Peter Keane— Rural Electrification
It’s all about the guitar. Peter Keane had basically retired from recording, taking the time to go back to the roots (really) and study the masters.
“Since I stopped working full-time as a musician several years ago,” he wrote in the liner notes of his new album, Rural Electrification. “I’ve had time to study my favorite old-time tunes more carefully than I had before. It seems to me the deeper you go, the more the quirks and twists and subtleties begin to look like the essence (and genius) of the music rather than rough edges to be smoothed away. With my trusty Fraulini parlor guitar, I spent many hours on the back porch working out tunes and techniques, trying to get as close as I could to the original recordings, aiming to be as true as possible to their spirit and feel.”
No, not that guitar. This guitar.
“About a year ago I got myself a Gretsch electric guitar for kicks,” he continued. “I started trying out the old-time arrangements on the Gretsch, and some of them seemed to work pretty nicely. Soon I had enough material for a new record….”
It’s a hollow body, that Gretsch. I imagine it was a revelation, the sounds that guitar created. When I heard the first few notes, I was sold. Pristine, I thought. Crisp. Clear. Clean.
It’s all about the voice, from the smooth texture of “Sitting On Top of the World” to the less so on “Roll and Tumble Blues.” From the slightly less-textured than Lefty Frizzell on “Nobody’s Dirty Business” to the almost Roger Miller-sounding “Back In my Hometown.” Separated from the music just enough, the voice ties the songs together.
It’s all about the songs. Again, the liner notes:
“I learned most of these songs from recordings that were made in the 1920s and ’30s in the southern United States. That time and place produced the music I’ve found most inspiring, ever since hearing Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James while still in high school. Later, I discovered Jimmie Rodgers, The Mississippi Sheiks, Clarence Ashley, Hambone Willie Newbern, Frank Hutchison, Clarence Greene, and many others.”
And he studied them. Not just the artists, but their styles. And their music. It could not have been an easy task, cutting the number of songs on this record down to eleven (of the twelve included, only one— Almost Gone— is an original). He had to have started with hundreds. It’s what happens when you reach back to your roots.
It’s all about the production. It has to be. The sound is clean and crisp, the guitar and voice balanced with slight echo reminiscent of renditions I’ve heard of Cowboy Copas’ Alabam. The guitar, finger-picked to perfection, has at times the feel of early Johnny Cash and at others the simplicity of early blues masters. It grabs you and lays you back at the same time.
I’m toying with you, of course. The truth is, it is the combination of all. But what gets me is the sound. And the choice of songs. And the…
There I go again. How about a video instead? I couldn’t find a full-on video for the new album, but I did find a preview vid and this one from one of Keane’s early albums. He’s had a number of them, you know, on labels such as Rounder and Flying Fish. The man can sing and play. And the good news is that he’s back.