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MP3 Putnam Smith - Goldrush
12 MP3 Songs in this album (42:27) !
Related styles: FOLK: Appalachian Folk, FOLK: Folk Blues
People who are interested in Iron & Wine Crooked Still should consider this download.
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"What is it that makes a record stand out? It''s hard to describe.... a feeling. Listening, your mind and heart get engaged. Maybe there are goosebumps, it just happens. Why? The words, the voice, the chord changes... maybe the drums come in just at the right moment. It''s magic and when it happens, it''s satisfying on many levels. That''s how I would describe Putnam Smith''s new cd, "Goldrush". IT, all of IT, is there, just listen."
-- Sara Willis, Maine Public Radio
Portland, Maine singer/songwriter Putnam Smith could be an old-world troubadour straight out of the 19th Century. After all, he lives in a log cabin, plays his Grandfather''s banjo, and has printed up the jackets to his new CD on a 1901 Pearl Letterpress (hand set, pedal powered!). Yet this rootsy multi-instrumentalist songwriter (he also plays guitar, mandolin, and piano), steeped as he is in old-time Appalachian traditions, is very much a storyteller for the modern age.
"Goldrush," Putnam''s new record, is a distillation of his substantial growth as a songwriter and touring performer, over the past two years since his debut studio album, ''this blue" in 2007. The new disc is also a rich, bold, and spicy offering of acoustical treats: from the foot-stomping banjo/cello arrangements in "Full Moon, Baby," and "Wouldn''t Need This Whiskey," to the bluesy guitar/ upright bass combination in "Rollin Blues," to the spare and melancholy solo piano tune, "New York, 0-2." Thematically, the 12 tunes are a collection of portraits, stories, and love songs -- all about individuals and couples struggling to figure out what it means to live in this strange 21st Century of ours. "Postcard to Mum and Dad" tells the story of a young hopeful who heads off to Austin to be a rock star; "The Bartender''s Elsewhere" paints the portrait of a working mother trying to hold down her job, staying afloat by the means of her imagination. The title track, "Goldrush," tells of a young man''s return home to his grandfather''s farm, which has now been subdivided into condominiums. There''s whimsy, too, like the mandolin/cello tune "Lawnmower Repair," with the neo-pop tune refrain: ''everything''s gonna be all right..."
Putnam is joined by many fine musicians on this record as well, including Adam Frederick (5 string upright bass), Zak Trojano (drums), and Sorcha Cribben-Merrill (harmony vocals). But the greatest musical force on this record, besides Putnam''s banjo/guitar/mandolin/piano playing, is provided by Seth Yentes on cello. Often perfoming with Putnam, Seth serves up a folk-funk cello style which was developed from Crooked Still''s Rushad Eggleston, whom Seth has studied with. The title track, too, is in fact a co-write. Putnam largely tours alone, however, unable to get Seth off of the beautiful farm where he homesteads with his family.
The disc was recorded and mixed by Pete Morse of Busted Barn Studios in Portland, ME. Mastering was by Jeff Lipton, Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA (Andrew Bird, Josh Ritter). Artwork is by acclaimed (and multi-talented!) Portland singer/songwriter Emilia Dahlin.
Once the garden season slows down, Putnam will close up his log cabin and hit the road on tour, in support of the new album -- but
not without a trunk full of home-canned jams and salsas. And as is noted in the letterpressed liner notes, "This album is available for barter, trade, or sale: firewood, artwork, home-canned goods and man-made monies accepted" -- when on tour, just nothing bigger than will fit in the trunk!
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