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Pierce Pettis – Great Big World
Three years on from his stunning ‘State of Grace’ album Pierce has returned with a new collection, and from the opening strains of the first track this feels like a natural extension to its predecessor – it’s immediately accessible but feels fresh.
This immediacy is an ever present across all his discs, but his real strength is as a lyricist and his ability to write songs that the listener can relate to and empathise with the narrator, ‘Great Big World’ is a disc that highlights this ability perfectly. ‘Alabama 1959’, a song inspired by his family’s home-movies is a bittersweet slideshow of his own childhood that is full of imagery everyone will recognise and understand; ‘Great Big World’ and ‘Black Sheep Boy’ are tender songs relating to various stages of parenthood, both are thought-provoking pieces that are beautifully written and performed.
Where this disc does differ from his recent output is in its musical approach – it’s familiar instrumentation, guitars, mandolin, banjo, strings etc., but there’s an energy and fluidity to the playing that gives the album, and in particular the upbeat tracks, a distinct feel. This is probably because much of the album was recorded live in the studio using an excellent group of musicians and with selective overdubs added later – it’s a successful approach that has given the disc real character. Musicians on the disc include Stuart Duncan, Danny Thompson, Alison Brown, Garry West & Andrea Zonn (who provides some wonderfully understated backing vocals as well as her fiddle and string work).
Of the twelve songs here it would be easy to pick any one of them out as a highlight, but this is a disc where everything sits together well as a collection - the sequencing is perfect and it flows from track to track seamlessly. Personal favourites include ‘Anybody’s Girl’ and ‘Another Day in Limbo’, but it’s the title track that really stands out, it’s beautifully elegant and the song that sets the tone for the whole album.
‘Great Big World’ is an excellent disc, few writers draw you into a song like Pierce Pettis and this is a disc that contains some of his strongest work. One of the best singer/songwriter albums of the past few years. Highly recommended.
PETTIS PIERCE - GREAT BIG WORLD
Pettis Pierce
CD (Cat No: 12914)
PETTIS PIERCE - GREAT BIG WORLD
