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Lucy Kaplansky – The Red Thread
Over her previous four albums Lucy has proved that she’s both an excellent writer and a good judge of others’ work as she’s presented collections that feature strong originals and inspired covers. This formula continues on ‘The Red Thread’ with six of her own songs and four from other sources, but this disc stands out as been her best album yet – the material is consistently excellent and there’s a continuity of feel throughout that makes the disc an easy and rewarding disc to listen to.
The arrangements are less busy than her past few discs, and this approach really highlights the strong melodies and gentle grooves as well as her smooth and effortless vocals. The overall sound may be more open than her earlier discs, but it’s certainly rich in quality – there are some excellent guitar parts from Duke Levine and Jon Herington throughout, and as is customary she has vocal support from some of the best around, on this disc it’s Richard Shindell, John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson and Jonatha Brooke.
Over the past year or so many albums from singer/songwriters have featured songs from the pen of Dave Carter, the results have been mixed but Lucy is one of the few to get it right – her reading of Cowboy Singer is excellent, it’s a delightful song, poignant but upbeat, and her reading is a wonderful tribute. Her own song ‘Land of the Living’ is equally strong, it’s an exceptionally well written song of a snapshot of life in New York after 9/11 – it’s a beautiful and thought-provoking piece of work. Other standouts include covers of Bill Morrissey and James McMurtry songs, and her own ‘Line in the Sand’ which is instantly memorable, has a great hook and is bound to pick up significant radio play.
‘The Red Thread’ is a disc that stands out in many areas, the more open production suits her voice well and her vocals as good, if not better than they’ve ever been, it’s definitely her strongest collection of songs yet and the instrumental and vocal accompaniment is exceptionally good. Essential.
KAPLANSKY LUCY - THE RED THREAD
Kaplansky Lucy
CD (Cat No: 12844)
KAPLANSKY LUCY - THE RED THREAD
