Parry Lamont Parry Lamont
Parry Lamont has just released an album of thoughtful folk songs, Parry Lamont. Parry has one of those vulnerable vocals that stands out high above the crowd with raw, steady relatability. And his songwriting is exceptional, as he describes the good life, stories from days gone by, aging, going to war, and each time with an easy trademark compassion.These aren’t songs arranged around hooks; they’re inhabited.
“The Way I Want It” is just Parry on vocals and an acoustic guitar as he takes a stand, gently. As the world sometimes seems harsh and focused on the wrong things, an individual can still live the way they think things ought to be: “it’s like a good pair of bluejeans that you’ve worn for awhile … feels so right to have ’em around… I’ll live my life the way that I want it to be.”
In “Lighthouse & a Tree,” the vocal harmonies with Rachel Calvert provide a reflective feel, and the fiddle joins the acoustic guitar in an easy style.
“Go Home Handsome Molly” is a song of growing up in Baltimore and the sailors and the ships that would come in, a tale told thoughtfully with just the soft and easy acoustic guitar melody. In echo of the Doc Watson song of a fabulous one night together and a woman left alone in the aftermath, in a context of long ago, this song showcases Lamont’s adept timeless songwriting skill. “Everything But The Memories” addresses aging and that old person who’s full of memories: “the townsfolk call him crazy Ray, the children laugh when he walks their way, they see him as a clown in worn out shoes but there’s something there that they don’t see.”
Later in the album is a darker song “Oh Lord,” that’s a spiritual and a plea for forgiveness for an ominous retaliation. It’s excellent.
As you dig deeper, there’s not a bad apple in the bunch. Each song is rich, vivid storytelling, timeless imagery of human lifetimes that could slide forward or backward to any time. The mark of a truly great songwriter.
Find more details here on his website: http://www.parrylamont.com
The album was produced, engineered and mastered by Steve Kaul of Wild Sounds Recording Studio in Minneapolis, MN.
Musicians on the album are Parry Lamont on vocals, Dan Raza on electric guitar; Scotty Miller on B3; Rachel Calvert on fiddle and harmony; and Erik Brandt on accordion.
All songs on the album were written by Steve Parry except “Go Home Handsome Molly,” which was written by Dan Raza, and “Liquor Store Angel,” which was co-written by CW Johnson and Steve Parry.
