It may have only been the first day of the year’s fourth
quarter but for me that was plenty early enough for Mary Gauthier to sing her
festive masterpiece ‘Christmas in
Paradise’. On an evening of countless highs, the cries of Mary’s character
yelling ‘Merry Christmas y’all’ had to share the limelight with fascinating
songs written with soldiers, many enlightening tales from the inside and of
course a stream of old favourites. This evening had the special stamp marked
right across it as a transfixed audience marvelled at an artist embedded into
the core of country, Americana and roots music. Whether pouring her heart into
the riveting tracks adorning her latest album TROUBLE AND LOVE or captivating
those present with the song ‘Iraq’ telling
the untold story of conflict, Mary extolled every virtue of a singer-songwriter
riding a career long wave of creative artistry.
To cap a memorable evening, or to be more precise open it,
Ben Glover had the live opportunity to present several songs from his excellent
recent release ATLANTIC and demonstrate how his song writing talent is being
shaped by an association deep into the American psyche. Exceptional tracks like
‘Blackbirds’, The Mississippi Turns Blue’ and ‘Sing a Song Boys’ lifted Ben out of the melange of mediocre support
acts with the added poise of charismatic presentation and impassioned song
delivery. Ben’s lengthy song association with Mary meant he was destined to
appear later in the show but for now we witnessed an artist ready to step out
of the shadows of his illustrious collaborators.
TROUBLE AND LOVE without doubt will feature in many top
annual album lists and its lead off track ‘When
a Woman Goes Cold’ will surely join the ranks of classic Mary Gauthier songs
in years to come. It is always a pleasure to have an album track given a lift
by a live version and ‘False From True’
possessed an added shiver when sitting barely a couple of strides from its
composer and singer. ‘Another Train’
has recently frequented the Grand Ole Opry on a few occasions as the country
elite finally recognises an artist rich in the ingredients that make a perfect country
song.
Several classics from the rejuvenating years of Mary
Gauthier pleased her long-time fans and few failed to grin with the wit of ‘I Drink’, engage with ‘Last of the Hobo Kings’ and purr with
her sad masterpiece ‘Mercy Now’. Mary
proudly announced her satisfaction of this song making an appearance in Rolling
Stone’s 40 greatest sad country songs list and revelled in its place between
Lucinda Williams and Townes Van Zandt. There is very little room in a Mary
Gauthier set for a cover song but the lyrical magic of Sam Baker has engrossed
her enormously and she chose to close the show with a version of the Texan troubadour’s
‘Go in Peace’.
A search for the grave of Robert Johnson in Greenwood,
Mississippi and solitary time spent in a Tennessee cabin saw the birth of the
song ‘Oh Soul’ before Mary stepped in
and led this Ben Glover co-write to a status of taking pride of place on both their
current albums. Not surprisingly Ben was invited to join Mary on stage to
contribute to its inspirational chorus and its path to crowning a live
performance completes the journey for a song encapsulating all that’s mythical
in blues and soul southern folklore.
Recurring memories of this evening throw up alternative high
spots at regular intervals but the abiding recollection is the treasured experience
of being in the exalted company of a premium American singer-songwriter and a
burgeoning UK counterpart. When we search for that seasonal offering of Mary
Gauthier at the end of the year, perhaps this evening will surface again when
the annual ‘best of’ lists are being compiled.
www.marygauthier.com
www.benglover.co.uk
