Gillian Welch, David Rawlings – Woodland (Acony) (13th Floor Album Review)

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Woodland is the name of the studio Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been operating for 20 years. It has been hit by tornadoes twice, but is still standing.

The building and the studio dates back to the 1960s and has hosted classic albums including Neil Young’s Comes A Time.

Gillian WelchThat 1978 album by Neil is, not coincidentally, an apt comparison for this latest collection of new material by Welch and Rawlings…their first since 2017.

Not surprisingly, there’s nothing radically different from what either of these two have done, either as a duo or separately over the past 30 years they’ve been making music together.

There’s something to be said for consistency and they’ve managed that without every sounding tired or boring.

The 10 tracks that make up this album have been beautifully recorded by Rawlings, taking an understated approach to the mix…a pedal steel here, a fiddle there and bit of harmonica elsewhere.

The focus is solidly on the songs and the performances.

The song writing by these two has never been stronger…that tornado must have stirred something in their creative souls…and their voices now almost sound identical. When they sing close harmonies, they sound like siblings rather than partners.

I read somewhere else that the production was “lush”.

Yes, there are string surging up from time to time…listen to What We Had and Hashtag…the strings are there, but the sound is still sparse, giving the vocals the space they deserve.

Lyrically, there is plenty to admire and often they hit a nerve that will resonate with just about anyone. One can feel and understand how they must have felt unhinge and untethered after the tornado from listening to What We Had…”all my world is changing, I don’t know where I’m going”.

And they manage to recall previously loved songs without aping them. Lawman finds Sylvie bringing a little water, The Bells And The Birds mirrors David Crosby’s Guinevere and North Country had me thinking about Dylan’s Girl and Young’s Four Strong Winds.

Pointing out a highlight would be an insult to the other tracks. This is an album that deserves your full attention and will repay that effort with a depth of feeling and warmth of spirit we rarely get these days.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings…not to be taken for granted.

Marty Duda

Woodland is available digitally here 
Woodland on Vinyl and CD available to Pre-Order here and available on November 15th.

 

 

Marty Duda
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