Carl Anderson — Riding High in Nashville

Another Charlottesville musician gone rogue is Carl Anderson, and as little faith as I have in Nashville these days, I have to wonder if Carl has not lost his damn mind, moving there, but what the hell do I know? Carl packed his bags about a year ago, heading for East Nashville and a music scene he hoped a bit more supportive than that of C-ville, an outstanding music town but with limited venue support. He took with him a suitcase, new wife Ellen and a portfolio of some of the best-written songs east of the Mississippi (and west, too, if I am being truthful here) and that dream we all hear about in movies and on TV and especially the Internet, that of not necessarily becoming famous but having his music heard by new people. Why not Nashville? There is a backwoods beauty to his songs which should fit right in there— not among the Modern Country performers (meaning the pleather-hatted, trench-coated, awards-show set, but the real musicians who have called Nashville home since the early days of the Grand Ole Opry).

Not everyone in Nashville writes Country, you know. There is a tradition there quite outside the lines drawn by Music Row — John Loudermilk and Felice and Boudleaux Bryant head a long list of examples. Steve Young lives there. Jubal Lee Young, the son of Steve and songwriter Terrye Newkirk, grew up there. Kink Ador lives there. Carl should fit right in. In fact, I know he will.

I know because Carl’s 2011 album Wolftown blasted its way into my Top Ten with a string of emotion-filled originals I could not believe weren’t accepted by the so-called music pundits of the day (you can hear the album here, and I heartily suggest you do). I know because his upcoming album Risk of Loss is presently kicking my ass up and down the street at will, the music a step forward and a step back and very much to my liking. I know because talent like this cannot be buried in perpetuity. It can’t. I and people like myself will not let it.

When Wolftown hit my desk, I admit to being a bit prejudiced. Carl had sung with Charlottesville’s Carleigh Nesbit on her Flowers to the Bee album and the voices blended beautifully. By the time Wolftown came along some time later, I confess to being anxious. More than a few people have showed promise to no avail. More than a few work well with others without having that certain something to do it on their own. But Carl has it. I didn’t need to hear more than one song to know it. Carl has it, big time. And this time, he has gone for the big sound.

That sound carries Risk of Loss up to and beyond Wolftown, as much as I thought it unlikely Carl could do it. While he had real depth of soul on the first album, he shows real soul on this one. And it is not just the brass he brought in to flesh out the sound. It is the rare-back-and-let-it-go attitude on songs like the opener, “Side of the Mountain.” It is the almost Everly Brothers approach to “Different Darkness.” It is the gospel influence heard on “Hurricane Wind.” It is the full-on sound of country rock (and I don’t mean alt.country— trust me, there is a difference). It is the use of vocal harmonies and the sound and cohesiveness of that chord organ which weaves a spell, especially on “Heavy,” and it gets under your skin (or maybe just in your ears) and doesn’t want to let go. Yes, it is the songs, but it is also the sound.

That sound is provided by both the old and the new. The old are the standard bearers for so much of the good that comes out of the Charlottesville music these days — Brian Caputo (drums), Sam Wilson (electric guitar), Andy Thacker (mandolin), and of course the ever-present in the Andersonville of recent years, wife Ellen (nee Picker of the famous Picker clan) who sings backup. Most notable among the new is a cat named Charles Arthur on every stringed instrument you can find at a barn dance or in a rock hall and who mans the organ much better than any grinder ever could. What he does on this album tells me I should know who he is but somehow I don’t. You can bet that I know him now, though, and will be following him closely from now on. He’s that good.

While this won’t be available until the beginning of April, at least that is what Carl says, that doesn’t mean you can’t discover (if you haven’t already) some of the best music to come out of Nashville, East or otherwise, this year. He will no doubt post teasers as he gears up for release and if nothing else he has posted tracks from Wolftown for our listening pleasure. And there is this live version of a track from his new album. I give you Carl Anderson and wife Ellen, singing a track from Risk of Loss: “Hurricane Wind.”