of only
two on the album), “Elder Green.” This rendition is quite a bit different from
the blues versions I’m familiar with. This is a lively, happy-sounding version,
featuring Sam Bush on mandolin, Al Perkins on dobro, Leroy Troy on banjo, and Jim
Hoke on harmonica. There are also some wonderful backing vocals by Kathy
Mattea, Suzi Ragsdale, and Matt Nakoa (Matt Nakoa is also on keys). This is a
fun opening track. It’s followed by “Come See About Me,” a cheerful tune with
some blues elements. This song makes me feel good, and these days that is
something I appreciate even more than usual. I like Matt Nakoa’s work on piano,
but what I love most is Tom Rush’s delivery, particularly when he dips into
those lower registers. There is something simple about the song’s structure and
lyrics, yet also completely delightful. “Hey,
little mamma, you’re the one I love/You know that to be true/Hey, little mamma,
you’re the one I love/I hate to see you blue.”
“My Best Girl” is a song about a special gal; that is, a
special guitar. It’s an entertaining country song full of affection and joy. “She’s not as young as she once was/She’s got
the scars from the miles we’ve shared/When it rains, she’s my silver lining/When
it’s darker than the darkest night/When everything’s wrong and nothing’s
right/My best girl, oh, she comes shining.” I love the little laugh in Tom’s
voice as he sings “I don’t dance, but she
don’t mind.” Suzi Ragsdale provides harmony vocals. That’s followed by “Life
Is Fine.” The whistling at the beginning works so well with the song’s title,
for it makes me feel that life truly is fine. “Life
is fine” is a message we need to hear fairly often nowadays, a helpful and necessary
reminder not to let anger and despair overtake us. This song had me laughing at
moments, as when Tom Rush sings “She says
she’ll love me when I’m old/And fat and getting fatter.” There is joy here,
and Tom’s voice is honest and friendly, and with a good amount of experience to
make his assertion believable. His is exactly the right voice for this song.
There is more whistling toward the end. Yes, life is fine, at least as long
as this music is playing.
“Far Away” is a sweet and pretty song, and is probably my
favorite track from this album. I find myself just playing it over and over. I
love his delivery, intimate and sharing with us a bit of bliss. And check out
these excellent lyrics: “The blossom is
such beauty, but the blooming is too brief/As beauty is a treasure, time’s a
thief/Yesterday steals tomorrow, tomorrow steals today/So come my love, come,
let’s steal away.” This song is wonderful, and is making me long for my
girlfriend. Ah, she and I want to go far away. “Far away, far away/Tell my troubles I’m not home today/Just lie here in
my arms, and we’ll sing another song/Tell the world we’ve gone so far away.”
The album’s second (and final) cover is an easygoing,
cool rendition of “Corina, Corina,” featuring some nice work on harmonica by
Jim Hoke. That’s followed by “If I Never Get Back To Hackensack.” This must be
the only song that begins with the line “Now
I just love New Jersey” (and perhaps is the only song to express that
sentiment at all), but the song goes in perhaps a different direction as it
gets going. “If I never get back to
Hackensack, it’ll be all right with me.” This song is another delight, and
features Sam Bush on mandolin. Jim Hoke plays harmonica and Jew’s harp (or jaw
harp, as it is more often called these days), and Richard Bennett plays
bouzouki. The album concludes with its title track, “Voices.” This song has its
own beauty, and features Sam Bush on mandolin and Al Perkins on pedal steel
guitar. “There are voices at the ocean’s
edge, voices in the foam/Singing songs of high adventure, singing songs of
going home.”
CD Track List
- Elder Green
- Come See About Me
- My Best Girl
- Life Is Fine
- Cold River
- Far Away
- Heaven Knows
- Corina, Corina
- If I Never Get Back To Hackensack
- Going Down To Nashville
- How Can She Dance Like That?
- Voices
Voices is
scheduled to be released on April 27, 2018 on Appleseed Recordings.
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