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One man alone on
stage with his
banjo. A driving
rhythm
punctuated by
the stomping of
his boots on a
wooden floor.
Old Man
Luedecke’s
name and choice
of instrument
may suggest a
world gone by,
but the lyrics
and melodies
that he creates
are
contemporary.
Yet if you
listen
carefully,
somewhere inside
the propulsive
grooves, you can
still hear the
unbroken line
that connects
Luedecke’s music
to the bygone
world of Bascom
Lunsford, Ralph
Stanley and Pete
Seeger.
It’s a sound
that’s clearly
winning Luedecke
more fans. His
recent, ‘Proof
of Love’ won the
Juno award for
the best roots
album of 2009,
and hot on the
tail of that
release he
returned to the
studio with
Steve Dawson
once again
assuming
production
duties. Over the
course of three
days, the pair -
aided and
abetted by Keith
Lowe (Fiona
Apple, Bill
Frisell) on
bass, John Raham
(Be Good Tanyas,
Po’ Girl) on
drums, and
Grammy
award-winning
bluegrass
legend, Tim
O’Brien (Hot
Rize, Steve
Earle) on fiddle
mandolin and
vocals laid down
the tracks for
the eleven new
songs that make
up ‘My Hands
are on Fire and
other Love
Songs.’
The results sing
for themselves,
and the
chemistry of the
musicians soars
and crackles on
every tune. On
an album like
this one, it’s
hard
to pick a
standout track,
but hurting has
never sounded as
sweet as on
‘Mountain Plain’
when Luedecke’s
banjo and
O’Brien’s
mandolin
and high
lonesome vocals
meet at the
crossroads of
this song.
On ‘The Rear
Guard’, which
should have been
subtitled My
Hands are on
Fire, Luedecke
sings not of the
avant-guard but
of “Bringing up
the rear guard/
coming in dead
last/ trying to
find the smiles
that don’t fade
so fast.’ He
invokes imagery
of Icarus’s
flight to the
sun to stick up
for the outsider
in a thrilling
and memorable
way.
“Good music is
honest to its
time. The old
blues and
country artists
I love were
singing about
the world they
lived in. When
they sang about
trains and
telephones, they
weren’t being
ironic. It was
new and what
they saw around
them.”
“I want the
songs I write to
be catchy, but
not at the cost
of being true. I
hear so many
songs that have
beautiful
melodies, but I
don’t know what
they’re about
and I can’t feel
them. I try to
write about my
life in a way
that I’d like to
read about
somebody else’s
life.”
The songs on ‘My
Hands are on
Fire and other
Love Songs’ go a
long way towards
achieving that,
and represent a
considerable
leap in
Luedecke’s song
craft. Each of
the ten new
tracks rings
with roots
authenticity,
while still
retaining a
natural and
unforced vibe.
The
eleventh,‘Caney
Fork River’ is a
cover and
tribute to
Willie P.
Bennett, a
legend of
Canadian song.
For a solo
artist, a full
band record may
have been risky.
As Luedecke
explains, “I
love the
simplicity of
being a solo
player. But,
this time,
I’ve enjoyed
learning to use
the studio as a
creative place
to imagine a
song. This is a
bunch of great
musicians making
it with my
songs.
A recording can
have its own
identity that’s
distinct from
how the songs
are presented in
a live show.’
For the first
time, with songs
like ‘The Palace
is Golden’ I’ve
had the
experience of
shaping songs in
the studio with
these really
great players.”
The sad tale of
infertility gets
a dirgefull
stomp that is as
exciting as it
is
heartbreaking.
“Old Man” is
quite a handle
for a performer
as young as
Chris Luedecke
to live with.
But, after
spending a
little time with
his music, it
doesn’t take
long to realize
that it’s a more
apt and
descriptive
moniker than one
might first
think. “I put
the name on my
first gig poster
and it stuck“,
says Luedecke.
“In a way, it
gives me the
space I need to
be a performer.”
It goes without
saying that Old
Man Luedecke is
an original.
Intense,
committed and
blessed with a
purity that
can’t be faked,
Old Man
Luedecke is the
real thing.
Honouring, but
not trapped by
tradition, ‘My
Hands are on
Fire and other
Love Songs’ is
music for the
ages.
Keep your ears
open for when
this old man
comes rolling
into your town. |
