Dear Companion

Meg Baird | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 22, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B000OLHGB6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,701 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dear Companion

2. River Song

3. The Cruelty of Barbary Allen

4. Do What You Gotta Do

5. Riverhouse in Tinicum

6. The Waltze of the Tennis Players

7. Maiden in the Moor Lay

8. Sweet William and Fair Ellen

9. All I Ever Wanted

10. Willie O' Winsbury

Editorial Reviews

Meg Baird is the female vocalist in Espers and many folk's (get it?) favourite part of Espers. Titled "Dear Companion" it is a barren, beauteous solo debut. Released by Drag City in the US and Wichita in Europe the album takes you back to a time when the Incredible String Band ruled the world...well maybe Northern California...and Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead and Neil Young were like gods!!!! Dear Companion is a mixture of original and obscure covers and an a cappella and will certainly flip out Espers fans. It may be a perfect companion to Esper's II but that would be selling the album short. Dear Companion is a musical companion that will show you a bit of the traditional sandstone that folk is built upon and the simultaneous empathy and entertainment it can provide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Clear Bell, August 12, 2007

By 

M. Mason (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Companion (Audio CD)

Meg Baird gives us an intimate, modern presentation of folk music, revealing why traditional song still speaks to us. She extends the concept and reach of classic ballads like Barbary Ellen and Willie O'Winsbury into the 21st century with covers of under-recognized 60s and 70s ballads such as The Waltze of the Tennis Players (Alan Fraser) and All I Ever Wanted (New Riders of the the Purple Sage). The arc is made complete with two of Baird's own contemporary compositions. Baird seems to whisper the tunes on Dear Companion directly in the listener's ear, pulling human experience out of the arcane language of classic ballads and the forgotten recent past to connect it to our lived experience, breathing stories into our hearts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why in the world has "This been discontinued by the manufacturer"?, January 1, 2009

By 

Gregg Zajic (Chelsea, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Companion (Audio CD)

I'm 60 years old, and I haven't heard anything this clear and true since, at the end of the set, Chuck Mitchell's wife sang a couple of her own songs--Urge for Going and Circle Game--at the Chessmate in Detroit in 1966.
Gregg Zajic

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shades of Sandy Denny, January 9, 2009

By 

WaltSnipe "nude emperor-spotter" (Austin, Tx United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dear Companion (Audio CD)

There is a timeless quality to this album that is reminiscent of Sandy Denny (who, in my opinion, is the greatest female vocalist of all time, not to mention a great songwriter). The mix of traditional and contemporary covers, plus the fine original material, bodes well for future releases. I can't wait to hear what Ms. Baird will come out with next. I sense limitless possibilities.