Saturday Songs - Dec. 3

1. “Arrowhead” – Richard Shindell

Shindell is a master songwriter of character sketches; from illegal immigrants to long-haul truckers, Shindell reaches far and wide for his inspiration. “Arrowhead” tells the plaintive story of a drummer boy in the Confederate forces during the Civil War, who is too young to fight, but not too young to be up at the front lines. The live version of this song released on Shindell’s album Courier is a real treat—providing some serious galloping drums to the mix. But this acoustic performance above captures the spirit of the song equally well.

~

2. “Kingdom Come” – Mark Erelli

On the surface, this song sounds sweet, but underneath the surface, this is a dark look at a dangerous world. The opening lines establish that much:

The wasp she lays an egg

‘neath a caterpillar's skin.

It hatches and the larva grows,

feasting from within

It kills the host then off it goes

to sting another one.

~

3. “Someday House” – Greg Brown

Someday House

Tipped off to Greg Brown by a YouTube video featuring Jeff Bridges (he was listing Top 5 musicians everyone should listen to and I, of course, was on the prowl for a Townes Van Zandt reference, given the presence of “If I Needed You” in one of the emotional montages in the Bridges’s Best Actor vehicle Crazy Heart), I went straight onto Spotify and looked him up.

His deep, dark baritone may present a problem for some listeners, but the voice—verging on Tom Waits—probably couldn’t any more accurately reflect the quirky characters Brown sketches in his songs. In this song, you can practically hear him smiling as he sings:

I don’t mind doing laundry

if you’ll help me fold

looks like bright sunshine

well, let’s hang ‘em out on the line

and it starts to rain again.

~

4. “Say It Anyway” – Rosi Golan

Just recently, I sat down to listen to Golan’s second album, which I’ve been anticipating for some time now, after having seen her in concert as she toured her 2008 debut album The Drifter & The Gypsy, an album with several excellent cuts, including “Think Of Me” and “Come Around.” This album did not disappoint; there are, again, several excellent compositions. I admit there are a handful of weaker songs, but, all in all, it’s an impressive sophomore album. “Say It Anyway” has less flair than some of the other tracks, wisely choosing to focus on Golan’s excellent voice.

~

5. “Meeden Station” – The Bowmans

A twin sister folk act hailing from Iowa, the Bowman women craft a neat sound on this simple song—a portrait of a railway station. While the recording itself could stand some improvement, the sisterly harmony still shines through.