Maura Rogers and the Bellows. In Light.

Maura Rogers and the Bellows.  In Light.

Self-released, 2015.  Maura Rogers and the Bellows: http://www.maurarogers.com/

We have been remiss in reviewing this in a timely fashion, and so we are getting to it just before the band’s new EP is released next week. I guess that’s timely in its own way. This is the band’s third release (we reviewed their previous album, A Good Heart Will Break, back in 2014), and so they seem to be on schedule, even if we’re not.  

Americana, alt.folk, and other terms are thrown around to describe Maura Rogers’ music. They are all accurate as far as they go, but fuzzy words are inadequate to tell you how her songs sound and feel (she wrote them all). Musically, the band is dominated by Rogers’ strong and expressive vocals and Meredith Pangrace’s accordion--they are the most out front to this ear. But in listening behind them, one can easily find some fine guitar work by Istvan Medgyesi and others. This is particularly evident on the opening bars of most tracks (such as “Georgia” and “Blooming”), where a guitar leads in. The opening track, “Battle Cry,” is a deeply emotional song that Rogers simply slays with her anthemic vocals. The mood changes quickly with “The Chance,” a country waltz, framed as a real cry-in-your-beer weeper. As I listened to this song and the next, “Georgia,” I noticed that the lyrics are not specific with regard to gender, or even place. Georgia could refer to the state, but it could also be a person. This sort of ambiguity  continues throughout the album. Fascinating choices, and good songwriting.

“Blooming” is a heartbreaker, and one of my favorites, a song that contrasts roses in bloom with rejected love and/or fear of relationships. The atmospheric music created by the accordion and guitar in combination creates a sense of desolation. “Thank You” is a catchy, if spare, tune, and is certainly one of the more upbeat songs on the album. The most controversial song is “Damn Angels,” about a lover who leaves in the wake of religious fervor, from the perspective of the one left. Powerful stuff.

Seriously good songwriting.  The music and the lyrics work as one to transport the listener through various stages of heartache, hope, anger, and moroseness. After nine songs, I feel like I’ve been through an emotional washing machine. This is a richly rewarding album, and I urge you to check out the band’s music. They will be having an EP release party on March 19th at the Beachland Ballroom, which I suspect will be quite an evening.

Personnel:  Maura Rogers (vocals, acoustic guitar), Meredith Pangrace (accordion, vocals), Istvan Medgyesi (electric, slide, and acoustic guitar), Brent Stow (bass), Shelby Sangdahl (cello), Jeff Babinski (drums, track 5), Nick Perry (drums), Ariel Karaś (violin, tracks 6 & 7), Al Moses (acoustic guitar, tracks 3 & 7).

Tracks:  Battle Cry, The Chance, Georgia, Lion, Blooming, Good Lover, Thank You, Damn Angels, Hold On.

Jeff Wanser

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John Fedchock Quartet Live. Fluidity.

John Fedchock Quartet Live.  Fluidity.

Summit Records, 2015.  John Fedchock: http://www.johnfedchock.com/

John Fedchock describes himself as a New York musician, but his roots are in Northeast Ohio. Born in Cleveland in 1957, he attended Ohio State University and the Eastman School of Music, joined the Woody Herman Band in 1980, and has been a prominent trombonist in several big bands. He leads John Fedchock’s New York Big Band (seems reasonable), which has four CDs to their credit, and also works in smaller group contexts, including a sextet, and here, a quartet. He’s won lots of accolades and awards for his playing and arranging. Let’s see what he’s done this time.

On this release, Fedchock plays mostly standards, with two originals and a Joe Henderson cover. Among the composers are Victor Young, Henry Mancini, Frank Loesser, and Jule Styne, so it’s clear that he delves extensively into the Great American Songbook. He takes the tunes in a bop direction and moves them along in a gentle, dreamy fashion. This is a live album, so there is a bit of audience applause, but it doesn’t distract from listening, and in fact, provides a nice backdrop to the band’s motivated performance. Fedchock’s playing is really quite impressive; I’ve seldom heard a trombone played with such, well, fluidity. His slide technique and articulation are superb, as is evident in such slow tunes as “Havana,” and “Make Someone Happy,” where he is out front and on display. Most of the songs feature one or more of the other players in solos, and they are very effective as well. I am particularly fond of John Toomey’s piano work, both in solos (especially “I Hear a Rhapsody”) and in his support behind Fedchock. Two mid-tempo tunes, “I Hear a Rhapsody,” and “Homestretch,” are my personal favorites here, with great solos and delightful interplay among the musicians.

