Folk
The point of Bob Dylan’s project is emotional rather than definitive: to probe the power of song to influence us, make us feel, and ultimately transform us.
The caliber of Richard Thompson’s voice is undiminished. His always expressive, frequently soothing timbre was perfectly intact.
Northlands lacks the infrastructure, diversity, and history of some of New England’s finest music fests, but its two-day debut provided a rustic oasis for jambands.
Life on Earth aches with the sadness of the human condition, touching on personal trauma and reaching into the malaise of a week of national bad news.
The brilliant set was a celebratory exploration of Molly Tuttle’s bluegrass roots, albeit with a fresh perspective.
The Gravel Project respects its roots, but its new album demonstrates how a band can honor its influences without being smothered by them.
It’s a work that shifts gears often, which is not in itself a bad idea for a book about a famed shape-shifter.
“I may second guess how a song was recorded. But I can say that all that we have done has come from an honest place.”
This is the quintessential Club d’elf album, smartly arranged and surprisingly accessible without losing any of the group’s improvisational edges or exotic breadth.
Book Review: “Folk Music — A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs”
At points Greil Marcus’ digressive style can seem like nervy brilliance, at others, idle whimsy. What ennobles the book is the critic’s love for his underlying subject: the soulful search for a truer America.
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