Plow Through The Mystic

Jeff Black | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lotos Nile Music
• ASIN: B0067ATO36
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,152 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

He s got the troubadour quality of a Steve Goodman, the poetic dignity of a Bruce Springsteen, and the bittersweet, outer-fringe edge of a Townes Van Zandt. We kid you not. -Steve Morse The Boston Globe
Plow Through the Mystic
After four critically acclaimed commercial releases on label homes, three fan favorite independent releases on his own Lotos Nile imprint, song placement on numerous independent films, thirty plus years of celebrated live performing and songs covered by artists as diverse as Alison Krauss, Waylon Jennings, Sam Bush, Blackhawk and Dierks Bentley, Jeff solidifies his reputation as a creative force in the roots genres with this eighth album. Black s grassroots following has allowed him to build a career like few other singer/songwriters in the business and to sustain his contribution as an artist in the disrupted music business environment. I feel like I already have the brass ring in my pocket, just being able to nurture this thing that I ve wanted, this need to observe and relate, since I was 10 years old, says Black. But I had to ask myself, What s the best way to do it now? Over the past decade I ve learned that I have to make changes in how I create music and put it out there. Produced and recorded by Black in his own Arcana Studio, Plow Through the Mystic delivers a richly textured and intimate canvas of acoustic roots and world instrumentation. The album features contributions from mandolin legend and Newgrass founder Sam Bush, Resonator guitar master Jerry Douglas along with vocal contributions from Matraca Berg, Gretchen Peters and Kim Richey. The album s 14 tracks take listeners down personal paths of faith, doubt and spiritual grit, liberated by tones of gritty neo-folk and dirt blues. At times Black s delivery is intimately conversational like an old, trusted friend, other times fiery with an almost tribal fervor. Jeff entrusted the mix to Dave Sinko, known for his work with The Punch Brothers, Sam Bush and legend Don Williams. I met Dave Sinko in 1991 when we were working on a project for Warner Chappell. It was a blessing to reconnect with him. Dave s clarity and his observance of space for acoustic instruments is an art unto itself and I knew he would bring everything into that place where nothing gets lost and every interval shines. He is the original craftsman. Mastered by Grammy winning engineer Joe Palmacchio (Jeff Buckley, Bill Withers, Hank Williams Sr.). He s a technical giant but emotion and human condition come first I believe, for Joe, and that s why it was important to me for him to be part of it. The widest signal relay for carrying Jeff s songs has been his fans. Next to that, Black s series podcast Black Tuesdays, profiled as pioneering by NPR in 2005, constitutes 100+ downloadable EPs that continue to grow both his live audience and drive record sales and patronage. It is the convergence of Black s direct connection with his fans via old school touring, together with the immediacy of digital content delivery that created this community of loyal fans who in turn made Plow Through the Mystic possible. Continuing to evolve as a writer, performer and recording artist, Black has never before expressed so much of the creative process on his own terms, deepening his work and leaving the listener with Black s most fully formed and resonant album of his career.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As expected, November 22, 2011

By 

TJR -Colorado - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plow Through The Mystic (Audio CD)

Jeff Black is the consummate musician, song writer, player, numerous instruments, his songs are heartfelt, he's inspired.
he doesn't just pump them out , his songs truly have feeling, meaning.

this effort is just that! awesome, i think i hear a dobro (jerry? , Mando Sam?) either way his songs have been covered by the best
because he is the best. long live Jeff and his music.

T

4.0 out of 5 stars Complex, soulful singer-songwriter Americana, December 5, 2011

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plow Through The Mystic (Audio CD)

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Jeff Black has some heavy friends, including mandolinist Sam Bush, guitarist Jerry Douglas and singer/songwriters Matraca Berg, Gretchen Peters and Kim Richey. And though they all lend a hand on his fifth solo album, it's Black's voice - both singing and writing - that gives the album its soul. Black also played most of the instruments, overdubbing himself on guitar, banjo, keyboards, bass and percussion, but the only hint of one-man-bandism is the music's tight grip on the songs. Black's voice takes on many different shades, at various times recalling the downtown soul of Willy DeVille, the gruff side of Springsteen, the melodic saloon growl of Tom Waits, the deadpan of James McMurtry, the rye twinkle of Randy Newman and even a few moments of Neil Diamond's pop-soulfulness.

Black draws from country, folk, soul, blues, gospel and contemporary pop, offering songs that range from the contemplative banjo solo of "Virgil's Blues" to the foot-tapping Little Feat-inflected title track. Jerry Douglas laces his twang throughout "Walking Home," but the husk in Black's voice is more Memphis than Nashville, and his lyric - an internal monologue anticipating a forthcoming explanation - isn't your standard country fare. Black writes phrases and draws images that are easily known, but connects them into verses that recast the easy first understanding. Early in the album, his characters are caught in dilemmas that find them on the verge of apologizing, disaffected from their taught beliefs, and weighed down by riches.

But the album takes a more grounded and optimistic turn with "New Love Song" and the turmoil in Black's head subsides with the acceptance of "Waiting." Still, even as he embraces a less guarded life, his happiness seems to be that of a cynic who finds potential loss at the root of joy, one who counsels "you're going to find out just how heavy happiness can be." He closes the album with the confessional "Ravanna," contemplating the physical and emotional distances one travels from childhood, and meditating on the relationship between human frailty and divine grace. The travel from inner turmoil, through confession, awareness and acceptance suggests the pages of a personal journal, but one whose journey is still a work in progress. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]