If you love jazz ballads, small combos, or trombone, this is an album to listen to over and over.

Personnel:  John Fedchock (trombone), John Toomey (piano), Jimmy Masters (bass), Dave Ratajczak (drums).

Tracks: East of the Sun, Havana, I Hear a Rhapsody, Make Someone Happy, Under the Radar, Weaver of Dreams, The Days of Wine and Roses, I’ve Never Been in Love Before, Homestretch.

Jeff Wanser

Apollo’s Fire. Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering.

Avie, 2015.  Apollo’s Fire:  http://apollosfire.org/

In 2015, Apollo’s Fire released Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering. When I think of Apollo’s Fire, baroque music immediately comes to mind. I was unaware that the group had delved into the folk tradition. The following is a description of this “crossover” tradition from the CD liner notes, which helped me to understand the background of Sugarloaf Mountain:

"Since 1999, Apollo’s Fire have developed a unique ensemble of crossover artists who are steeped in the folk traditions as well as the improvisatory idioms of the 17th and 18th centuries. Exploring British Isles, early American, and Sephardic traditions from a historical perspective, the ensemble strives to break down the modern barrier between art music and popular music to revive the “crossover” spirit of the 17th century, when great composers regularly wrote artful variations on street tunes and tavern songs."

This is their fourth crossover album, with Scarborough Fayre, Come to the River: An Early American Gathering, and Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers preceding this. A new album, Sephardic Journey, is just coming out.

On to the content of Sugarloaf Mountain--a series of ballads and reels brought to the Southern Appalachian region from the British Isles, combined with American minstrel tunes and African American spirituals. And who better to interpret this music than Jeannette Sorrell (having lived in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley from age 14), and Amanda Powell (who lived in the same valley within sight of Sugarloaf Mountain). The musicians, including Sorrell and Powell, play these airs, jigs, reels, ballads, and spirituals on period and folk instruments, including fiddle, wooden flute, pennywhistle, cello, lute, hammered dulcimer, guitar, gourd banjo, long-neck dulcimer, and harpsichord. The music is arranged in sections, invoking first the melancholy and sadness of leaving home (the British Isles), and last the enthusiasm of begging those still in the old country to come to this lovely land. Let me take you on this journey and comment on some of the highlights.

The Prologue. “The Mountains of Rhùm” sets the sorrowful mood of the leavetaking--”how can I leave you, my mountains of Rhùm?” (from the traditional Scottish). Crossing to the New World. “Farewell to Ireland/Highlander’s Farewell” introduces a different atmosphere, with dance music (Irish and Appalachian reels), while “We’ll Rant and We’ll Rave/Farewell to the Isles” is a sea shanty with lovely fiddle and voices filled with false bravado--a looking forward to the shores of America. Dark Mountain Home. “Cruel Sister”--now this is where the Scots-Irish darkness takes hold. In this ballad’s bizarre telling, there are two sisters, the younger of which is courted by a young man. The jealous older sister pushes the younger off the cliff into the sea. The younger sister begs to be saved, but is ignored by the elder. Later, the suitor finds the body, makes a harp of her breastbone, and strings of her yellow hair. He takes the harp to the father’s house, and plays a song. “Hang my auld sister,” it cried. Cruel sister indeed. For me, a dismal story, but beautifully performed.

