Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown

by

Various Artists

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I had never heard of Greg Brown before I recieved this CD as a gift. I love roots music, and am a fan of several of the artists on this CD, so I thought it would be a good collection. It turned out to be a great collection. Each artist featured has her own definitive style, but the common thread of Brown's songwriting knits this diverse group of talents into a cohesive, dynamic whole. I was particularly pleased to see Ferron included. Her style is so unique, so different, so... well, harsh in places, that she gives the entire CD a baseline or a foundation. Coming right after Ani DeFranco's rendition of "The Poet Game", "Where's Maria" sets up a true "roots" feeling for the rest of the CD. Speaking of Ani, well, her song on this collection is worth buying the CD for all by itself. Beautiful, intense, daring in some ways... it is a great cut.

I enjoy this CD. I love Brown's daughters' "Ella Mae" and the wonderful strains of Mary Chapin Carpenter's voice... reminiscent of her masterful "10,000 Miles" of several years ago... in short, "Going Driftless" is a great piece of mood music.

Greg Brown is one of my favorite artists, and it was with some hesitation that I picked up "Going Driftless" Any tribute to Greg Brown would have to come from a woman's voice, as most men simply don't have the range and depth necessary to carry off any of his songs. I was bolstered by the fact that I'm familiar with and like many of the artists on this album.

But... I'm afraid I came away mostly disappointed by the efforts recorded here. It does not mean that these women are not fine artists, and I certainly don't mind the adventures spirit displayed by Ani Difranco and others in tackling this material.

But I think many of these artists have run into the same problem that I have. I truly love his music, and have worked very hard to sing and play his songs, but in the end I set down my guitar and say, "I'm just not Greg Brown"

Eliza Gilkyson does a fine take on Sleeper, I'm also very impressed with Gillian Welch and Mary Chapin Carpenter, but when I listen to their rendition, it is simply a nice song, it's not the emotional experience that I have with Greg.

With all that in mind, I would still recommend this recording at twice the price simply because of track 6

"Ella Mae" Recorded by Greg's three daughters is an absolute gem. I cannot decide whether I prefer their new version to the original, and because of that it has a permanent place in my collection.