The disc opens with “Harmony,”
a joyful, kind of playful number that quickly grew on me. What I like most
about this song is the work on guitar, but I also appreciate its pleasant vibe.
It begins with the idea of harmony in music, and then expands from there,
leading to these lines: “It’d be a
beautiful scene/If all human beings could live in/Harmony.” Ah, you can’t
argue with those lines. That’s followed by “The Ballad Of Lemuel Penn,” a song that
recounts the true story of a black man who was murdered by racists. This story
happened in 1964, but anyone who is paying attention could tell you this is
still happening. And in these dark days when racists hold the highest offices
in the land, this country is in danger of more racially motivated violence, for
the bigots now have an official voice. “Lemuel
Penn was a good man/And he died because of his own skin.” I love the
violin, which is as effective as the lyrics in stirring our emotions.
“The Best Part” is a good folk song
featuring banjo, an instrument that always makes me feel happy. And the tune
has a good thumping beat through sections of it to help raise your spirits. In
this song, he offers a pledge to be the best person he can be for the person he
loves, and he knows that “The best part
of me is me and you.” Check out these lines: “Without you I’m a stumbling fool/Just trying to play it cool/But I ain’t
fooling no one.” “Bad Tattoos” is a cool bluesy number, and Edward David
Anderson recently released a video to go along with this one. I am not at all a fan of tattoos, but I am
definitely a fan of this song. It describes what could be the source of
regrets, but then has these lines: “If I
had to choose/I’d do it all over again.” I love the instrumental section;
it has something of twisted carnival feel, which I adore, with some really nice
work on keys. “It’s like a map to my soul
that fades more each day/The lines will blur but they don’t go away.”
“Dog Days” has a sweet,
cheerful sound right from the start. Sure, it’s a song about a dog, but it has
an innocence and joy that is certainly welcome these days. “He puts up with my fits/We never get into
it/And he don’t care who’s president/Not one bit.” That’s followed by “Chasing Butterflies,” the
album’s title track. It has a more serious vibe, and features Todd Beene on
pedal steel. I like this song even though it uses that “self”/“shelf” rhyme,
which I never care for and wish songwriters would avoid. “Sittin’ ‘Round At
Home” is a delightful, relaxed folk tune about not doing much of anything,
something many of us would like to do a whole lot more of. Kimi Samson delivers some wonderful stuff on
violin on this track. The CD then concludes with “Seasons Turn.” This one has a
surprising opening, sounding dark, ominous, until the acoustic guitar begins to
balance out the sound. Still, it produces a kind of uneasy feeling in us as we
listen, unsure where it will go. But then the vocals have a sweet tone. This is
a really interesting song, and ends up being one of my favorites of the album,
in part because of the guitar work. There is a verse for each of the four
seasons. “Winter comes, winter goes/Days
it’s sunny, days it snows/Winter comes, winter goes/If there’s one thing I know.”
CD Track List
- Harmony
- The Ballad Of Lemuel Penn
- The Best Part
- Bad Tattoos
- Crosses
- Only In My Dreams
- Dog Days
- Chasing Butterflies
- Sittin’ ‘Round At Home
- Seasons Turn
Chasing Butterflies was released on October 19, 2018 on Black Dirt
Records.
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