Cornshuck Party. “Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” is quite vivacious--lots of fiddle, flute pennywhistle--and a great story! I picture Peter Spier’s illustrations in a children’s book of the same name. “Oh Susanna!” is a song most of us will recognize, but do we realize that it’s a minstrel song from 1845, written by one Stephen Foster of Pittsburgh, PA? Love and Loss.  “Once I Had a Sweetheart” is a haunting piece laced with misery, which morphs into “Wayfaring Stranger” by way of a slow fiddle, moaning low and mimicking a spiritual (Kentucky Harmony, 1816). “Just Before the Battle, Mother,” from 1864, is a lovely but mournful solo interwoven with another Southern spiritual, “Go March Along.” Glory on the Mountain. “Glory in the Meeting House” is a lively, upbeat Kentucky fiddle tune accompanied by hammered dulcimer and flute, while “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep,” a Souther spiritual, is sung by male and female voices. Appalachian Home. In “Sugarloaf Mountain” the contented immigrant tries to convince his love and his family to join him. “Oh, leave our sad island, its troubles unending…. Come to our mountain and stay with me.” (Adapted from the traditional Scottish).

And finally, there is happiness! Interwoven into these appealing vocals are several instrumental interludes, showing the various talents of all the musicians. My absolute favorite is the enchanting hammered dulcimer. Those of us who pay attention to Northeast Ohio traditional music should be humbled by Tina Bergmann’s prowess on this instrument. I remember hearing her way back when she was a teenager at the Cuyahoga Valley Folk Festival, and she was good even then.

I was captivated by everyone on this CD. I now want to go back and listen to Come to the River: An Early American Gathering, from 2010. If you like this traditional vein of music, give this a listen. If not, try it anyway, because you never know.

Personnel:  Apollo’s Fire, Jeannette Sorrell (harpsichord, direction), Amanda Powell (vocals), Ross Hauck (vocals), Tina Bergmann (hammered dulcimer), Susanna Perry Gilmore (fiddle), Kathie Stewart (wooden flutes), Brian Kay (lute, guitar, banjo, long-neck dulcimer), René Schiffer (cello).

Tracks: Prologue: The Mountains of Rhùm. Crossing to the New World: Farewell to Ireland/Highlander’s Farewell, We’ll Rand and We’ll Roar. Dark Mountain Home: The Cruel Sister, Se Fath mo Buart Ha (The Cause of All My Sorrow), Nottamun Town (Round #1044), Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair, I Wonder as I Wander/The Gravel Walk/Over the Isles to America. Cornshuck Party: The Fox Went out on a Chilly Night, Oh Susanna!, Pretty Peg/Far from Home. Love & Loss: Once I Had a Sweetheart, Wayfaring Stranger, Pretty Betty Martin/Katy Did/Red Rockin’ Chair, Just Before the Battle, Mother, Go March Along. Glory on the Mountain: Glory in the Meeting House, Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep. Appalachian Home: Sugarloaf Mountain.

Linda Spear

Jeannette Sorrell

Burn Rubber City, Burn! Akron, Ohio: Punk and the Decline of the Mid-West 1975-80.

Soul Jazz Records, 2015.

I was not here for the fluorescence of the punk scene in Akron or Cleveland. During the late 1970s I lived in Binghamton, New York, another dying manufacturing city, but a town that didn’t know it was well-suited to the genre. It relied instead on metal, disco, hard rock, and whatever was transported from New York City to the Southern Tier by college students (mostly Springsteen, I recall, followed by New Wave). Thus, I cannot claim first-hand experience, as many around here can (or some who may claim to but can’t). I was, of course, familiar with Devo and the Waitresses through their hits, and the Bizarros because of their connection to New York. As a result of my poking around in Northeast Ohio music history, Rubber City Rebels, Tin Huey, and the Numbers Band have become familiar (and enjoyed). Most of the rest are largely unknown to me, some having a moment in the sun, others not. Thus I enter the discussion with a bit of trepidation.

