[.ca] Restless On The Farm

From Amazon.com:
Dobro wizard Jerry Douglas is well aware that less is more, that lyrical lines and harmonies can take a tune to the farthest shores. As a collaborator, he has brought out the best in fellow "newgrass" innovators from Sam Bush to Bela Fleck to Russ Barenberg, and, luckily, Douglas also knows when to let his slide take center stage. On his first solo album in six years, the Resophonic monster--rightly nicknamed "Flux"--ranges from breakdowns to bouncing blues to the exquisite longing of his own "For Those Who've Gone Clear." As always, he brings his instrument's vocal ability to the fore--take the great stoner song "Turkish Taffee" or the wide-open "TV Doctor," on which John Cowan contributes a surprisingly bombast-free vocal. And his interplay with Maura O'Connell on Paul Brady's "Follow On" is a classic bit of shivery Celtic eloquence. --Kerry Fried

\oI'm sorry: My 1-liner somehow won't fit here!\c:
Jerry Douglas's latest CD, "Restless on the Farm," does seem to come out of a musical restlessness. Known for his dobro (i.e. resophonic lap guitar) virtuosity, regularly appearing at important music festivals alongside the very best instrumentalists of New Acoustic music, hired by half the recording artists needing top-notch dobro accompaniment, and occasionally putting out his own album, Douglas has performed, to my knowledge, on no other kind of guitar. Here, though, he's stretched his nimble wings, playing in several cuts on lap steel and Weissenborn guitars, as well as dobro. The sound is varied, using the sweetness of the Weissenborn to good effect, and playing a surprisingly likable growly lap steel. For those who still think of dobro as only a bluegrass or country appendage, soft-spoken Jerry's here to say "Open your ears! We do it all!" He gives us rock-ish sounds (half the cuts use drums), a Johnny Winter blues tune, an Errol Garner swing number, and a nouveau-classical duet with Bela Fleck. But all you die-hard fans of Douglas's otherwise uncubbyholable New Acoustic sound which he and his other instrumental virtuoso-buddies have been developing for the last decade or two needn't fret: this is no radical departure and the sound we love is well represented here. In fact, many of those very New Acoustic virtuosos appear: Fleck on (what else?) banjo, Russ Barenberg on guitar, Edgar Meyer on bass, and Sam Bush on mandolins, with fine additions by such relative newcomers as Bryan Sutton (guitar) and John Gardner (drums). Another extension of Douglas's offerings this time out is vocals, not his, but those of Tim O'Brien, Steve Earl, John Cowan, and Maura O'Connell. Most of the pieces are instrumentals, though, mostly his own compositions. There's a grand one, "Turkish Taffee," which really does sound Turkish. Two cuts are trios with Barenberg and Meyer (with whom he recorded the superb CD, "Skip, Hop & Wobble"). Like "Skip, Hop & Wobble," this is one of those few albums I ! play over and over, untiringly, and one I'm sure will become a classic in my collection. So take Jerry's invitation, even if you couldn't distinguish a dobro from a donut: check out what resophonic and slide guitars can do.

Superb musicianship:
I loved this record. I purchased it after hearing Jerry Douglas on "Skip, Hop, and Wobble" and I couldn't have been more pleased. My favorite track is #6 - "Takarasaka" which is an instrumental featuring Jerry on the Weissenborn guitar and Edgar Meyer on bass. I could listen to a whole record of those kinds of tunes!

Great Beginnings:
I have recently purchased a dobro and started taking lessons. I purchased this album to familiarize myself with the sounds and playing style of this artist. I must say I was alittle disappointed that this album didn't feature more bluegrass numbers. The title "Down On The Farm", I thought suggested a more bluegrass flavor. However, there is no doubt Jerry Douglas' talent is tops and his clarity and crispness really makes you stop whatever you're doing and listen closely. I will undoubtedly buy more of Jerry's music and hope someday (in my dreams) I can play at least half this good.

Diverse Genius Strikes Again With His Usual A List Team:
Some may find "Restless On the Farm" too diverse for their taste but I find that it is a perfect amalgam of Douglas' main musical interests - bluegrass, country, folk, blues, Middle Eastern (Jerry traveled in Turkey in the past and his love of exotic eastern rhythms and chords has sown up on several of his albums, including cut 2 here), Celtic, with touches of jazz and a nod to rootsy rock rhythms. He has been so busy producing others and serving as an A List sideman to everyone else that this is his first full blown effort in a while. As usual, he assembles an incomparable host of diverse singers and instrumentalists named in previous reviews. Listen to Tim O'Brien kick off the album with scorching bluegrass or Steve Earle take the Johnny Cash standard "Don't Take Your Guns To Town" into the late 1990s with the addition of a contemporary verse from present day mean streets (with beautiful, melancholy minor chord changes from Douglas) or the lovely lilt of Maura O'Connell or the blue-eyed soul of John Cowan. For all of the above brilliance, my heart stops at "Tribute To Peador O'Donnell," a stunning Celtic solo that was so good it was recently transcribed in Acoustic Musician magazine. That tune alone is worth the price of admission.

A surprisingly mellow entry from Jerry:
Jerry Douglas is the undisputed master of the bluegrass and new acoustic Dobro. (He is also, completely incidentally, the person I named my cat after!) This new recording is surprisingly non-bluegrassy - there's nary a fiddle or high-pitched vocal, and the banjo is kept to a minimum. It's almost more of a folk album than a bluegrass album. Steve Earle and Maura O'Connell are welcome vocalists; I wish he hadn't asked the always-irritating John Cowan to sing as well. Overall, this is a fine recording and one I'll play quite a bit.

	Custom Search