Tony Kamel – We’re All Gonna Live
My first impression is this: if a young musician sat down to map out a musical approach & decided he’d like to see what would happen if he mixed elements of The Band, Grateful Dead, Hot Tuna, the James Gang & the Ozark Mountain Daredevils into one big cauldron, what would he get? He’d get Tony Kamel.
“Eventually, life starts to knock you around. You gotta be ready to fight with a smile.” Words by Dolores Kamel. This entire set focuses acutely on that reality. But some would say, “But you have to experience that, know that struggle firsthand.” Singer-songwriter Tom Kamel has.
This showcase features 10 songs about fighting with a smile by the Grammy-nominated artist who looks hard-times in the eye on his sophomore set We’re All Gonna Live (Drops April 18/Blue Corn Music/34:49). Produced by Tony with Bruce Robison — the songs unravel with primitive swirls of earlier day melodies, mountain tunes & then they’re dressed up in their Sunday best.
The first songs are fine, but by “Some Old Day,” the excellence is established. On “Little Bitty Town,” Kamel sings in with perfect John Prine intonation. Kamel is obviously a well-crafted storyteller who manages to encapsulate short tales into simple lyrical passages & arrangements. The songs have personality & character in an imaginative blend of alt-country shadings & bluegrass brilliance.
The songs are not rooted deeply in such a traditional fair that they come across as vintage. They’re not. With the passing of artists like Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson & David Olney, it leaves room for a seasoned, worthy younger artist like Tony Kamel to step up that musical ladder.
His diversity is apparent when “All Around This World” approaches the stylization & gleam of rural Taj Mahal from his Columbia days when he recorded “Giant Steps/Dem Ole Folks at Home.” He then treads deeper into country-Americana sand with “A Father & A Daughter,” with the sound of singers like those who dominated the soundtrack of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” & the songs that made up that documentary soundtrack “Down From the Mountain.”
The instrumental interlude “Old Dangerfield” is a nice bridge to the final tracks. I can tell by the gusto the late John Hartford would have embraced Tony Kamel’s (acoustic guitar/harmonica/ clawhammer banjo/triangle/tambourine) approach to his American-classical music sawdust embellished melodies. “Old Dangerfield” has a down-home fiddle spark that saws through the wood that Hartford was so adept at.
Highlights – “Makin’ It Work,” “Damn Good Ride,” “Some Old Day,” “Little Bitty Town,” “All Around This World,” “A Father & A Daughter,” “Old Dangerfield” & “We’re All Gonna Make It Work.”
Musicians – Noah Jeffries (fiddle/acoustic guitar/baritone harmonies), Cameron Owens (upright bass/tenor harmonies), Kym Warner (mandolin/electric mandolin/baritone harmonies) & Josh Blue (drums/percussion).
CD photo courtesy of Josh Abel. CD @ Amazon &Apple + https://www.tonykamelmusic.com/
