Michael Rudd – Midnight at Dawn
A former NJ native now New Mexico-based, Michael Rudd’s fourth album of Americana-roots prominence is admirable. His sophisticated songs dig into intense themes: desperation & joy, mortality & love, mental illness & loneliness, forgiveness & redemption – they examine personalities who live in the margins, haunted souls, consumed & obsessed with guilt, second-guesses & regret. Always trying to find an escape.
Rudd’s self-produced LP was recorded in Santa Fe. It’s a well-developed songbook that takes our hand to lead us through 10 shadowy Madrugada hours of Midnight at Dawn (Drops Sept. 25/Invisible Road Records/52:05). Vocally, Rudd has a style that cuts through deftly on the well-crafted “Chained To a Stone.” Some may say he has a slight Springsteen intonation. I beg to differ. Rudd’s voice has more tonal clarity, precise soul, & a rootsy ambience that isn’t as evident in Bruce. He relies too heavily on his brawny rock ‘n’ roll volume. The darkness in Rudd’s music comes with fortitude in “Turn the Light Down Low,” that could easily be covered by a jazz singer or made even bluesier with a raw vocalist. But it’s the atmospheric blend between the swampy percussion & eclectic Marc Ribot-type guitar notes that sneak around in its underwear that gives the tune its combustion.
I don’t know how “Made It Out of Jersey” will go down with Jersey people. I live in New Jersey. With somewhat J.J. Cale voicing I understand what Mr. Rudd (vocals/acoustic & electric guitar) is singing about. I sleep in the rural northwest NJ – beautiful. Great corn & tomatoes. But the garden state gets a bad rap with the turnpike, its industry & refineries. But hey, it’s a dirty job; somebody’s got to do it. Michael’s slow piano ballad has its sentiments & warm sincere vocal. I like it. Pure. Respectable.“…but Jersey never made it out of you.” Nice.
Going into a lounge singer smoky mode Rudd goes from Jersey to “Springtime In Auschwitz.” The trek through these songs shows diversity & a challenging expressive touch, that’s at the same time entertaining & absorbing. The J.J. Cale icing returns with “Leave Now” with its heavy percussive Mark Clark (drums) stabs, concise meditative guitars mindful of Peter Green (“Albatross”) a bluesy & swampy narrative. “Let Me Hold You” is distinctively more in spirit with J.J. Cale, but Rudd doesn’t imitate just possesses that same imaginative approach Cale distilled. Michael’s voice has a few ounces of this tonality in his own tales that constitutes the Cale rural, earthy perceptive veneer. It’s a tranquil blues few explore as pertinent as Mr. Rudd.
Highlights – “Chained To a Stone,” “Turn the Light Down Low,” “Made It Out of Jersey,” “Springtime In Auschwitz,” “Leave Now” & “Let Me Hold You.”
Musicians – Pat Malone (guitar), Susan Hyde Holmes (upright & electric bass), Brant Leeper (Hammond/piano/clavinet) with Kevin Zoernig (piano/Rhodes).
CD & color image courtesy of David Rosenfield. CD @ https://www.michaelrudd.com/
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Michael Rudd “Ways of the World”