MCDOUGALL – A FEW TOWNS MORE
2012 – Old-Time is A Good Time
4.5****
Scott McDougall epitomizes the old time travelling troubadour, not only because of his full beard and working clothes but also due to his highly original musical style, the harsh atmospherically untutored vocals and his tales that are centred around a life on the road! His playing, whether it be on
acoustic guitar or banjo is always excellent as is his songwriting on this tremendous album that includes seven of his own originals and three traditional songs. Generically the album can probably be labeled as an off shoot of old timey, blues, gospel and folk and is incredibly redolent of that ‘old weird America,’ with its at times spooky atmosphere. This is his fifth album release in as many years, so there is no shortage of ideas, with so many of his peers not being able to produce half what he does. Every one of those recordings is well worth having in the musical collection of anyone who counts artists such as Otis Gibbs or Old Man Luedecke as important to their listening pleasure,
although McDougall probably takes the rawness up a couple of notches!
He is a native of Portland, Oregon and does apparently spend much of his time travelling from town to town playing his music to anyone who wants to listen. I suspect that before very long there are going to be large numbers of people who want to see and hear his songs that are played with a tremendous intensity and to the accompaniment of his excellent guitar and banjo playing that is a perfect foil for his straining, hugely evocative vocals.
There are three excellent instrumentals on this ten song album, each played on the banjo, two of them traditional and one his own Cuttin’the grass/ Tom and Willy go to town, which almost summons up the ghost of the late great John Hartford. Before anyone complains, I’m not daring to suggest that his playing is up there with Hartfords, but he does seem to have a mastery of that otherworldly old time atmosphere that Hartford seemed to conjure up at will. The other two
instrumentals are just as worthy of mention, with album opener Coleraine, an incredibly atmospheric tune with choral aaaaahhhh aaaahhhing, hand claps and stomping that really has that ‘old weird America’ feel, making it easy to imagine the scene coming from the celebration at the first sampling of the illicit bootleg licquor from the local ‘still’! The traditional song with vocals is Where God dips his love in my heart an intense driving acoustic guitar led gospel song with his rasping
vocals, as usual, not a million miles from Tom Waits! It probably says much for his writing ability that his own originals blend seamlessly with the old traditional songs, all being brought together with his consistent commitment and a talent that is lifted above most of his peers by the intensity he brings to every performance. Every song is excellent, showing diversity in styles, tempos and instrumentation but the third song on the album The travels of Frederick Tolls and the eighth song The travels of Frederick Tolls Part 2 are both epics, the former with his gravelly vocals and repetitive acoustic guitar giving the same slightly weird, sinister feel of much of the rest of the album and when you add the driving percussion and haunting steel overlay that edgy bluesy, spooky feel is enhanced!
It is a dark, haunting travelling tale that despite the lyrics not alluding to any danger, still conjures a dangerous threatening atmosphere. The latter starts with a repetitive acoustic guitar and intermittent percussion that gradually seems to grow into the dark dangerous world of it’s predecessor, then
McDougall’s vocals blend the story, almost evoking the devil, on this continuation of a travelling tale that has an air about it that should dissuade other hitch hikers, leaving McDougall and a few other brave souls to hog all of the lifts! The album really does have that sort of power.
I’ve tried to come up with a few criticisms, not just for the sake of criticizing but because it can be a struggle to justify a very high rating to yourself, but to my ears everything about this album has huge quality, sealed by it’s diversity of songs. That doesn’t mean though that the album is perfect. Maybe if it had been a double disc length, or a triple, or ………. !
http://www.reverbnation.com/mcdougall
4.5****
Scott McDougall epitomizes the old time travelling troubadour, not only because of his full beard and working clothes but also due to his highly original musical style, the harsh atmospherically untutored vocals and his tales that are centred around a life on the road! His playing, whether it be on
acoustic guitar or banjo is always excellent as is his songwriting on this tremendous album that includes seven of his own originals and three traditional songs. Generically the album can probably be labeled as an off shoot of old timey, blues, gospel and folk and is incredibly redolent of that ‘old weird America,’ with its at times spooky atmosphere. This is his fifth album release in as many years, so there is no shortage of ideas, with so many of his peers not being able to produce half what he does. Every one of those recordings is well worth having in the musical collection of anyone who counts artists such as Otis Gibbs or Old Man Luedecke as important to their listening pleasure,
although McDougall probably takes the rawness up a couple of notches!
He is a native of Portland, Oregon and does apparently spend much of his time travelling from town to town playing his music to anyone who wants to listen. I suspect that before very long there are going to be large numbers of people who want to see and hear his songs that are played with a tremendous intensity and to the accompaniment of his excellent guitar and banjo playing that is a perfect foil for his straining, hugely evocative vocals.
There are three excellent instrumentals on this ten song album, each played on the banjo, two of them traditional and one his own Cuttin’the grass/ Tom and Willy go to town, which almost summons up the ghost of the late great John Hartford. Before anyone complains, I’m not daring to suggest that his playing is up there with Hartfords, but he does seem to have a mastery of that otherworldly old time atmosphere that Hartford seemed to conjure up at will. The other two
instrumentals are just as worthy of mention, with album opener Coleraine, an incredibly atmospheric tune with choral aaaaahhhh aaaahhhing, hand claps and stomping that really has that ‘old weird America’ feel, making it easy to imagine the scene coming from the celebration at the first sampling of the illicit bootleg licquor from the local ‘still’! The traditional song with vocals is Where God dips his love in my heart an intense driving acoustic guitar led gospel song with his rasping
vocals, as usual, not a million miles from Tom Waits! It probably says much for his writing ability that his own originals blend seamlessly with the old traditional songs, all being brought together with his consistent commitment and a talent that is lifted above most of his peers by the intensity he brings to every performance. Every song is excellent, showing diversity in styles, tempos and instrumentation but the third song on the album The travels of Frederick Tolls and the eighth song The travels of Frederick Tolls Part 2 are both epics, the former with his gravelly vocals and repetitive acoustic guitar giving the same slightly weird, sinister feel of much of the rest of the album and when you add the driving percussion and haunting steel overlay that edgy bluesy, spooky feel is enhanced!
It is a dark, haunting travelling tale that despite the lyrics not alluding to any danger, still conjures a dangerous threatening atmosphere. The latter starts with a repetitive acoustic guitar and intermittent percussion that gradually seems to grow into the dark dangerous world of it’s predecessor, then
McDougall’s vocals blend the story, almost evoking the devil, on this continuation of a travelling tale that has an air about it that should dissuade other hitch hikers, leaving McDougall and a few other brave souls to hog all of the lifts! The album really does have that sort of power.
I’ve tried to come up with a few criticisms, not just for the sake of criticizing but because it can be a struggle to justify a very high rating to yourself, but to my ears everything about this album has huge quality, sealed by it’s diversity of songs. That doesn’t mean though that the album is perfect. Maybe if it had been a double disc length, or a triple, or ………. !
http://www.reverbnation.com/mcdougall