Somewhere Near Paterson

Personnel: Richard Shindell (vocals, acoustic guitar); Larry Campbell (acoustic & electric guitar, Baritone guitar, pedal steel, cittern, dobro, dulcimer, mandolin, fiddle); Billy Masters (electric guitar); Kenny White (piano); Lincoln Schlieffer (harmonium, bass); Denny McDermott (drums, percussion); Siobahan Egan (bodhran); Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams (background vocals).Recorded at The Loft Recording Studios, Bronxville, New York.Composer: Richard Shindell.Personnel: Richard Shindell (acoustic guitar); Larry Campbell (acoustic guitar); Billy Masters (electric guitar); Kenny White (piano); Lincoln Schleifer (bass instrument); Denny McDermott (drums); Siobhan Egan (bodhran); Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky (background vocals).Though Richard Shindell's music has been categorized under the "folk" rubric, that label tells only part of the story. The instrumental skeletons of these songs are built upon plucked acoustic guitar and the lyrics sketch out a world-weary cast of characters with a rare kind of writerly precision, but Shindell isn't afraid to bring electric guitar, driving drums, and Celtic accents into the mix where needed.The album-opening "Confession," which is bathed in sheets of electrified guitar, is a first-person account of a Wall Street rainmaker's search for meaning in his life. Though he boasts to a bartender that he "can make a quarter million / Just walking in [his] sleep," he's plagued by nightmares and inexplicable fits of hysteria. Other highlights include the buoying "My Love Will Follow You," whose backing harmonies, courtesy of Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams, lend a graceful and affecting streak. "Spring," which celebrates the yearly miracles that attend the season, is elevated to instrumental majesty by the deft interplay among wooden flute, bodhran, cittern, and fiddle. A thoroughly impressive offering.

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