Claudia Gibson: “The Fields Of Chazy” (2024) CD Review

Claudia Gibson is a singer and songwriter based in Austin, Texas. She released her first album, Step By Step, in 2016, and followed that a few years later with an EP titled Louisiana Sky. Her new album, The Fields Of Chazy, features mostly original material. The album was produced by Walt Wilkins and Ron Flynt, and was funded by her fans. Joining Claudia Gibson on this release are Chris Beall on electric guitar; Rich Brotherton on acoustic guitar, tenor guitar, mandolin and cittern; John Chipman on drums and percussion; Bart de Win on accordion; Mark Epstein on electric bass and acoustic bass; Ron Flynt on bass, piano and organ; Warren Hood on fiddle; Geoff Queen on pedal steel; Ray Rodriguez on cajon and percussion; Tina Mitchell Wilkins on backing vocals; and Walt Wilkins on backing vocals and percussion.

The album opens with its title track, “The Fields Of Chazy,” which tells the story of Claudia Gibson’s paternal grandfather. Chazy, by the way, is a town in New York. On this track, Claudia tells a moving story of sorrow and struggle, but also hope, with music playing a part in the latter, as Claudia sings, “Grandpa played accordion/With gnarled hands when I was young/The songs of old Acadia.” The song also takes us to the present, to Claudia’s present, as she walks the area where her grandfather lived, among the trees he planted. “The twisted ancient apple trees/The sweet fruit of his legacy.” That image is striking for me, perhaps because I grew up near an apple orchard, and had my first job there when I was thirteen. This track features some nice work on accordion. It is followed by “Unbound.” I love the optimism in the early line, “Unbound and ready to begin.” This is a song of being on the road, and having a destination. She is heading home, something that always holds great appeal in song. Here it is not just heading home, but also maybe starting over. There is sadness in it, yes, her voice expressing it so perfectly, but it seems the song looks to the future more than holds onto the past. This track features some beautiful work on pedal steel, and good harmonies, and it is one of my personal favorites.

“Laura’s Song” is about Laura Bullion, an outlaw in the wild west. This song tells her story, her romance with Ben Kilpatrick, delivered from her perspective. “Out on good behavior/Seven more years did I pine/I walked the straight and narrow path/While Ben did his hard time.” And before the end, she sings of Ben’s death, how he could not live an honest life. Death plays a part in “Rain” too, from its opening stanza: “I heard the news come through this morning/You’re gone, shook off your earthly chains/Blue skies have turned to black/And you ain’t coming back/And sometimes all it does is rain.” This one has a bluesy vibe and features some cool work on keys and some excellent guitar work. Death is certainly in the air these days, isn’t it? Perhaps that has always been the case, and these days we just can’t help but notice it. This song is another of the disc’s highlights, featuring one of the album’s best vocal performances.

“The Days” at first seems to live in memories, looking back to a time when the world felt like it was ours. Claudia then sings, “Well, maybe it's not our world anymore/It's burning like a house on fire/Hard to keep up the way we did before/But the truth still resonates.” Many of us can relate to those lines. Things have changed, people have gotten ugly, and it’s hard sometimes to recognize the world we loved. But she goes on to say, “This is our world, and these are the times.” Indeed, we are not gone yet. Why let go of the world when we are still a part of it, when we can still do some good? This is an ultimately positive and pretty song. Death makes itself known in the first line of “Promised Land,” “Papa died the 19th of September.” This song tells a story from the past, from this country’s history, regarding immigration. It is the story of Claudia Gibson’s maternal grandmother, who was a child when she came here from Russia. “There’s the lady with the torch/We’re living in the promised land/Oh, Lina, Liberty she stands/Shining in our newfound home/Welcome to the promised land, the promised land.” Ah yes, the Statue of Liberty was supposed to welcome people to this country. It seems things are a little different these days, sadly, but history tells us that immigrants faced adversity all along, though horror shows like that created by Texas governor Greg Abbott seem a step beyond (that scoundrel deserves a lonely, painful end, with no compassion shown him).

“The Night Visiting Song” is the one cover on the album. It is a traditional Scottish song, and special guest Pat Byrne joins Claudia Gibson on vocals for this beautiful rendition. This track features some wonderful work on fiddle. It is followed by “Angles Fly,” a song that looks back, a photo causing the memories to return. “Your photo fell out from a book/An old one I had overlooked/I saw us in our younger days/With ‘True Love’ on the title page.” And I wonder just what happened as I listen to lines like “How hard it was to reconcile/The man I loved with one reviled/You were not then what you became.” But at the end of the song she is looking upward and outward, not backward. The album concludes with “Shine On,” a beautiful song that acts like a friend, offering a shoulder, offering a hand. Claudia Gibson delivers a sweet, comforting vocal performance. “Sometimes the world feels so heavy/The burden of years as we toil and we strive/When luck is not even or steady/Keep your hand on the tiller/And eyes on the prize.” Oh yes, music helps us keep on going, helps us keep in mind what is important and what is true.

CD Track List

1. The Fields Of Chazy
2. Unbound
3. Laura’s Song
4. Rain
5. The Days
6. Promised Land
7. The Night Visiting Song
8. Angels Fly
9. Shine On

The Fields Of Chazy is scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024.