Over his career Tom Russell has created a diverse range of singer/songwriter albums, but has regularly returned to Western material and ‘Indians…’ is his fifth album in this genre. He addresses both traditional and contemporary themes, and weaves his original songs in amongst some classics from writers such as Bob Dylan and Marty Robbins.
The whole disc centres around a stunning reading of Dylan’s ‘Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts’ where Russell trades vocals with Eliza Gilkyson and Joe Ely – it runs to almost 10 minutes and the vocals from all, but especially Gilkyson are excellent. He follows this track by transporting Linda Thompson’s very English song ‘No Telling’ into a Western situation, and it’s a testament to both the writing and the performance that the song fits perfectly on the album.
Eliza also provides harmony vocals elsewhere on the disc, and fiddle is provided by Hot Club of Cowtown’s Elana Fremerman; elsewhere the disc has a mixture of guitars, accordion and organ providing the majority of the backing to Russell’s vocals.
While this may be Western themed album, it’s by no means a pastiche of the genre – it’s dark and brooding but with elements of humour in places, and his own songs are true singer/songwriter pieces with real edge.
Russell’s recent albums have been consistently strong and ‘Indians..’ is no exception as it’s full of character, atmosphere and great material – a little off the beaten track, but well worth the effort.

£13.49