|
Adam Carroll: Live At Cheatham |
||
|
Track List 1. [Untitled Track] |
(Down Home) With the release of his first
two albums, 1998's Down Home, and it's 1999 follow-up,
Looking Out The Screen Door, baby-faced Adam Carroll was being
hailed a songwriting genius in the league of such greats as John Prine,
Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan and Butch Hancock. Adam's voice, part John
Prine and part Steve Forbert (with maybe a touch of Arlo Guthrie too),
sounds at least a couple of decades beyond his age, and his songwriting
reflects someone a couple of decades beyond his voice. His half
sung/half spoken vocals, deliver his songs that revolve around small
town heroes and misfits. His stories range from sad, lonely laments,
to those infused with slightly twisted humor, to the downright silly.
Silly can be dangerous territory for many songwriters, but Adam
possesses a strong writing ability to make the "silly" avoid the
nasty pitfalls of becoming "corny," much in the same way John Prine can.
When not going for the outright silly, he infuses his songs with
the slightly twisted humor that recalls the best of Townes Van Zandt or
Terry Allen. However, he can also pull on the heartstrings with poignant
tales of down-on-their luck characters.
On Live At Cheatham, Adam culls the
best songs from his two previously released albums. He's charmingly
unpolished on this set, that consists of just Adam, his acoustic guitar,
and his harmonica. He's very much at ease in front of a live audience,
his delivery laid back and humble- a man greatly enjoying spinning his
tales, and at times sharing a laugh along with his audience at the
somewhat offbeat humor in many of his songs.
Before a captivated and appreciative
audience, he performs his songs, in which the lyrics at once sound
absurd, yet ring true. Adam weaves intricate stories, not dance hits.
His music is for listening to, and within his off kilter, left of
center lyrics, much truth can be found in most of the stereotypical
characters that can be found drifting through this world that he writes
about. His cover of Bob Dylan's "Red Bandana Blues" fits
in seamlessly with his originals, proving that the comparisons made
between Adam and other writers of Dylan's caliber aren't far fetched at
all. He sings tales of remorseful murderers ("Cole" and "Cane River
Blues"), lovesickness ("Silver Lakeside"), an old family friend
("Errol's Song"), lust ("Legs"), relationships ("Screen Door" and
"Blondie and Dagwood"), a man who's dream was never fulfilled ("Karaoke
Cowboy"), and even Hinduism and spirituality ("Bubblegum"). "Smokey
Mountain Taxi" was bluegrass leaning on the studio version on South
Of Town. Here, with just acoustic guitar for accompaniment, it
comes off with more of a rustic country feel. "Elvis," the lone song on
Live that's been previously unrecorded, is a send up that falls
into the "silly fun" category, with lyrics depicting a drunk and rowdy
Elvis in a small town dive.
For those that enjoy their
singer/songwriters with a touch of slightly bent humor, Adam Carroll is
your man. If you're unfamiliar with Adam and his music, Live At
Cheatham is the one to start with. He proves on this set, he
doesn't need the trappings of studio arrangements and other
embellishments. His songs are the kind meant for the most minimal and
stripped down sound- strong, well crafted, and thought provoking
songs that Adam delivers as a master storyteller.
|
|
AnnMarie
Harrington
Take Country Back December 2002