Lucy Kaplansky – The Red Thread
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Posted On March 1, 2004
Yes, it’s another album of songs about the aftermath of September 11. No, it’s not like the others. New York City transplant Lucy Kaplansky has had time to write lyrics and melodies that go beyond the cloying poetry and jingles that marred many an earnest effort; this is a mature take on the events, with an emphasis on the need for relationships, specifically familial ones.
As it happens, Kaplansky and her husband/co-writer Richard Litvin have adopted a Chinese daughter. “This Is Home”, about finding the baby, is one of those songs destined to be covered by others.
Kaplansky’s songs are rooted in acoustic folk but have enough layers of electric guitar (Jon Herrington, Duke Levine), bass (Zev Katz) and drums and keyboards (Ben Wittman on both) to make them rock. The concert favorite “Land Of The Living” makes its recorded debut; covers include tunes by James McMurtry, Bill Morrissey, Dave Carter, and a Buddy Miller/Jim Lauderdale number previously done by the Dixie Chicks (“Hole In My Head”).
The title of the collection refers to the Chinese belief, described in Kaplansky’s liner notes, that when a child is born, red threads extend from the soul to all those who will be part of the child’s life. If the same is true about songs, those threads also extend from this disc.
