While their careers have been at varying lengths, it is probably unlikely that Rodney Crowell, Sara Watkins and Patty Griffin have been
backed by a finer assembly of musicians than those on Birmingham’s Symphony
Hall stage this evening. First time Sessions invitees, Crowell and Griffin, added
some high level cultured Americana to this year’s tour but in the true ethos of
this longstanding project, the beauty is in the collaboration and the way the roots
of two nation’s music can be entwined as one.
In essence the rotation of guest vocalists is a seamless
transition and to be fair who can argue with a generational four timer of Ruth
Moody, Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Wakins since the inception of
this blog reviewing the event in 2012. A near constant has been the dual
backfield spearheaded by Messrs Douglas and Bain, with a total constant being
the impeccable high standard of their cemented chosen players. Whether your
interest lies in the folk music of these isles, bluegrass, Americana or
straight down the middle good honest country music, then most tastes are
catered for in a roots extravaganza lasting just a few minutes shy of three
hours. One further guarantee is whatever your persuasion is you will leave the
hall totally seduced by the whole talent on display.
While there may be an unashamed bias towards our cousins
from the New World in this feature, it would be totally remiss to not commend
the vocal elegance of Kathleen MacInnes with her Gaelic interpretations or the
entirely majestic English craft of Devon born singer-song writing guitarist
John Smith. Throw in a solitary tune from Sessions stalwart John Doyle amongst
the many fiddle, accordion and pipe pieces orchestrated by the golden trio of
Bain, McCusker and McGoldrick, and a tidal wave of pride in how we preserve the
musical heritage of these shores washes over an audience spoilt to the core.
On an evening where the stature of Crowell, the grace of
Griffin and the versatility of Watkins justified their special invitee status,
it was a moment of pure gold instigated by a Session returnee which captured
the appeal. Louisiana native Dirk Powell had already served up one gem but a
four pronged fiddle attack on his song ‘Water
Bound’ courtesy of Sara Watkins, Tim O’Brien, Aly Bain and John McCusker led
you into a breathless state. Informed opinion prior to the show contrasted the respective
classical and unorthodox playing styles of Bain and McCusker with the same
mouth-watering conclusion of the combined sound being sheer bliss to the ear, a
verdict easy to agree with.
Over the course of three hours, the songs came in a rapid
and almost symmetrical rotation with Griffin and Crowell leading the way with
four apiece. Not afraid of covering the greats, Crowell served up a version of
Hank Williams’ ‘Honky Tonk Blues’
alongside his popular number ‘Leaving
Louisiana in the Broad Daylight’. On the other hand, in tandem with the countrified
Lefty Frizzell song ‘Mom and Dad’s Waltz’, Griffin
tipped her hat to the Dixie Chicks for cutting one of her finest compositions ‘Truth’ and celebrated by playing the
writer’s not too dissimilar version. Another moment of pure Americana heaven
saw Tim O’Brien sing lead on a gospel song supported solely by Jerry Douglas’s Dobro
and a very high calibre American backing vocal trio.
Revisit previous Transatlantic Sessions reviews
2014
2013
2012