This album is the fifth punk compilation from the British label Soul Jazz. The first four concentrated on the British and American scenes, proto-punk, and Cleveland (we’ll get to that one soon). As such, it is a late-comer to the dissection of the late-70s Akron punk/art rock/New Wave scene that coalesced in the wake of Akron’s industrial decline. There have been other releases, notably Stiff Records’ The Akron Compilation, and two films, It’s Everything, and Then It’s Gone, and If You’re not Dead, Play. There have been reunions, cover bands, and much mythologizing, and everyone seems to have a slightly different version of what happened, ranging from the glorious to the “who cares?” So, what does this CD add to the pile?

First, for the newbie, or those too young to have experienced these bands in the raw, the CD provides an entryway into a particular time and place (late 1970s, Akron/Kent) and the heady mix of local bands influenced by the art scene (and shootings) at Kent State University, the decline of the rubber industry in Akron, and the local music scene (that also included Cleveland) of the time. The accompanying booklet is pretty good in outlining major events (although they spell it “tyre”), although it could have done much more. But it’s the array of music and styles that are the real draw here. Akron “punk” was far more, and not easily categorized, except by music industry. It included a great deal of art rock, experimental rock, garage rock, and blues, put in a blender with the top off, resulting in fascinating chunks of music going in all different directions. Little holds it all together except point of origin, common history, a certain sense of aggression, and the fact that the bands influenced each other (and even shared personnel). Quality of sound is very good, and given that the Stiff Compilation is out of print (as are most of the original albums of the artists, other than Devo’s), this is the place to go for this material. Rachel Sweet is missing, but there are compilations of her material elsewhere.

There are some wonderful surprises. Jane Aire & the Belvederes is a great band. They apparently followed Chrissie Hynde to England to join the music scene there, and their albums seem to have never been reissued in CD. Denis DeFrange did some fascinating experimental work with synthesizers (not exactly a punk instrument). Chi-Pig, on the scene since the 60s in one form or another and the only all-female band, combines punk with elements of experimental music to considerable effect. The lesser known artists are surrounded by the Bizarros, Rubber City Rebels (my favorite), Tin Huey, and couple of demos by Devo, all of whose tracks provide great listening, especially as juxtaposed here. The Numbers Band rounds out the album with their usual combination of experimental rock and blues. The result is an indication of the creativity and complexity of the music scene in the region for a time when much was bleak, but anything was possible. In all, this is an excellent compilation, and well worth the time.

Personnel/Tracks:  The Bizarros/I Bizarro; The Waitresses/The Comb; Hammer Damage/Laugh; Devo/Mechanical Man; Tin Huey/Squirm You Worm; The Bizarros/Lady Doubonette; Chi-Pig/ Ring Around the Collar; Devo/Auto Modown; Rubber City Rebels/Kidnapped; Denis DeFrange and Mark Frazer/The Minkin Shuffle; Jane Aire & the Belvederes/When I Was Young; Tin Huey/ Puppet Wipes; Chi-Pig/Apu Api (Help Me); The Bizarros/Nova; Rubber City Rebels/Such a Fool; Denis DeFrange/Sector Wars; Ralph Carney/Closet Bears; 15 60 75 The Numbers Band/Narrow Road.

Jeff Wanser

Chimaira. Crown of Phantoms

Chimaira. Crown of Phantoms

eOne Music, 2013. Chimaira:  chimaira.com

One head howls. The other shrieks. Another growls. The legendary monster known as the chimera has always commanded allure among the creatures in Greek mythology, and with so much ferocity amongst the bestiary to name yourself after any of them takes gall and daring to live up to the source. Unfortunately, with their final album Crown of Phantoms the late Chimaira meets their end with a plain, acceptable departure. This album is not the ichor and excellence of legends but at least at the beginning…

“It's alive.”

The opening track detonates into a blast of promise with a gale of electric guitar riffs and pounding drums to boil the notes for Crown of Phantom's genesis.

“We have died a million times before Every struggle opens a door.”

At the start it's like a climactic showdown, and the solos ring with an amped uproar, a true blitz of sound that foretastes something grim and grand. Isolation, resentment, ire at the artificiality of the entertainment industry, there's plenty in the targeting reticles of the imagery for Crown of Phantoms.

“No more lies, no more lies, no more god damn Hollywood vampires.”

