Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch - making old sound new

DAVE RAWLINGS MACHINE
A Friend of a Friend
Acony ACNY-0908/ Shock
Four stars

First published in Limelight, April 2010 issue:

"You may not recognise the name of acoustic guitarist and banjo player Dave Rawlings unless you’re a reader of fine print, in which case you may know him as the accompanist and song-writing partner of Gillian Welch.

"That US singer has given bluegrass and American folk a bracing new sensibility over the past decade and a half. Now come Rawlings’s first album as a leader, and it’s a cracker. Though Welch provides backing vocals and guitar, most of these tracks eschew her mournful intensity for a more relaxed and sprightly aesthetic, with an emphasis on group playing and fiddle.

"A version of Cortez the Killer, one of the few downbeat tracks, has led some critics to cite Neil Young as an influence but a more persuasive touchstone is The Band. Benmont’s Tench’s organ on opener Ruby is a dead ringer for Garth Hudson’s, while To be Young (Is to be Sad, is to be High) borrows the rollicking cajun rhythm of Rag Mama Rag.

"Rawlings is not a great a singer, but it hardly matters, for the mood he creates tends to the infectiously joyful, these tracks sounding like after hours sessions where the musicians are playing purely for fun. _ Lynden Barber "