Customer Reviews

Time (The Revelator)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This CD is a treat, a big step forward for Gillian Welch and her partner, David Rawlings, and easily their best work to date.

For those unfamiliar with Welch, she appeared five years ago with "Revival," a compelling recording that drew its inspiration from such early country acts as the Carter Family. Although a terrific singer and songwriter, Welch's close identification with a 70-year-old musical style threatened to mark her as a one-trick pony, an oldies act with little new to offer. Although this was a possibility, it was also quite unfair, as "Revival" was truly a strong and original work, despite the narrow stylistic borders. Welch's sophomore work, "Hell Among the Yearlings" (1998) demonstrated both greater ambitions and growth as a songwriter. Welch also made significant contributions to the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack album, one of the surprise hits of the first half of 2001.

"Time (The Revelator)" is a major leap forward. Welch and songwriting partner Rawlings (who backs her throughout on guitar and vocals) have produced their strongest batch of songs to date, some of which are far removed from the Carter Family-influenced style. "Revelator," the haunting opener, is a clear sign of their growth as writers and performers. Other highlights are "Elvis Presley Blues" and the 14-minute epic "I Dream A Highway," which is an astounding accomplishment. The only negative comment I have is that "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll" is also included, in the same live version, on the recently released "Down From The Mountain" collection, an "O Brother, Where Art Thou" spinoff. Its a great song, though. Welch's beautiful vocals shine throughout, set within the understated but effective instrumental arrangements. This is intelligent and well-executed music that will appeal to fans of both country and folk.

One reviewer said that Gillian Welch's new CD _Time (The Revelator)_ won't reward the casual listener. I suspect that's true; Gillian Welch's music doesn't have a lot of curb appeal. But get past that. _Time (The Revelator)_ is achingly beautiful, stunningly good.

Welch's two previous albums (_Revival_ and _Hell Among the Yearlings_) were mostly acoustic; this one goes all the way. There's no overdubbing and -- it seems -- no retakes to clean up the small mistakes that let you know you're listening to real people. All we hear is Welch on guitar and banjo and her partner David Rawlings, playing his gorgeous-toned no-name archtop and adding his high tenor harmonies to Welch's unadorned mezzo.

It's hard to know what to compare this album to. Like Lucinda Williams, Welch's lyrics are poetry made from plain speech. That said, the musical sensibility is very different. There are strong influences from mountain music and early country, though no one will ever mistake Gillian Welch for Hazel Dickens or Iris Dement, let alone Dolly Parton. And whatever her influences or whoever her peers, Welch knows how to make melodies that don't go away.

The narrator for most of the songs on _Revival_ and _Hell Among the Yearlings_ is rural and probably long gone. That's true for some of the material on _Time_ but a good deal of it moves into new territory. There's "My First Lover" -- a woman's unsentimental memory of a long-haired clod with a big red car and Steve Miller on the eight-track. It's clawhammer banjo and Welch's voice with a chickenwire melody, all angles and lines. "Elvis Presley Blues" is a meditation on The King. Welch has a knack for economical language and striking images:

I was thinking that night about Elvis day that he died, day that he died just a country boy he combed his hair he put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air and he shook it like a chorus girl he shook it like a Harlem queen he shook it like a midnight rambler baby like you never seen, like you never seen

The last cut is called "I Dream A Highway" and there's nothing casual about the reference to dreams: the whole album has the feel of a dream. The narratives are fragments and the listener can't always tell how to put them together. Lines from one song crop up elsewhere and time curls up into eddies. In "April the 14th" images of the Titanic and the death of Lincoln are the frame for scenes of a small-town two-dollar rock and roll show. And in the long, mesmerizing final cut, Welch sings

I watched the waitress for a thousand years saw a wheel within a wheel heard a call within a call and I dreamed a highway back to you.

I've written as though Gillian Welch gets all the credit, but she'd certainly disagree. All the songs are co-written with David Rawlings and his guitar work is a wonder of understated skill.

Is this her best album? I think it just may be. In any case, it's as good as anything you're likely to here this year.

