Carla Gover & Friends – Williams Branch Is Hard To Find
This set’s comprised of tracks written by Si Kahn (except “Drifting” written with Gabe Kahn & the title track with Dale Ann Bradley). Seventeen tracks thread this concept LP of Si Kahn songs on the Carla Gover (vocals/harmony/banjo/guitar) self-produced Williams Branch Is Hard To Find (Dropped Oct 2/Joe Hill Music/59:31) recorded in Lexington, KY.
Primarily something to appreciate if you want to escape the urban sprawl. Take a walk down a rural, pensive pathway to songs like “Plant a Seed, Write a Song” sung as if the singer is singing just to you. Advice to stay sane. Listen as the sun comes up in the morning, listen when the sun goes down at dusk. It refreshes the structured mind. The story channeled songs proceed & each is sung by varied female singers who contribute to cleansing the head. The fiddles amble about; the voices like Maddie Rae Wells on “Dancing With the Johnson Boys” embodies a spirit. It’s not a prayer, but it unfolds like one on a piece of burnt fragile paper. Ms. Wells is superb with her innocent stainless tone.
There’s no fussiness. Songs are rootsier than folk. They have an earthiness & are typically an Appalachian-type quilt of tales shaped by Si Kahn. Songs that the woman in the film “Songcatcher” tried to capture on her machine as she trekked through the mountains in the early 20th Century.
“The Moonshiner’s Daughter” by Carla Gover is fortified with the homegrown tone of the strings. The human voice is an amazing instrument. Grover sings with the enthusiasm of a woman who lived the song. The juvenile vocal of Maple Harvey is appropriate for “Good Morning, Miss Jones,” & Maple sings with an innocent sadness.
“Drifting” has commercial validity. Catchy, with lots of impressive stringed instruments along with Sarah Kate Morgan’s (dulcimer/harmony/guitar) & jubilant voice, mindful of Heather Nova (“London Rain”). The varied female vocals are all sautéed in earthy tones preserving a vintage musical tradition with tonality that penetrates the heart through the ears.
Their faces are pretty; their hands are calloused. Their smile is genuine & their hair is wild. Hold them when they cry, love them when they sleep, & listen when they sing. This is a masterful album. One of the year’s best. Each vocalist sparkled like sunlight on lake water late in the afternoon.
Highlights – “Plant a Seed, Write a Song,” “Dancing With the Johnson Boys,” “Generations,” “The Moonshiner’s Daughter,” “Good Morning, Miss Jones,” “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” “Drifting” & “Fifty Years.”
Musicians – Arlo Barnette (electric guitars/percussion/piano), Owen Reynolds (bass), Charity Gilbert (vocals/harmony/guitar), Rosie Gardner (vocals/harmony/banjo), Maple Harvey & Maddie Rae Wells (vocals/harmony), J. Tom Hnatow (dobro/electric & pedal steel guitar), Jeri Katherine Howell (vocals/guitar), Karly Dawn Milner & Maizie Barrett (vocals), Jesse Wells (fiddle/guitar/banjo), Sue Massek (vocals/banjo), Ella Webster (vocals/fiddle/guitar).
Color image courtesy of Carla’s website. CD @ https://carlagover.com/