Bob Sumner – Some Place To Rest Easy
The first track is always the hook & Bob Sumner must know that as well. He starts with “Bridges,” & it’s a ballad…but an atmospheric, mood-enhancing ballad. His voice is tender with authority, the drums snap & the guitar & piano lay down some melodic notes & it simply introduces to unfamiliar ears the confidence & sweep of a fine artist. The lyrics are narrative in style & Sumner unfolds an intriguing tale. He’s a storyteller beyond his guitar & compositional skills.
The 11 tunes that bring you to Some Place To Rest Easy (Drops Sept. 6/Fluff & Gravy Records/North Country Collective/39:51) include string arrangements by Erik P.H. Nielsen (bass/percussion/glockenspiel/mouth harp/bgv/acoustic guitar & baritone guitar) & Trent Freeman (fiddle/strings).
The cover art is good, but it doesn’t depict the originality enrichments of Bob’s work. It’s laid-back pieces but they are not lame, simplistic, or sedate. The songs resonate with hip values, they have gravity & the acoustical virtuosity is sharp. I’m from New York but this has a levity that The Band, Little Feat has but with just a little more country feel for authenticity.
This solid support of the strings on “Motel Room” is enlivened, but it’s not spare like a fiddle or two in a country song. It’s arranged & performed with string gusto almost at a classical level with its fortification. Sumner’s vocals are recorded with clarity & he certainly knows what lyrics are to be emphasized.
“Don’t We Though” is a little retro in country-string elements but it’s a sincere tune with simplicity & performed meticulously. I guess, what I find attractive is that Bob is singing in a vintage manner, but he’s polished it up so much it almost sounds like a refreshing take on the country genre. Many songs sound like Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton, Buck Owens, or Sonny James could’ve covered them. It’s a rich vein of tradition just under the surface that gives the songs a salient distinction.
“You Can Stay Here,” is a slow ballad with an ear-tugging quality. It sounds like if played live every patron would get quiet. Sumner’s songs are distilled of silliness, banality & vapid expressionism. There’s not a threadbare phrase. I’m expecting tunes to evaporate into something commercially sweet but then a melody like “Forty Years On the Floor” reinvigorates. Clever, beautiful & sung excellently. One of the best on the set.
Highlights – “Bridges,” “Motel Room,” “Don’t We Though,” “You Can Stay Here,” “Forty Years On the Floor,” “Turn You Into Stone” & “Is It Really Any Wonder?”
Musicians – Bob Sumner (vocals/acoustic guitar), Etienne Tremblay (lead guitar/baritone, acoustic & nylon string guitars/bgv), Leon Power (drums/congas/acoustic & rhythm guitars/bgv), Matt Kelly (pedal steel), Chris Gestrin (synths/piano/clavinet/organ/Moog), Paul Rigby (Telecaster/mandolin/guitar), John Reischman (mandolin), Scott Smith (dobro/harmonica) & Kendel Carson (bgv).
Cover image by Tianna Franks. CD @ Bandcamp & https://bobsumnermusic.com/