JP Harris’ Dreadful Wind & Rain – Shaving a Dead Man
This vividly reimagined collection of mainly traditional songs doesn’t so much feel like it’s been curated by JP Harris, it feels much more like he’s gone out and summoned up these half-remembered songs, wresting them from ancient ghosts still haunting an abandoned, tumbledown cabin in a far-off corner the deepest, darkest woods. However he managed to come by these songs, it’s a starkly beautiful collection.
JP Harris first struck out on his own at 14 years old with an eighth-grade education, building himself a life of traveling, punk rock, and trades as varied as shepherding, heavy construction, logging, banjo building, and historic restoration carpentry. It’s not difficult to imagine how his lifetime’s travels and travails heighted his relationship to these old songs.
Happily for Harris, his commitment to the essence of this material is matched by his collaborator on this album, fiddler Chance McCoy (lately of Old Crow Medicine Show). McCoy produced, engineered and mixed the album at his own Hunter Springs Studio, Greenville WV. Alongside his excellent production and his fine fiddle-playing, he also contributes simple, subtle but very effective vocal harmonies across the album. The ten track album was mastered by John Baldwin at Infrasonic, Nashville TN.
Besides JP Harris’ excellent banjo-playing and his knack for choosing such fine tunes (there’s also one self-penned song in the collection), it’s the warmth and depth of tone in his voice that so effectively elevates these versions. As you might expect, authenticity and character are stitched into every line, but there’s also a sweetness and sensitivity in the vocals that help make the listening experience so rewarding. This album couldn’t be further away from ‘just another collection of trad songs.’ It really is much more than that.
Standout tracks – and in truth every track could tick that box – include the haunting “Three Little Babes” (with its evocative and unsettling doubletracking on the main vocal), “Roustabout” and that timeless classic, “Hang Me.”
The good news is that we don’t need to make our way through the deepest, darkest woods, JP Harris has already been there and done the hard work for us. Reward his fabulous efforts by heading along to Bloodshot Records and placing your order there. He’s the real deal.
https://shop.bloodshotrecords.com/release/616082-jp-harris-shaving-a-dead-man
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: JP Harris “Dreadful Wind & Rain – Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man”