Disgust abounds. Many a band has slammed the gaudiness and predatory glamour of Hollywood for all the fraud, faux wisdom, and seduction that its altar is built upon, and the indictment contained in the above lyric from "No Mercy" is reminiscent of songs like "Lost in Hollywood" from System of a Down.

“All that's left is blood.”

“It's just a holiday in this plastic wonderland.”

A familiar metalcore story slinks into your ears, a gray tale about hardened souls stacked against the inevitable, punishing trials of life, with never a hint of surrender in the words. Would that it all developed into something more interesting.

Instead, this release felt like a capped venture. Think of a movie touted by an awesome preview that, upon viewing, actually ends up being an okay experience. Therein lay a comparable feeling for what Crown of Phantoms offers. While not something to be completely discarded the album suffers from anything really distinguishing it from the pack of the overall rock genre. If you were killing time in your car on a lunch break or wanted to liven up a senior living center then these tracks could serve such purposes, the latter possibly being met with some objections.

Aside from the very tempting track at the beginning the impact fades. There's nothing amateur here so much as uninspired, and while for the most part everything is well-played by the group and finely screamed by Mark Hunter the flames of allure diminish with bright spots in the blandness. The instrumentals are tactful and sharp, notable for the line-up since most of the personnel on this album were all recent additions to Chimaira's line-up. No one fails to perform their roles well but it's simply that the total end product is not anything all that memorable.

A comparison to past albums does not amount to much because there is simply little to explore here. Metalcore enthusiasts may very well be perfectly happy with this release the same way a college fraternity would be satisfied with a case of cheap vodka being thrown onto their porch. That's not intended as a put down since the high-octane followers of this subgenre reward hard punches of music, and there's no lack of those with Crown of Phantoms. Have chasers ready from other Chimaira albums and you could possibly pull some songs from here to make a playlist for a buddy or a road trip.

In ancient lore all the heads of the monstrous chimera were different, be they breathing fire, snaking a long tongue, or snapping a beak. From the perspective of this heavily belated review the defining characteristic for this album's head is that it appears to have peacefully nodded off. As the last chapter in the story of this band they could have done worse.

Rest in piece, Chimaira, and rest assured that this is not a bad album, just an average one.

Crown of Phantoms

Personnel: Jeremy Creamer (Bass Guitar), Austin D'Amond (Drums), , Emil Werstler (Lead Guitar), Matt Szlachta (Rhythm Guitar), Sean Zatorsky (Keyboards, Additional Instruments, and Backing Vocals), Mark Hunter (Lead Vocals).

Tracks: The Machine, No Mercy, All That's Left Is Blood, I Despise, Plastic Wonderland, The Transmigration, Crown of Phantoms, Spineless, Kings of the Shadow World, Wrapped in Violence, Love Soaked Death.

Robert Gojo

Allison Bencar. First Call.

Allison Bencar. First Call.

Self-released, 2014.  Allison Bencar: http://allisonbencar.com/

You’d think a librarian would remember that thing about books and covers. I hesitated when I looked at the pictures on the CD from this fresh faced Cleveland-raised, Nashville-based singer. Never having heard her, I thought, “modern hippie, singer-songwriter. Not my thing. Hand her off to another reviewer.” But I decided to give it a listen. Boy was I wrong. I’ve kept the CD. It’s quite remarkable. Bencar is anything but what I conceived her to be. Her frame of reference is different from almost anyone else her age. This is a musician who grew up listening to Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline, but sounds like this decade at the same time without falling into contemporary pop cliches. Her voice is a rich and strong alto, her songwriting is seriously sophisticated, and the variety of styles represented here suggests a breadth of talent that demands attention. Country, rock, ballads, pop, and stuff in-between make for a rather heady stew, and her backing band (including Clevelander Rob Muzick, with whom she co-wrote a couple of songs, and co-produced the album) is excellent.

