Published on Apr 4, 2002
There are very few authentic storytellers in American music, and
fewer still are still alive. Harry Chapin’s songs ended on an
interstate highway, Jim Croce died in a plane, and while Johnny
Cash is still plugging along, we all kind of watch the news with a
worried eye most days. So I admit with a shamefaced look that my CD
collection overlooks a great storyteller I’d forgotten — country
vocalist and songwriter Tom T. Hall. Hall’s particularly ironic
turns of phrase and dry narrative style has resulted in some of the
greatest songs ever recorded that, dammit, I’d forgotten about. I
have fond memories, almost forgotten until now, of listening to
Hall’s “Little Lady Preacher” on the eight-track player in my
grandmother’s Ford LTD.
So I’d like to, right here, thank bluegrass vocalist and Ralph
Stanley protégé Charlie Sizemore for bringing them
back to my attention, and I’m going to rectify this little
oversight as soon as possible. (In fact, I’m logging onto CDNow in
another window.)
Which means, I suppose,
The Story Is… did exactly what it was supposed to do;
highlight some damn good songs while still giving them a unique
stamp. Kudos to Sizemore; this is a fine piece of work. He delivers
Hall’s songs with his own style while still paying an honest homage
to a great, great songwriter. The production is impeccable; clear,
crystalline, and uncomplicated, it features fine instrumental work
(including Sizemore’s own picked guitar, John Golden’s banjo, and
Randy Kohrs on dobro) uncluttered by any effects-driven
nonsense.
There isn’t a bad track on this CD, but special note has to be
given to the rich harmonies of “Pamela Brown”, the poignant “I Flew
Over Our House Last Night” (with great harmony vocals from longtime
country vocalist Kathy Mattea), and a straightforward performance
of “Ballad Of Forty Dollars” that nevertheless captures the song
perfectly. The highlight has to be the twin wistfulness and guilt
of “Old Dogs, Children, And Watermelon Wine” and “Maggie’s At The
Lincoln Park Inn”; Sizemore takes these songs, two of Hall’s better
known tracks, and makes them his own with a gentle delivery that
really lets the songs take center stage.
Sizemore should be congratulated;
The Story Is… is an effective tribute to a sadly
underappreciated songwriter. This CD should not be missed for fans
of well-written songs. (I wonder what Sizemore could have done with
“Little Lady Preacher”.)
For more information, please visit Rebel Records’s
Web
site.