Gillian Welch and her partner, David Rawlings, have once again shown why Acoustic Guitar magazine put the duo on their list of 15 most important acoustic artists of the last decade. This album, like their previous two, is a starkly beautiful set of perfectly written and perfectly executed songs with more feeling than anything else you will find around today. Like Hell Among the Yearlings, this album is stripped down to the basics-- an amazing voice and wonderfully understated guitar work. This pair has stepped up to fulfill a very important role in American music that puts them in a category well above the crowd of folk/country female singer-songwriters with whom Welch is usually grouped. Like Norman Blake before them, Welch and Rawlings have shown that the tradition of Appalachian ballads and old-time music can be kept alive, and while holding close to tradition, they do not sacrifice relevance to modern music. In short, they are performing a miracle-- they are performing a traditional style of music and making it sound as fresh today as in the days of Dock Boggs (although Gillian Welch's voice is infinitely better than his). Further listening: Norman Blake-- pretty much any album will work. Fantastic, but not overly flashy guitar, a pleasant voice, and the tradition of American folk music are the staples of all of Norman Blake's recordings. Roscoe Holcomb-- "The High Lonesome Sound." The real deal in Appalachian ballads, and a great banjo player as well. Deep stuff. Doc Watson-- "Doc Watson." The first album from an old-time/bluegrass legend, with beautiful traditional songs, and some of the finest guitar and banjo playing ever put to wax. John Hartford-- "Aereo-Plain." This is what country used to sound like-- a classic album from a man who took tradition and stood it on its head. "Soundtrack to 'Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?'" Old-time music with plenty of performances from Gillian Welch, Norman Blake, John Hartford, and a bunch of other luminaries.

Incidentally, there is a similar group of blues musicians who have taken traditional acoustic blues, and made it relevant to modern times. If you are into this kind of thing, check out Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Kelly Joe Phelps.

Gillian Welch's album is deceptive. Much of it is dominated by one woman's voice and one acoustic guitar. Many songs add a second guitar and on occasion a harmonizing voice. The artwork on the jacket is just as deceptive, confirming the presence of Gillian Welch, her guitar and a guileless young man also with a guitar. There are four microphones. That's it.

Somehow, despite or maybe because of, the limited set of voices and instruments, Welch's sound is complex and layered. I read that Welch attended one of the top music schools, like Berklee or Oberlin and that her simplicity is a ruse or a guise or perhaps an act of rebellion to obfuscate her academic roots. If you didn't know she attended such a school, it'd be easy to imagine she grew up in an isolated mining town in Appalachia somewhere. She's been featured on the "O Brother Where Art Thou", which has brought new attention to so-called "mountain music" As the other artists on "O Brother", Gillian Welch's sound is natural and lulling. Singing always without vibrato and purposefully restraining from the "pretty" sound of singer Alison Krauss, Welch builds an aesthetic base through layers. First one guitar, then two. One voice, two. The narrative line straining against the foundation of strings and voices. There is a pleasant tension always at work in each piece: an otherworldly combination of beauty and sadness.

Her lyrics are far less literal than her "O Brother" peers. From the title track, "Darling remember when you come to me...I'm the pretender. I'm what I'm supposed to be. But who could know if I'm a traitor, Time's the Revelator." I don't even really know what she's singing about. It's partly testament to the way the words become sounds in the tapestry of the song, individual threads composing the whole. No doubt her classical training taught her to dwell on vowel sounds, which rounds out the melodic lines, but also obscures the underlying lyrics. For me, the sound is engaging enough that the layers of meaning contained within the words will likely satisfy a longing for more from this album years down the road.

Gillian Welch's album is beautiful and timeless in a non-cliche kind of way. She definitely doesn't sound like the product of the 1960s and has no parallel in today's market, be it folk, rock, jazz or blues.

