Paul J.
McInnis – Broken Down Waltz (Independent)
From Waterloo, Ontario, Paul J. McInnis is a
singer-songwriter who fully embraces the North American folk-troubadour
tradition. His style harks back to far simpler times, when a songwriter would
be travelling rather than touring, earning his crust wherever an audience could
be found, and today McInnis can still be found plying his craft in pubs,
coffee-houses and bars, as well as on the occasional street corner.
“Broken Down Waltz” is his new record, recorded live
off the floor, and featuring some of his best friends playing mandolin,
harmonica, accordion, cello and guitar. The lack of studio gloss presents the
music in far more authentic surroundings, and if there are mistakes, they’re
hardly noticeable, and are more than made up for by the purity and spontaneity
of their back-to-basics approach.
His stated influences are John Prine, Randy Newman
and Bill Monroe, a trio of artists who contribute to the Americana tradition in
completely different ways. McInnis takes aspects of all three and has come up
with something heartwarming and uplifting, with his literate songwriting
providing the backbone to everything we hear.
Standout songs come thick and fast: “Slip Away” opens
the collection with a narrative about the one that got away, and sets the album
up perfectly for what’s to come. “What's Done Is Done”
is catchy and upbeat, reminds me a little of Uncle Tupelo, and if radio played
this sort of thing, they’d be playing this. “Stories of
Lily” tells its tale with some finesse and should win an award somewhere
down the line, and the album’s brought to a conclusion by the outstanding title
track – a country cousin to John Prine’s “Donald and Lydia”.
Phil S.
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