Many Great Companions is Dar’s eighth studio album, and it’s a little different in approach as it’s a 2 disc set 32 songs. The first disc, ‘On Songs Revisited with Guitar and a Few Friends’, Dar has re-recorded 12 classic songs from her extensive catalogue, all performed acoustically. She's joined by several fellow musicians and friends on the new versions, including Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Larkin and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks who also produced the album.
The second disc, Best of Dar Williams, is not just a compilation of Dar's songs over the last 17 years, and charts the development of an artist from her first album through to the seasoned folk musician she is today.
The best of CD is a great way to catch up or reacquaint yourself with Dar’s material – if you don’t know her work, then you’re in for a real treat as there are some terrific songs and performances here.
The real star of the show though is the acoustic ‘revisited’ CD, it shows Dar at her very best – her vocals are better than ever, the delicate arrangements are perfect, and the songs are allowed to shine as they do in the live setting. The occasional inclusion of the guests in beautifully handled, their contributions are unobtrusive and really add colour and depth to the songs.
The whole collection show why Dar has been at the top of the folk scene since the mid 90s, but there are some real standouts here – her ‘Calling the Moon’ (covered by Richard Shindell on ‘Somewhere Near Paterson) really shines here as a terrific piece of writing matched by the performance, ‘Iowa’ has benefitted from the more acoustic treatment and features an all-star choir on the choruses, and ‘The Babysitter’s Here’ is still an utterly charming and beguiling song and it’s at it’s very best in this version.
These two discs and thirty two songs show why Dar is one of the finest folk artists of the last 20 years – this is a fantastic collection and perfectly judged to reward both those who know her work and newcomers to her music. Unreservedly recommended.
Track listing
Disc 1: Songs Revisited (with Guitar and a Few Friends)
1 Calling the Moon
2 If I Wrote You
3 Spring Street
4 I'll Miss You
5 The Christians and The Pagans (feat. Sara & Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek)
6 What Do You Hear In These Sounds
7 The One Who Knows (feat. Mary Chapin Carpenter)
8 The Babysitter's Here
9 As Cool As I Am
10 You Rise And Meet the Day
11 Iowa feat. (Sara & Sean Watkins, Motherlode & Mary Chapin Carpenter)
12 When I Was A Boy (feat. Patty Larkin)
Disc 2: Best of Dar Williams
1 It's Alright
2 Are You Out There
3 As Cool As I Am
4 If I Wrote You
5 February
6 Mercy of the Fallen
7 Easy Way
8 The One Who Knows
9 Teen for God
10 After All
11 Book of Love
12 Beauty of the Rain
13 The Babysitter's Here
14 Better things
15 Spring St.
16 The Ocean
17 Closer to Me
18 Empire
19 End of Summer
20 When I Was a Boy
