I really like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and most of their extensive back catalogue. They have produced such fine real music, beautiful harmony, outstanding guitar picking, and a wonderful blend between them. And, they are great as a live act, well able to produce the goods.
What we have here is a slightly delayed release of a covers album due to damage to their Nashville Home Studio. It’s an interesting mix of traditional and contemporary songs. The pedigree is promising; two from Bob Dylan, a John Prine number, and songs from Elizabeth Cotton and Norman Blake.
The recording and production are in the usual style for Welch and Rawlings, sparse and clear. You can hear every string being plucked and strummed. Both artists have fine distinctive voices. For me, these work most effectively when used in harmony. So given all of that I had high hopes, very high hopes for the album.
I love the version of John Prine’s ‘Hello In There’, written when he was so young and showing such insight into old age. This is made even more poignant by his death last year and the isolation of many older people in these times.
As for the Dylan covers, there are many more interesting versions out there. I think Welch and Rawlings’ work is stronger when it is drawn from more traditional material, such as the title track and ‘Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss’.
Hopefully ‘All The Good Times’ are not past an gone, and there is slightly more interesting and challenging work to come from these two huge talents.