Search - Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer :: When I Go

One of the best I've heard

Katherine Rossner | Northeast United States | 12/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WHEN I GO is one of the very rare CDs that became a favorite the first time I listened; nearly a year later, that has not changed. The sound is in the country/old-timey area within the broad field that is now called folk, but anybody who thinks that "country" and "intelligent" are opposing terms will have to think again here. From the hauntingly lovely "shamanic hymn" of the title cut, through the bouncy love ballad "The River Where She Sleeps" and the Arthurian-legend-as-cowboy-song "Lancelot", to the fast-paced truckers' tall tale "Little Liza Jane", every song is literate and beautiful. Lyrics are always my primary interest, but the music here caught my attention as well: Carter and Grammer's voices, especially in the harmonies of a love song like "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love"; banjo and guitar accompaniment, and a violin that can hurry the tale along or bring me to tears or simply soar to the skies...This is a truly outstanding album."

Songwriting poetry and magic

James Gimlet | Pacific Northwest | 02/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a rare and unique "too good to miss" find beyond the commercial borders of "Young Country". If I were to try to synthesize the songwriting elixir of Dave Carter, I might add a part each of country western (with the emphasis on western), folk and bluegrass, stir in a little Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and add a dash of Cervantes' or Gabriel Garcia Marques' "magical realism". Then blend in the distilled storytelling spirits of a truckdriver, troubadour, poet, preacher, cowboy and medicine man. Of course it wouldn't come out right - Dave has his own unique songwriting voice. The highly literate lyrics strike a true and consistent tone throughout, and range from brilliantly inventive to touching to deep. (I love the line, "I'll send a message down the wire and hope that someone wise is listening when I go".) The music provides a perfect organic fit to the lyrics, and soars where appropriate (as in "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love"). The musicianship of Dave and Tracy is absolutely first rate, and I love the spare and lovely arrangements. There is no studio fakery on this CD. Dave and Tracy sound just like they sound live in concert (actually, they are even better live, if you are fortunate enough to catch them. Tracy's vocal harmonies are outstanding. And I have witnessed Dave play some dazzlingly pyrotechnic banjo and guitar, while Tracy is not to be outdone playing a mean fiddle.) If you, like me, always read the song lyrics on a new CD, and are always looking for something above and beyond mainstream commercial radio fare, give this CD a try!"

Passionate, original, inventive, haunting

Tom Weathington | Hampton Cove, AL USA | 12/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dave Carter is one of a rare breed, that is, a musician who still cares. His songs weave together the voices of the disposessed, the weary, the searching. Carter then channels them into haunting melodies with heartfelt lyrics--you can lose yourself for weeks listnening to his songs. Call him a Christian troubadour, a poet, a picker--you'll wind up calling him a genuis. Sui generis. I also recommend his first CD (availaible at his Web site (songs.com/davecarter). It's even better than "When I Go.""