For the second straight review the
CD Odyssey sends us into the realm of country, this time for one of the best
albums of 2016.
Disc 947 is….Dori Freeman (Self Titled)
Artist: Dori
Freeman
Year of Release: 2016
What’s up with the Cover? No frills, just an honest young
woman inviting you into her living room for a few songs.
How I Came To Know It: I read an article about Dori
Freeman in American Songwriter magazine and decided to check her out. I liked
what I heard so I sought out her album. It wasn’t easy to find, so I resorted
to online purchasing. Sorry, local record stores; even I fall down sometimes.
How It Stacks Up: I only have one Dori Freeman album. I hope she
makes many more in the years to come.
Ratings: 5 stars
I’ve got
a lot of music in my collection, and within that collection more than a few
beautiful female voices. Dori Freeman is one of the best. She may only just be
starting out but she is every bit as inspiring to listen to as Emmylou Harris,
Patsy Cline or Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson. Freeman’s voice is sweet and
strong, never straining to hit a note but still hitting every one with an easy
power and a tone that was stolen from the angels.
I
suspect Freeman could sing equally well in any style, but she’s chosen to sing
folk-tinged country songs that are simple, direct and from the heart. Like the
album cover implies, this is an artist not afraid to invite you into her
private life. Despite this, she yet never makes you feel uncomfortable while sharing
her hopes and fears.
Those hopes
and fears tend to be tales of broken or unrequited loves, and a woman who still
stands unbroken through all of life’s romantic storms. The songs have an easy
and lilting flow, and you feel secure in their embrace as Freeman’s powerful
instrument sings you a lullaby and assures you that everything is going to be
just fine.
Producer
Teddy Thompson (a folk singer in his own right) seems to intrinsically
understand to keep out of the way and let Freeman’s voice work its magic. Some
songs are just acoustic guitar, some have a tasteful piano and some have a
little violin. In each case, Freeman’s vocals are front and centre in the mix
(as though you could deny them). One song – “Ain’t Nobody” – is entirely a capella and finger snaps, yet as
powerful as a full orchestra.
It would
be enough just to hear Freeman sing, but equally impressive is that she writes
every song on this record. These songs show none of the awkwardness or rough
edges common to songwriters early in their career. Each of these songs is a
carefully crafted combination of melody and lyric, sometimes resolving at the
end and sometimes leaving you wanting more, and intrinsically knowing when to
do which.
The
style is fundamentally country, but it is clear early on that Freeman isn’t
obsessed with genre or definitions. Introspective singer-songwriter folk songs
like “You Say” and “Where I Stood” blend seamlessly with
seventies throwbacks like “Go On Lovin’”
and fifties crooners like “Lullaby”.
All the songs have a timeless quality that feel like they’ve been around for
decades, and not written in the last year or two by some relatively unknown
singer from the tiny town of Galax, Virginia.
On an
album loaded with standouts it is pretty hard to pick out favourites, but “Where I Stood” qualifies with its
haunting tale of a woman recognizing that her love for her man is one way, and
needs to end:
“Whoever said you were breaking
the law?
Can you really hurt somebody if
nobody saw?
Somehow we’re dreaming and
dreaming so deep
When neither of us ever gets any
sleep.
“What happened to your dreams,
what happened to mine?
Your wastin’ my love and I’m
wastin’ my time
I know you’d go back if you could
And you’d leave me standing right
there where I stood.”
Ouch.
The idea that your lover would have left you there if they could only go back.
At the altar? On the day they approached and said hello? It isn’t clear but all
the options are devastating.
I’ve
rarely experienced such oft-traveled roads sound so fresh and poignant as
Freeman’s exploration of these themes. The songs underscore the childlike
innocence we have when we love, and how careless and foolish it can make us,
even as it inspires us and fills us with awe.
The
whole record is over in a crisp 10 songs and 33 minutes, and left me hungry for
more. If you have the same experience, just go back and listen to it a few more
times; it only gets better.
This
morning I read the AV Club’s top 20 albums of 2016. There were a couple of
records I was glad to see included (Leonard Cohen, Angel Olsen), but I mostly
found myself scoffing at the choices. Not a single vote for Dori Freeman’s
masterful creation. This is not only one of the best records of 2016, it is one
of the best records I’ve heard.
Best
tracks: all
tracks
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