Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. This next record got listens on all manner of transport – car, bus and good ole fashion walking. Not fancy walking, just regular walking.
Disc 1787 is…Wanderer
Artist: Ruth Moody
Year of Release: 2024
What’s up with the Cover? An artist rendition of some spirit or goddess. I’d guess she is the goddess of the night and of the wilds, given her power to turn her hair into a river, her dress into an enormous tree, and her banner into both the night sky, and the earth beneath that same sky.
How is this possible, you ask? Magic!
How I Came To Know It: I’ve been a fan of Ruth Moody since way back to when I first heard her as one third of the folk group, the Waiin’ Jennys. This is just me buying her latest solo album when it came out.
How It Stacks Up: I have Ruth Moody on five Wailin’ Jennys albums as well as an earlier effort as part of nineties folk band Scruj Macduhk. She also features as a guest vocalist on a couple of Mark Knopfler records in my collection.
This is my third record from her solo offerings, and I’ll stack it up against just those. “Wanderer” comes in…third. Something had to be last. As this completes my solo journey into Ruth Moody albums (for now) here’s the full recap:
- The Garden: 3 stars (reviewed
at Disc 848)
- These Wilder Things: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 760)
- Wanderer: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
Ratings: 3stars
It was 11 years between Ruth Moody solo records, but you wouldn’t know it from her vocals, which are as pure and golden as the day I first heard her sing. While “Wanderer” sometimes let me down in other ways, it was never Moody’s voice, which was and is a revelation.
There were many moments on “Wanderer” where Moody’s vocals completely pulled me under her spell. Vocals that make you smile and just shake your head at the notion that mortal human lungs can do that. It’s ever-present on the record, but there are sections where it still manages to lilt up in a way that catches you by surprise all over again. For this reason alone, this record gets a thumb’s up.
Moody is no slouch on the guitar either, and she plucks a folksy but relaxed acoustic style that matches well with the easy flow of her vocals. Much like the singing, the guitar work is more about warmth and tone than it is about complicated pattern or virtuosity. Like most good folk singers, she knows a song should be sung and played skillfully, simply and with unforced but earnest passion.
That’s the best parts of the record, but the songs themselves (all Moody originals) were not as consistent as on previous records. While there were some standouts (see “best tracks” below) there were many others that were just OK, melodically or lyrically. These often had to rely on Moody’s natural talents to buoy them up. I didn’t mind the simple imagery (plenty of that in folk music) but I didn’t always feel the story or character shining through.
The other surprise was my bad reaction to the production. “Wanderer” does it exactly like I usually like it. There isn’t a lot of busyness, and the notes are given lots of space to reverberate and fill the stillness. Still, there was something wrong, mostly in the low end that was a bit too “loud”. The bass was bossy, and the drums boomed just a bit too hard, both thumping in a way that took away from the lighthearted joy of Moody’s vocals and guitar work.
Over time, even the songs that didn’t light my fire originally grew on me, but that didn’t surprise me since resisting the desire to hear Ruth Moody sing would be like resisting nature itself. I never did fully shake that calling for a little bit more story, or a bit more dynamics in the melody here and there. Not a deal breaker, but enough to nestle this record just below her two previous efforts.
Best tracks: The Spell of Lilac Bloom, Michigan, Wanderer, Comin’ Round the Bend
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