by Kim Ruehl, for FolkAlley.com
On his tenth album in 14 years, So Say We All, David Francey delivers a rousing collection of traditional-sounding story-songs. From the ever-falling rain in the opening tune to the shooting stars in the title track (which closes the album), this disc spins a web of melodies that shows easy connections between hard work and rest, joy and sorrow, loss and ultimate hope.
As he has been doing for more than a decade, Francey captures all of life’s nuances in a way which is both eloquent and accessible. “Long Long Road,” for example, sounds like it could be a Scottish drinking song about keeping faith no matter what comes. It’s hard to resist the urge to raise a glass and join in singing, “The waves of the water, they endlessly break on the long, long road.”
Francey knows the long road well. He took it toward a songwriting career, not casting his line into those waters until he was 45 years old. Nonetheless, from his childhood in Scotland to his working days in Toronto, he has brought with him a keen ear for melody. His songs are so honest and real, you’d think folks had been singing them for generations. But, more likely, these tunes have been hanging in the air all this time, waiting for David Francey
It’s not just the impeccable songwriting which makes this disc an early favorite. Behind Francey comes an intuitive band of gifted pickers – Darren McMullen’s mandolin, especially, brings light into even the toughest turns of these tales. As Francey sings, struggling out of a certain depression, in comes McMullen with a flutter of color, turning the songs into inklings of hope and promise.
Though it certainly delves into life’s dark moments, So Say We All is ultimately a disc about finding something to hold onto. He sums this up well on “Weather Vane,” where he sings, “Everybody leaves their mark, some profound and some profane…forget the wind that howls and turns the weather vane.”
