Record of the Month - Classic

Another installment of a disk I have enjoyed over the years. I'm trying to keep the Record of the Month posts to be fairly new releases. Classics are going to be ones that are at least 5 years old.

There are not too many artists (if any) the likes of Gillian Welch. In the big scheme of things, she is fairly unique.

Parts folk, bluegrass, hill music and talent. She and partner David Rawlings put together their most cohesive disk with Time (the revelator).

'Spare' is the best adjective I can think of for the album. The music is stripped down to its most basic, but that makes it no less appealing. It brings out and shows off the talent of Welch and Rawlings.

Welch is an incredible songwriter and can translate those from paper to tape....or probably computer these days. Maybe tape back in 2001.

The title track is without a doubt my favourite on the disk. It is almost a shame that it leads off the set, as it could make it hard for others to live up to it. The good new is, the rest of the songs are equally as strong.

"April the 14th, pt 1", "Elvis Presley Blues", "Everything is Free" and "I Dream a Highway" are all stand-outs, but the rest ain't filler.

While not a household name, nor probably ever will be - she has achieved commercial success in the ways of compilations and songwriting - performing on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and writing the title track for Alison Krauss + Union Station's New Favorite.

Granted this music will not appeal to everyone, but even those who might not buy it I think can appreciate the talent there that the two possess. I really have found myself liking bluegrass and folk music, so it works for me.

I will say this, months after I bought this and someone stole a number of disks out of my hotel room - it was the first one I went out and replaced. Yeah, it's that good.