Fred Eaglesmith and producer Scott Merritt must’ve been listening to a lot of Daniel Lanois and Bob Dylan — and Dusty Springfield — lately. With its ambient mood and obtuse instrumentation, Dusty is a drastic departure from Eaglesmith’s rock ‘n’ bluegrass sound, which will make this a very difficult album for some, like one of those change-of-direction, leave-my-fanbase-clueless career swerves Dylan used to throw at his admirers.
Not surprisingly, Lanois produced Merritt’s 1979 album Desperate Cosmetics, and Merritt brings a deft minimalist touch and an ear that can probably hear mosquitoes buzzing on the other side of the planet to the proceedings. He frames Eaglesmith’s lyrics alongside tinkling glockenspiels, eternally sad cellos, emotive organ swatches, and surprisingly powerful drumming.
Amid the offbeat orchestration and without the usual hot picking behind him, Eaglesmith delivers poignant tracks such as “Whichita” and “Codeine” like a man recovering from a nervous breakdown or amnesia — a man rediscovering his own language, at times delivering his lines in such a halting manner as to suggest a speech therapist should be retained. At other times, on tracks such as “Carne del Toro” or the profoundly blue “Rainbow”, he actually nudges crooner territory.
It is the depth of Eaglesmith’s lyrics that seals the deal, though. There’s nary a stale or half-baked line. The opening stanza is absolutely riveting and sets the tone for the entire work: “You’re just dusty, there’s flies on you/Your guns are rusty and your soul is too/The Texas is wearin’ off of your leather boots/You’re just dusty, there’s flies on you.”
“Codeine”, his lament for an old cowhand, which illustrates how our western traditions have been rendered obsolete by the march of progress, is heartbreakingly real and painted with a fine brush. In “Whichita”, his portrait of an old man and a kid pulling a horse trailer through Kansas in an old truck that’s falling apart, is a chilling commentary on the state of the nation and the hard times most country people endure, yet it also shows the resilience and hope that reside in us even at the most discouraging moments.
