Doug Seegers - Going Down To The River
HumpHead HUMP164
It seems quite strange referring to Doug Seegers as a newcomer. He has been making music most of his life, but it’s only now, in his sixties, that he has received any kind of recognition. It would not be stretching a point to say that Seegers has led a troubled life and it’s from that life that he draws his inspiration for both his songwriting and the way he delivers those songs. His pent-up, emotional turmoil explodes in this debut album; a set of harrowing songs, which through its sheer musical scope and lyrical perception, is one of 2014’s more satisfying releases. He writes songs that capture the darker moments of his past. Love, addiction and regret feature heavily in his material as he narrates his personal journey through the human condition.
His gift with words and rich, smoky, raspy voice, echoes Guy Clark and John Prine, with a subtle hint of Hank Snr. and Vern Gosdin. Unvarnished and unswerving, Seegers bares his soul on these songs and invites the listener into his world of family tales, doubt, loss and forgiveness. His strikingly distinctive voice and casually assured phrasing are at the centre of it all, from the heartbroken outpouring of Angie’s Song to Baby Lost Her Way Home Again, an irresistibly catchy swing tune with a sunny disposition that can’t quite hide the undercurrent of melancholy and heartbreak. You’ll find yourself self-consciously brushing away a tear as Lonely Drifter’s Cry unfolds, a sad tale of break-up that is up there with the best that ol’ Hank ever wrote. He wails out with considerable hillbilly soul on There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight as he pays tribute to the Hillbilly Shakespeare superbly. In Hard Working Man, he reminds us that we are unified in our fervour to overcome the struggles of life. A cooking little number, the studio band comprising producer Will Kimbrough (guitars, backing vocals), Phil Madeira (piano), Chris Donohue (bass), Bryan Owings (drums) and Barbara Lamb (fiddle), playing with tight abandon creating the kind of raw musical perfection that Nashville sessioneers used to be famed for in the days when everyone sat in the studio and played as one, without all the Pro-tools and endless overdubbing.
Alongside the musicians already mentioned, Doug is also joined by Al Perkins (pedal steel), Jim Hoke (saxophone), JR Willis (banjo), Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Brigette DeMeyer, and Anna Chistenson (vocals). An ambitious vision of a Southern past littered with provocative characters and the dark, foreboding places they inhabit, Doug Seegers’ music provides a stark, unselfconsciously literary tour of off-road Americana. His self-penned songs sound like trad-country classics you should have known for about 40 years. One of the finest ‘new’ singer-songwriters I’ve heard in years, this album is the culmination of years of listening, absorbing and loving music, with an empathy for the real people, who have declined a place in ‘polite’ society.
www.humpheadcountry.com
It seems quite strange referring to Doug Seegers as a newcomer. He has been making music most of his life, but it’s only now, in his sixties, that he has received any kind of recognition. It would not be stretching a point to say that Seegers has led a troubled life and it’s from that life that he draws his inspiration for both his songwriting and the way he delivers those songs. His pent-up, emotional turmoil explodes in this debut album; a set of harrowing songs, which through its sheer musical scope and lyrical perception, is one of 2014’s more satisfying releases. He writes songs that capture the darker moments of his past. Love, addiction and regret feature heavily in his material as he narrates his personal journey through the human condition.His gift with words and rich, smoky, raspy voice, echoes Guy Clark and John Prine, with a subtle hint of Hank Snr. and Vern Gosdin. Unvarnished and unswerving, Seegers bares his soul on these songs and invites the listener into his world of family tales, doubt, loss and forgiveness. His strikingly distinctive voice and casually assured phrasing are at the centre of it all, from the heartbroken outpouring of Angie’s Song to Baby Lost Her Way Home Again, an irresistibly catchy swing tune with a sunny disposition that can’t quite hide the undercurrent of melancholy and heartbreak. You’ll find yourself self-consciously brushing away a tear as Lonely Drifter’s Cry unfolds, a sad tale of break-up that is up there with the best that ol’ Hank ever wrote. He wails out with considerable hillbilly soul on There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight as he pays tribute to the Hillbilly Shakespeare superbly. In Hard Working Man, he reminds us that we are unified in our fervour to overcome the struggles of life. A cooking little number, the studio band comprising producer Will Kimbrough (guitars, backing vocals), Phil Madeira (piano), Chris Donohue (bass), Bryan Owings (drums) and Barbara Lamb (fiddle), playing with tight abandon creating the kind of raw musical perfection that Nashville sessioneers used to be famed for in the days when everyone sat in the studio and played as one, without all the Pro-tools and endless overdubbing.
Alongside the musicians already mentioned, Doug is also joined by Al Perkins (pedal steel), Jim Hoke (saxophone), JR Willis (banjo), Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Brigette DeMeyer, and Anna Chistenson (vocals). An ambitious vision of a Southern past littered with provocative characters and the dark, foreboding places they inhabit, Doug Seegers’ music provides a stark, unselfconsciously literary tour of off-road Americana. His self-penned songs sound like trad-country classics you should have known for about 40 years. One of the finest ‘new’ singer-songwriters I’ve heard in years, this album is the culmination of years of listening, absorbing and loving music, with an empathy for the real people, who have declined a place in ‘polite’ society.
www.humpheadcountry.com