Search - Nathan Rogers :: Gauntlet

More complete second effort

Russell E. Smith | Vermont, USA | 08/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a strong and relatively deep release. I bought his first - "True Stories" - at the same time, and feel it is a bit thinner and less professionally produced.



There's no question Nathan makes more of a point of sounding like his father (Stan) on this disc. But I think it plays more authentically into his passionate delivery of the material. The originals which comprise the bulk of the CD are quite good overall; it's hard to pick any particular favorites after only a couple of listenings. Nathan's take on "Willy o'Winsbury" is simply stunning: the arrangement is clearly taken from the Pentangle's Solomon's Seal album (or from whomever they may have borrowed it), and the vocal is remarkably evocative. It would be really fun to hear Nathan sing this with Jacqui doing the female lines and Danny Thompson on bass! Maybe in some fantasy folk festival . . .



This disc also features a fine cover of Stan's "The Puddler's Tale." Overall, I would heartily recommend this album. And I suspect even better is on the way."