John McCutcheon and Tom Paxton – “Invisible Man”
Americana Highways presents this premiere of John McCutcheon and Tom Paxton’s song “Invisible Man,” from their forthcoming album Together out via Appalseed on October 13. The album was produced by John McCutcheon and Bob Dawson. Although this pair have been together for years, this album is their first recording endeavor together. And it’s quite striking.
“Invisible Man” is John on vocals and guitar; Tom on vocals; Jon Carroll on piano; JT Brown on bass; and Stuart Duncan on fiddle. Gentle and debonair, the vocals pull you in magnetically to the subject matter at hand as the fickle and piano follow suit. Important and moving.
I had recently reread Ralph Ellison’s gripping book, Invisible Man, when Monday afternoon’s with Tom Paxton rolled around. Tom and I usually start with a phrase or a story we’d read or a newspaper article…just something to prime the pump. We thought of the many ways in which people are invisible to one another, how there’s an entire class of people that are completely unseen by folks. Writing from the first person perspective felt like it forced people to see these invisible people. Simple as that. The song wrote itself. – John McCutcheon
Find the music here: https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p456/Together_Digital.html
Check out our previous coverage here: Interview: John McC on The Importance of Perspective and Leap!