Melissa
Crabtree – The Day I Fell In The Water (Independent)
Melissa Crabtree is fortunate to maintain two
careers; the first as wilderness guide in her home state of Colorado and
secondly as a professional musician, singer and songwriter. It’s no surprise
that the former is a major influence on the latter. Indeed, local flora and
fauna, and the landscapes they habitat, provide the themes for many of her
songs, and even the sounds and ambience of nature are reflected by the
instrumentation; a plucked mandolin replicates the flutter of wings on “Bees”
and the bass on “Water Canyon” almost induces feelings of vertigo.
Green issues, of course, are close to her heart, and
much to the fore in her writing. When she released her debut album “Off The
Beaten Path” in 2002, she toured America in a vegetable oil-powered van, was
featured in the “Fields Of Fuel” documentary and produced a compilation album
to draw attention to fossil fuel issues. On “The Day I Fell In The Water” songs
like “Spirit Mountain” and “Daisies Talk” reiterate her standpoint, but they’re
also great folk songs, beautifully played and sung in a rich, rootsy voice.
First track “Sheila” includes all those attributes, together with a few others.
It’s a tremendous four and a half minutes, which deserves prominence on any
Americana fan’s playlist. The title track is haunting and atmospheric and
evocative of something that can’t quite be seen or touched. It’s a splendid
collection, and fans of Mary Gauthier and Iris DeMent should probably
investigate further.
Rob F.
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