2008-01-13
Carrie’s 11th record for Rounder continues her attempt to do be a musical “polite firebrand,” which seems to mean you can make an important point without tearing someone’s head off. Her songs are always about making larger sense of the ordinary things in life. She says,” It’s about navigating that shadow and light in our lives, and all those gray spaces in between. There aren’t any easy answers – but there’s a lot of good questions.” She’s often influenced heavily by the recent books she’s been reading, and that’s true of this set as well. This time around, it is Quaker philosopher/writer Parker Palmer and novelist Scott Russell Sanders. While the songs attempt something more than surface issues, they don’t “feel heavy” and there are great wordplays (“Geodes”), vividly drawn characters (“Where You Been”) and humor (“Don’t Push Send”). It is good to know Carrie’s out there, paying close attention to life and reporting in once and a while. 01/08 MJVD F-ContemporaryChris Thile
Deceiver
Ken Atkins & The Honky Tonk Kind
This Train
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, & ray Price
Last of the Breed
Jefferson Ross
Live At Hillbilly Haiku
RUN RIVER NORTH
Run River North
Erin McKeown
We Will Become Like Birds
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