I’ve had a long day and I’m feeling a bit worn out, but reviewing every single album in my collection is not going to happen by accident, so let’s get to it.
Disc 1839 is…Right of Passage
Artist: David Francey
Year of Release: 2007
What’s up with the Cover? It’s a dory. I was quite pleased to know this without looking it up, but I admit I wasn’t so certain that I didn’t then check anyway to make sure.
This is a fine little dory but appears to be cut adrift. Where is the owner? Maybe it’s fine and is anchored down below that white bumper in the upper right. I sure hope so, because otherwise that bumper is doing very little other than making the framing of this photo look awkward.
How I Came To Know It: I went on a bit of a David Francey binge about seven or eight years ago, and nothing escaped my zeal at the time, including this.
How It Stacks Up: I have 9 David Francey albums (see ‘binge’ reference directly above). I put this one in at #6.
Ratings: 3 stars
“Right of Passage” has everything there is to like about David Francey. If you know his stuff well, it won’t necessarily be your “go to” #1 record, but it has a few gems that makes it worth a visit.
For those new to David Francey (and even longtime readers of my blog will have had a five year gap since my last review), he is a Scottish born Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Francey’s albums pick a lane and stay in it, and “Right of Passage” sees him still approaching things like he’s done from the start. This means gentle guitar picking and Francey’s light brogue telling stories about regular life in a way that makes you really appreciate regular life.
No one makes the ordinary extraordinary like Francey. His music has no guile or subterfuge, relying on simple heartfelt stories, many of which are little more than snippets, images or short moments. Metaphors are rare and when they appear it is almost by accident, with the songs much more likely to just rely on a good telling over any literary artifice.
This could easily be boring (one could imagine the Folksmen trio from the mockumentary “A Mighty Wind” extolling the virtues of having “never did no wanderin’”). LINK Never fear, because Francey’s homespun honesty elevates life in its purest lived form. Also, he has done some wanderin’.
Take “A Conversation” as an example. The song is nothing more than a chance encounter with an ex – but don’t expect drama or heartache. Francey’s music sees the world three quarters full. One of many “aww…shucks” verses:
“And so we passed a pleasant day
And so we went our separate ways
To do what life gave us to do
Hasn’t time been kind to you.”
There are plenty of human moments like this on the record, as well as a few more where Francey is inspired by places (Edmonton, Kansas and the Oregon Coast to name just three). Even at his saddest reverie, Francey finds a way to make music his therapy and by extension, yours as well.
Francey albums will sometimes dip a toe in the headlines of the day, and one of the best songs on “Right of Passage” is “Jerusalem.” It is a sad tale of an oft-renewed conflict, and you can hear how the whole experience just breaks Francey’s giant, gracious heart.
Francey’s talent is as a songwriter, and while these songs have the same melodic structures of his previous records (and I mean they sound a LOT like those previous songs) they are a winning formula that I’m glad he doesn’t stray from.
He also attracts the right musicians to help him out. Guitarist Craig Werth’s quiet playing adds colour and nuance to Francey’s vocals. Also, a huge shout out to the multitude of voices on “All Lights Burning Bright”. This song also appears on the David Francey/Mike Ford nautical compilation “Seaway” (reviewed back at Disc 1219). Both are good, but for my tastes, the version on “Right of Passage” is just a step up, and the chorus work is a big part of why.
The record is not perfect, and there are a couple of songs where Francey’s dangerous proximity to schmaltz fails him – notably the clunky “Their Wedding Day”. Does picking on a joy filled David Francey song about a wedding make me a monster, dear reader? Maybe a little.
Best tracks: Leaving Edmonton, A Conversation, New Jerusalem, All Lights Burning Bright
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