Album of Continuousness
My first comment on this album is on how fluid and congruent it is. The first thing I notice is how well we flow along with Welch and Rawlings. We definitely have some emotions and various styles we experience but when I finish the last song I usually think, "I hardly noticed the first song change." I can't explain it any more than that. I personally feel like this album is wonderfully continuous.
Folkin' Blues with a Welch-y Voice
Although this album is definitely more country and folk than rock, Welch and Rawlings dabble toward some rockin' folk tunes with some blues tendencies scattered throughout. I enjoyed the various dynamics within each song from Welch and Rawlings. As always, Welch's voice is the cherry on top. Or rather, the warm chocolate chip cookie at the bottom of the cold ice cream (For pizookie lovers). Her voice creates a whole different atmosphere atop the acoustic instrumentation. It's sincere, sweet, soulful. She's telling us the truth; for example, "the great emancipator took a bullet in the head." Gosh, Gillian, that's kind of rough. But when she sings it, it's honest and there's like a tiny apology in there but an overriding sense of, "You need to know this." For me, Gillian's vocal work on this album is completely outstanding.
Lyrical Revelator
I've wanted to study the lyrics more than I have so this section may be a bit jumbled. I really wanted to understand the idea of time being a revelator. We definitely see Gillian let us in on "April the 14th Part 1" and "Ruination Day Part 2". We're talking about history and figures like Lincoln, Casey Jones, the sinking of the Titanic. Things that happened on a specific day in time, April 14th. So what's the idea here? Of course history reveals things to us, but what about events that happen on a particular day? Is this just a poetic device? Tell me what you think!
Image is from Gillian Welch's official website.
So lovely!
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