Every one of the songs on this album will haunt you, and you will find yourself singing them all through the day and night. My favorite song is "Dear Someone", but "Elvis Presley Blues," "My First Lover," and "Revelator" are also great. David Rawlings guitar is outstanding and the blend of voices and untraditional harmonies make the album a winner. Trust me, if you listen to this album two times, you will play it 200 times, and want more. I love the feeling that this album is not slick, not full of so many instruments and voices that you miss the music. It makes me feel that I am sitting on the front porch with David and Gillian and they are singing just for me, while we are all enjoying summer lemonade and home cooked cookies. The intimacy of the music makes it very personal.

Gillian Welch caused a stir with her first album Revival, but fair-weather fans weren't really prepared for her follow-up effort, the much superior and more authentic Hell Among the Yearlings. Now, with Time the Revelator, she manages to do something completely new, something that is both more satisfying than Revival and even darker than Hell. Reviewers will probably focus on the "hit" tune about singing rock and roll, but you'll want it for the eerie forays into what Greil Marcus called "old weird America." Elvis Presley Blues is a song that nails down the origins of EP's music for celebration and eulogy while Dear Someone reflects the incredible loneliness of even the most examined life. The highlight, of course, is the closing track, I Dream a Highway, a song that Bob Dylan might have written had he died on that motorcycle--but only if Woody Guthrie was along for the ride. Get this album, and then listen to it closely. You won't be disappointed.

The third release from Gillian Welch and David Rawlings is nothing short of a masterpiece. Picking up where Hell Among The Yearlings left off, Time continues the masterful storytelling journey that Welch and Rawlings seem to have down like a rare artform. The songwriting couldn't be more heartfelt and precise; but almost more important is the superb guitar and banjo work which does more than it's share to help spin these wonderful tales of classic American fiction. On Time, Welch and Rawlings steer a little bit away from the characters on their first two releases and begin to open up a whole new world - that of the American troubadour. Songs like "April The 14th Part 1" offers a smile and a tip of the hat to Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer". The songwriting is that good and one can easily see that track fitting nicely within the finest tracks from Young's "Decade" collection. The same can be said for the title track "Revelator" and "Everything Is Free". These are songs that people don't seem to write and record anymore - songs that made up instant classic folk rock songs in the 60's and 70's. Songs that maybe only Bob Dylan, Neil Young or a Nebraska-era Springsteen are capable of. I was astonished when I saw Welch and Rawlings perform "Revelator" at Largo in Los Angeles last year. My jaw dropped and I went home convinced that it was some great lost classic by Neil Young. You can imagine my delight and surprise when I heard they had written it and it would be the opener of their next album. Those lucky enough to see these two stunning performers play with all of their antique instruments are in the know. It's easy to see why this duo is certainly capable of capturing the same level of harmony-filled magic that Richard and Linda Thompson or Buckingham Nicks did in their hey day. Hold on to these songs and guard them like you would any treasure - it's ok if the rest of the world never finds out. Gillian Welch is one of our best kept secrets. Now if I only knew why David Rawlings doesn't get equal billing......

...

this album IS INDEED slow, depressing and moody. but thats exactly what its supposed to be. only the most non-musical among us could listen to this album and say that all of the songs sound the same. in fact, i am often amazed at the variety of sound that welch and rawlings can eke out of such simple and spare material.

simply put, this album is amazing and beautiful. its an album that makes you shiver when you hear that certain refrain, that makes you well up with sorrow, makes you pine for the hills. sounds cheesy, but its that powerful (or maybe im just that susceptible). its a truly gorgeous piece of music that, to me, stands apart completely from the feel-good soundtrack to O Brother.... they could have been made in different eras.

die-hard folk/country fans probably dislike gillian for her decidedly modern take on her music, but its truly refreshing to hear references to going 'back to cali' and other modern elements in her songs. you get a sense that this is an artist that is taking her music to new places, and thats a wonderful thing to hear.