While her influences are listed in her bio on the website, it was pretty easy to guess some of them while listening to the album. The first obvious one is Roy Orbison, in the track “Where Do the Lonely Go,” which seems like more of a tribute than an imitation. I think he would have been happy to sing along with this. “Before I Die” is haunted by Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac in her more bluesy vein, complete with keyboards, and Linda Ronstadt’s sound shows up in “Light It Up,” a song eerily similar to “You’re No Good” (which Bencar covers in a YouTube video). This is not to say she’s derivative. Lots of people are influenced by others (or maybe they wouldn’t have become musicians), and you can hear it in their songs. But nobody yells at the Rolling Stones for having tried to sound like Sonny Boy Williamson.

Other songs by Bencar are quite different, but clearly relate to sounds from other times and places, and that’s a good thing. This is part of her charm, because she sounds like nobody else around now. Her tunes are hook-filled, too country for rock, and too rock for country, which could damn her to the purgatory of Americana. “The Party” is a good example, part country, part cabaret. “Broken Porch” is another, a bit of a country weeper, but with chord changes that sound like indie pop. She starts to really rev up with “Before I Die,” and continues to rock out with “Won’t Be Coming Home,” country rock with a hard kick. The last two songs, “Anywhere with You” and “Who I Am,” have a gentle feel and soft flow that might make the hearts of older gentlemen melt. The band she has assembled is beyond reproach, adding just the right touches when needed, and playing well in any style.

Bencar shouldn’t be surprised to find a wide demographic for her music. I hope she gets some airplay on the radio for her songs. She deserves a huge audience. Her music is familiar but fresh, her voice endlessly listenable, and everything about this album is top notch.

Personnel:  Allison Bencar (vocals), Rob Muzick (guitar, pedal steel), John Senchuk (bass), Corey Hughes (drums), Eric Fritsch (accordion, toy piano). All songs written or co-written by Allison Bencar.

Tracks: First Call, Going Out, Where Do the Lonely Go, Sorry, The Party, Broken Porch, Before I Die, Won’t Be Coming Home, Light it Up, Anywhere with You, Who I Am.

Jeff Wanser

Swap Meet. Trailer Hitch

Swap Meet.  Trailer Hitch.

Self-released, 2015.  Swap Meet: https://www.facebook.com/swapmeetmusic/

This six-song EP is a most welcome holiday season debut. The Northeast Ohio Americana / country / gypsy jazz group has been making the local rounds lately, from Wilbert’s in Cleveland, to the Lime Tree in Warren, to the Regency Wine Store in Akron. It’s tough work for folks who have day jobs, but they seem to be managing well. They’re certainly a talented and skilled group with a different sound--multiple guitars, two women vocalists and four-part harmony, percussion delivered via rub board and washboard--with a mix of styles that fit together nicely.

“Gypsy Desire” starts off the album, with a sound reminiscent of an old radio broadcast, Michelle Reyna’s deliberately distorted vocals providing a 1930s nightclub atmosphere, leading to vocals by the others. They quickly switch to country music with a spiritual flavor with “Waters Blue,” with really sweet guitar work here (and that extends to all the other tracks), provided by the combination of Peter Nario-Redmond and Stuart Abrams. “Drunk This Morning Again” takes us in the other direction, with some surprisingly raw lyrics about drinking and sex (I don’t see one of those parental warnings on the CD). A Doobie Brothers riff begins the bluesy “Moon Beams Fall,” with sexy vocals by Kari Rutushin and great guitar solos. Back to country on “A Broken Heart Gets No Relief,” which despite its title, is quite a lot of fun with its great harmony vocals. They finish up with a rouser, “What’s So Good About Being Happy,” where the title refrain is shouted, and makes one wonder about irony. They seems to be having too much of a good time.

In all, a fine batch of songs sung and played with great enthusiasm and comraderie. I enjoyed every track, and recommend the band to anyone who likes Americana music. They’re having a CD release party somewhere in Cleveland Heights on January 12th. Check their Facebook page for updates.

Personnel:  Kari Rutushin (vocals, rub board, flute, ukulele), Michelle Reyna (vocals, washboard), Hoseff Garcia (stand up bass), Stuart Abrams (lead guitar), Walter Genutis (vocals), Peter Nario-Redmond (vocals, guitar). All songs by Peter Nario-Redmond.

