Ethan Daniel Davidson: "Lear" (2025) CD Review

Two big passions in my life are music and Shakespeare, and at times the two overlap. Most often that combination is related to Romeo And Juliet, a play which has inspired a lot of music over the years. But of course music plays a part in many of Shakespeare's works, including Twelfth Night, The Tempest, As You Like It, Othello and even Hamlet. My favorite of Shakespeare's plays is King Lear, and, yes, that one too contains music, with the Fool singing to Lear (though many productions treat the songs as prose). But this is a play that hasn't inspired composers in the way that, say, Romeo And Juliet or A Midsummer Night's Dream or The Taming Of The Shrew has. And so I was especially thrilled to hear Ethan Daniel Davidson's new album, Lear, which is interestingly his second album to be in some way inspired by Shakespeare's play. Earlier this year he released Cordelia, and if you are familiar with that album, you'll recognize that the cover of this new album is the negative of the cover of that release. Apparently both albums come from the same sessions. King Lear is an incredible work of art, with tremendously moving passages (who can refrain from crying when Cordelia and Lear are reunited?), and also some horrifying moments, dealing with themes of power, family, aging and madness. It is a play that leaves you with plenty to think about. On this album, Ethan Daniel Davidson delivers original material that likewise gives us much to consider, taking us on a dive inward just as Lear ended up having to do, while also looking at the larger picture. He has a fantastic group of musicians joining him, including Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars) on guitar and vox mando-guitar, Rayfield Holloman on pedal steel and keys, Byron House on bass, Marco Giovino on drums and percussion, Alvin Youngblood Hart on backing vocals and guitar, Duane Betts on guitar, Jimbo Mathus (of Squirrel Nut Zippers) on backing vocals, and Dale Wilson on backing vocals.

The album opens with "Stop Breaking Down," a song that almost immediately nods to Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry": "When some say love is a burning thing/I can only hear that lonesome whippoorwill sing." And that's not the only nod to another song. He sings, "You can lose everything in the blink of an eye/But you won't miss your water until your well runs dry," a reference to the William Bell song. Ethan Daniel Davidson delivers a beautiful song of introspection and ache. "Anything we could say has already been spoken/The only reason I say anything at all is because I am broken." Yes, it's a song for everyone who is hurting and isn't sure how to stop. "I don't even see through the same eyes anymore/So what was I doing coming back with all this pain?" Those lines make me think of both Lear and Gloucester in the fourth act when the two meet. That's followed by "Count The Knives," a song that Ethan Daniel Davidson originally included on his 2015 album Drawnigh, that version with a different band. On this new album, the song is a soulful and beautifully sad country number, featuring some nice pedal steel work. The style and slower pace help certain lines stand out more in this version, such as "The hardest time you'll serve is in your own jail." This track contains a passionate vocal performance, aided by some good backing vocal work. And later that line becomes "Your greatest escape will be from your own jail," leaving us to think about what sort of jail we've each created for ourselves. This is a moving and beautiful song.

A landscape dominated by darkness and coldness is created in the opening moments of "The World We Wanted," a landscape we recognize. "This must be the world which we wanted/Puritans and autocrats/This must be the world which we wanted/It used to be round, but now it's flat." Everything has been flattened, and everything seems to have the same importance, given the same weight, which makes nothing at all seem important. And then of course there are the people who believe the world is truly flat. What happened to us as a species? Ethan Daniel Davidson then adds, "That's not darkness descending, it's just vagueness/Like a plague, it is swallowing you." The lines are delivered plainly, without anger, without energy to change things, and that acceptance is actually what might jolt us awake. Let's hope so. This track has a haunting vibe, and it features some good work on bass. It is one of my personal favorites. "This must be the world which we wanted/We have built it with our own hands." Then "Bad Company Brought Me Here" takes a few moments to establish an intriguing atmosphere. "I'm wearing stolen clothes," Ethan tells us then. He delivers a captivating, almost mesmerizing vocal performance, not raising his voice, but speaking plainly to us. "You are no one until you learn how to make yourself disappear." This song mentions Shakespeare's play directly: "You can go anywhere you want to/You just can't go back the way you came/Little aged men of empires/And old men become King Lear/Bad company, bad company brought me here." These lines are also stand out for me: "I'm filled with dread, I'm filled with unease/That there is something I might have missed."

Special guest Duane Betts plays lead guitar on "Not Breaking Hearts," the album's only song to have a more upbeat, cheerful country vibe (even if the lyrics aren't quite cheerful), and one that was released as a single. And, yes, there is some good stuff on guitar, as you'd expect. "Oh, they must not be breaking hearts like they used to anymore/Oh, the moon is bound to lose/To those early morning blues." These lines also strike me: "But your voice on the phone/Reminds me I'm alone/I have been low, I have been mean." Then Alvin Youngblood Hart plays lead guitar on "How Can One Keep Warm?" Now things are slowed down again. I love how Ethan Daniel Davidson allows time for the mood to overtake us, for us to become immersed in a song's world before delivering the first lines. And these lines make us think of King Lear on the heath: "And the storm clouds form/In our exile in time/In which the self is born/How can one keep warm?" That last line, the song's title, might also lead you to think of Edgar when disguised as Poor Tom. And soon Ethan Daniel Davidson mentions that character directly, quoting a line from the play: "Poor Tom's a-cold." This line too reminds us of Lear's folly: "And I treated my loves as if they were things I could hold." This is a striking and powerful song, containing some strong work on guitar, as well as more good stuff on bass. The vocal performance might at times make you think of Neil Young.

As "Waiting For Me" begins, it reminds me a bit of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me." "If I ever make up my mind/If I ever get myself free/If I ever leave me behind/Will you still be waiting for me." This is a soulful number, featuring some wonderful backing vocal work. As with all the songs on this extraordinary album, some lines and phrases stand out, such as "the weeds that I grow." This track also features some pretty work on pedal steel. And I love that instrumental section in the second half, a nice jam with something of a late 1960s, early 1970s vibe. I appreciate how it is given the time to stretch out a bit, and that helps make this another of my personal favorite tracks. The album then concludes with "Goodbye." While in "Waiting For Me," Ethan sang about dragging his chains with him, here he sings, "I look upon my life unchained/As if it were a brand-new joke." The line about birds being "imprisoned in the sky" is striking. Ethan Daniel Davidson really can craft some memorable and meaningful lyrics. "And I wanted you from hello/But I needed you from goodbye." That line tears into you, doesn't it? He also delivers some good work on harmonica here. "The face of you is already the face of a dream."

CD Track List

1. Stop Breaking Down
2. Count The Knives
3. The World We Wanted
4. Bad Company Brought Me Here
5. Not Breaking Hearts
6. How Can One Keep Warm?
7. Waiting For Me
8. Goodbye

Lear was released on November 14, 2025.