So far, I have a tie for Best Album of 2001 between Dylan's 'Love and Theft' and Gillian Welch's 'Time.' In my fantasy world, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will walk on stage in front of millions of people and receive the Grammy for Album of the Year. That's not going to happen, but it should. Here's why:

'Time' is one of the most complete "concept" albums (for lack of a better term) that has come along in many years. The opening cut, "Time" sets the mood for everything that follows. Time is indeed a revelator. It reveals evidence to us that we can't ignore or dismiss, if enough of it passes by and we're honest with ourselves. People have complained that this opener is too long and too slow, but that's the way time works. Truth is often revealed very slowly over a period of days, months, years.

Gillian and David may disagree with me (would love to hear from them), but in my mind, all of the remaining songs (with maybe one exception) deal with the concept of time. After the title track, "My First Lover" looks back in the past to a bad choice in a relationship the singer made early on. Again, the passage of time has revealed to her all the wrongs in the relationship, but has also left her with selective memory about other parts. Forgetting her first lover, "Dear Someone" looks to the future with a lovely, lonely, yet hopeful waltz. The first up-tempo song "Red Clay Halo" is a humorous look at hard work, rejection, and a hope for the future that extends beyond this life. "April the 14th Part I" is a staggering song full of images from the past and present. "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll" again looks with longing to the future with a style that is grounded in old-time folk music. (This track was recorded live.) "Elvis Presley Blues" again takes a look in the past and marvelously chronicles the reason that Elvis was and still is the King. "Ruination Day Part 2," although quicker in tempo than "April 14," is much more somber, almost sung in despair. Again, the past is important as a bridge to the present. The only song that doesn't quite fit in with my time theory is "Everything is Free," a song that deals with the problem (for the artist) of music floating around on the internet for everyone to take. Finally, "I Dream a Highway" is a song that will probably be analyzed by many for years. It is an extended, dreamlike vision that can't be described in concrete terms...but it's fascinating. It has a little of everything, past, present, future.

From the first ache of dissonance from the opening guitar on "Revelator," I knew that this was not going to be a normal listening experience. I had heard of Gillian Welch before, but I had only heard her singing harmony or back-up for others, so I thought I'd take a chance. I'm glad I did. Welch is an unusual talent. She has a haunting, melancholy, yet down-to-earth voice that softly tugs at your sleeve and pulls you into her world. Most of the time that world consists of only two guitars, two voices (Welch and David Rawlings, who also produced). She almost sounds like she could be sitting on a small-town porch in her flowered dress, singing and playing to people as they pass by. I hope more people who pass by stop for a listen. And, as I said earlier, in my little world, the people from the Grammys stop by, give her an award, and are captivated.

This is a gorgeous album. Like many people, I first learned about Welch & Rawlings through their work on "O Brother Where Art Thou" and "Down by the Mountain." Despite having little previous interest in bluegrass, I was instantly hooked. I finished collecting their albums this year, and was delighted to find out that "Time (The Revelator)" was the best of a very good body of work.

I'm especially fond of the eerie title track, "Revelator," a contemplation of Welch's own success. The songwriter successfully walks a fine line between invective and self-pity, and her refrain -- "Time's the revelator" -- is at once fierce yet chilling. Rawlings's guitar accompaniment is equally fantastic; he's an astonishing musician. Together, they make the song into a small masterpiece.

(Incidentally, I saw the two of them play this at a venue in Atlanta several months ago. When they got to a particular four-letter word towards the end of the song, the seemingly grave audience cheered with delight).

Other highlights:
The sweetly seductive "Elvis Presley Blues" will get to you even if you've never cared for Elvis. It seems like pure heartland at first, but has a touch of Lou Reed-like suggestiveness.
"I Want to Sing That Rock And Roll" was the first Welch/Rawlings tune I ever loved, and it's still a good one. Like other reviewers, I wish they had re-recorded the track for this album; the ovation at the end is a little disconcerting.
"My First Lover" is the album's most leisurely and enjoyable song; thudding power chords recall a lazy, stupefying roll in the hay.
"I Dream a Highway" is the album's other masterpiece, a 14 minute ballad with a narcotic, haunting intensity. Despite its length and repetitive melody, it never gets boring; instead, it invokes an eternal road trip through loneliness and revelation. It's a great song -- the thrillingly slow finish to a marvelous album.