Tracks:  Gypsy Desire, Waters Blue, Drunk This Morning Again, Moon Beams Fall, A Broken Heart Gets No Relief, What’s So Good About Being Happy.

[Full Disclosure: The reviewer is a colleague of one of the singers and an employee of the same college. But if I couldn’t be honest about the review I wouldn’t have done it.]

The Grand Wazoo

Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys. Once Again.

Rachel Brown & the Beatnik Playboys. Once Again.

Self-released, 2014.  Rachel Brown:  http://www.rachelandthebeatnikplayboys.com/

This album had me confused at first, thinking that Rachel Brown had gone all Charles Ives on us, and was overlaying two songs at the same time. It would sort of make sense, then suddenly not, while she would sing two parts of different songs, then quick rhythms would come in over a slow beat. Very pretty, but dissonant and rather oddly modernist. Then I realized that while I was listening to her CD on my laptop I also had her website up, and it was playing her songs too. Nevermind. Pay no attention to my Saturday morning ravings.

We reviewed her previous album, Just Look My Way (2012) in 2013, so we seem to be right on time (or late as usual) with her 2014 release. Brown has the same band, and the combination of Watson, King, and Huddleston are more than able to keep up with their dynamo lead singer and pianist in the variety of styles she works in. Loosely described as Americana, she works in country, blues, jazz, gospel, and pop, sometimes all at once (although not in the way I described above), and approaches them all with a sense that is both casual and natural, like it’s no big deal, but still maintains the posture of a consummate professional. It’s hard to do both. She wrote all the songs except “Gone is Gone” (Nathan Bell), and “It’s Not Easy,” by bandmate Bill Watson. Thirteen out of fifteen ain’t bad.

The album begins with the title tune, a real cry-in-your-beer country ballad, showing off Brown’s sweet/sad vocals at their finest. “Mama & Daddy” harks back to the style of early Johnny Cash, (and even old folk songs) with Huddleston supplying deliciously ominous guitar. Classic honky-tonk is the style of “Maybe Tomorrow,” with some great piano by Brown, and a fine guitar break by Mr. Huddleston. “It’s Not Easy” takes us in a bit of a swing jazz direction, with Brown sounding a bit like Patsy Cline. A bluesier style appears with “Pretty Damn Damaged,” one of my favorites, and as you can see, we’ve covered a whole batch of styles in only the first half of the album. This versatility extends to the second half, with some Latin phrasings in “Mary Lynd,” a gospel number in “Bittersweet By and By,” a sweet duet with Alex Bevan on “When it Comes to You,” and delightful country/folk with “I Wish You Well,” Two tracks toward the end I found especially enjoyable. “Wind in My Hair” is a real earworm, with a really nice hook, a cool electric guitar break, and some great blues piano. The last track, “Gone is Gone (When You’re Dead),” is a fine driving closer, funny, thoughtful, and a great finish (no pun intended) to a great album.

So, the songs are excellent, the musicianship first class. But what holds the album together in all its variety is Rachel Brown’s riveting voice, strong, rich, and endlessly enjoyable. The band will be playing at the Music Box Supper Club on December 26th, and the Barking Spider in early January, while Ms. Brown will appear with some friends at the G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula a couple of times. Go listen.

Personnel: Rachel Brown (lead vocals, piano, acoustic guitar), Bill Watson (string bass, electric bass, vocals), Roy King (drums, percussion), Dave Huddleston (electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, vocals), Chris Hannah (organ). With special guest, Alex Bevan (vocals, guitar, on “When It Comes to You”).

Tracks: Once Again, Mama & Daddy, Maybe Tomorrow, It’s Not Easy, Jimmy C, Simpler Times, Pretty Damn Damaged, My Best Friend is My Song, Mary Lynd, When it Comes to You, My Namesake, Bittersweet By and By, Wind in My Hair, I Wish You Well, Gone is Gone (When You’re Dead).

Jeff Wanser