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Reviewing in the Dark |
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Track List 1. Brookline Players
"Songwriting is a feeling, a sensation like a feather in the dark, that you don't shy away from. You have to let it tickle you, then the words come, then the music, and then the feeling." Rick Dill |
I love this CD. I know that's not a very objective way of approaching a CD review, but nonetheless, it's accurate. I knew nothing whatsoever about this artist or the music when I was handed a plain CD with only the title "Unfinished Business" and the name "Rick Dill" printed on it. So without knowledge of the artist at all, with no liner notes or list of pickers or songwriters, armed only with the music itself, I set down to listen. And was swept up in impressive vocals carrying beautiful lyrics bound by melodies both simple and complex. The disc starts very country, a melding of sweet twanging guitar and fiddle, a delicate melody with a bittersweet chorus, "And here it feels just like Sunday/and here it's the Fourth of July/and hear those bells ringing like laughter;" absolutely beautiful. The next track takes us to the old southwest with a sharp Texicani accordion, a song about the mournful, lonely desert and how one can find oneself there. A female voice joins in for a beautiful harmony, and the accordion is complimented by a lonesome fiddle and some strong rhythm guitar. "Walk away from everything, build a new life on the road, far away from reminders of her old West Texas home." It was before the end of this track that I had determined I was in love with this music (and yes, I'd marry it if I could). But the surprises were yet to come. The third track is a lighthearted melody, still countrified, but very folksy, as well. The sweet lyrics seem familiar; "My little Linda lives in the rain." I feel as though I've heard this song before, but without knowing who wrote it I can't be sure if I trust my memory or if it's just a song that speaks to my southwestern mountain spirit, touching something deep inside of me, that part of me that loves the music of Bob Dylan and Michael Nesmith. Rick Dill has a voice that is real and pure and comfortable, a rich sound that is so perfectly suited to the music the blending is near-perfect. Next the folk and southwestern Texan style blend again, strong guitar predominant with more solid, real lyrics. "Seems the more you hold on the less you can enjoy/the smile of a young girl and the laughter of a boy." A touch of the accordion again, but the mariachi-style guitar playing carries the song without need for much, if any, backup. But then we start to hear a subtle shift in the music. The strong guitar playing remains, as does the exquisite melodies, but the country sound is slowly fading as the folk sound comes more to the forefront, becoming more prominent, more a showcase for the powerful lyrics, "he was a grocer's son; she was a drifter's daughter." This is a sweet story song, still little more than guitar and vocals, and needing none of the trappings. Then we go full-fledged country-folk with a cover of the old Bob Dylan classic, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." It's light, it's friendly, it's perfect for that strong acoustic guitar and powerful voice, a joyous cover, one of the best I've ever heard, and that's even comparing it to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band! The disc now progresses to pure folk with the next entry, an odd little number that's deeply intense; "Batman and Robin/weavin' and bobbin'/doin' their job just as best as they can; and I always see them/when I'm up in the spotlight/savin' the planet 'cause no one else can." By this point of the disc, we move into a complete folk/blues area as the next song comes on. The powerful acoustic guitar is joined by a blues harp, and a Delta blues feel takes over. "Love is a knife and it cuts us both ways/I'm reaching out what do you say? We're starting over today." With the next track, we step up the tempo a bit, but the folk sound is in full control now, and there is little remainder of the pure country West Texas/Texican feel. But "who do you drive for? I drive for sunrise" feels so much like a Mike Nesmith song to me I wasn't thinking of it as a "country" disc or anything - it was music I liked, plain as that, and I didn't care where they want to file it in the record store... as long as they sell it and other people hear it, too. The next song remains in that sharp folk sound, but it seems to connect the entire disc into a whole, the lyrics return to West Texas by way of the night sky. "The nights are much colder in this border town, but she's crossing over, and I'm still around." He closes the disc with a return to the country by way of his folk sound, with the return of the lonesome fiddle. "Hey there dead man, we see eye to eye/I die in daylight and you live at night." The lyrics are amazing. The guitar playing
is unbelievable. The music is terrific. It's a full circle of musical
style, from country to folk and back again. And, just in case we need to know more about Rick Dill, there's always his website. www.rickdill.com His website is as much a mystery as this disc - there's a guest book and an address to order his CD, and that's about it! But I like the mystery. I eventually did at least find out the titles of the songs, the songwriter(s) (Rick himself wrote or co-wrote everything except the Dylan cover), and the pickers. But you know, I didn't need to know 'em. All I know is I loved this disc. I think you will, too. Go over to Rick's website, sign his guest book, and buy his CD. You won't be sorry you did.
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Kathy Coleman Take Country Back
May 2002