Kim Beggs
Blue Bones
Black Hen Music
“A voice as cool and as refreshing as the Yukon river” delivers songwriting of the highest order
Kim Beggs is an acclaimed Canadian artist who has already released two critically acclaimed albums. Born in Quebec but raised in the mining towns of North Ontario she finally arrived in the Yukon in 1991 but it was nearly ten years of pay the rent jobs (swinging a hammer according to her bio) before she started singing her own songs. Her 2006 album Wanderer’s Pean earned her a couple of Canadian Music Awards and she was asked to represent her home country at the Canada Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square.
Being the “hard” third album BLUE BONES carries a lot of responsibility. Fortunately for Kim, I think this one could be the breakthrough for her. Containing nine of her own compositions and four covers as diverse as Dylan’s I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight and Patty Griffin’s Trapeze it is her own songs that shine out for me. With a voice as cool and as refreshing as the Yukon river country she hails from – think Nanci Griffith with a sprinkling of Iris DeMent- Kim covers a variety of themes that matter to her. The opener Honey and Crumbs is a delightful song with a beauty that masks the heartaches of leaving home to go on the road. Mama’s Dress a sad refrain about a woman lost on the streets hiding in the world that only she sees in her head and Firewater Bones dedicated to her late brother who was born with a Fetal Alcohol disorder. Supported by the sympathetic backing of Steve Dawson on various guitars, John Raham (drums), Keith Lowe (Bass) and Chris Gestrin (Keyboards) with some superb vocal support on harmony from, amongst others, Laurie Lewis and Gulf Morlix Kim works her way confidently and beautifully through some fine songs. This album also contains the only song with yodelling to date that I like (too much Frank Ifield as a child being the reason for my allergy to this artform!) Cant Drive Slow Yodel is an amusing take on heading home too fast.
I honestly recommend people give BLUE BONES a listen, they will not be disappointed – I wasn’t.
This Review originally appeared in www.maverick-country.com
