Redneck Recommenders No 8 - Rod Dowsett - Rhyme Or Reason Thursday March 20th 2008 For the last few years I’ve seen Rod Dowsett at the Tamworth Country Music Festival - but only in passing. A number years ago he was performing on the footpath in front of the Tudor hotel - with backing tracks. He’s come a long way since then. He got rid of those awful midi files a few years ago - moved inside the Tudor and seems to have made the Tudor his home now - complete with band. You can usually catch him late night downstairs at the Tudor with his band (and unfortunately he’s actually one of the few late night country gigs around Tamworth at the festival!). My neglect of having seen him was not due to lack of interest on my part but only in my own scheduling conflict. However - this year (08) I finally got to see Rod and his band in action - at the Toohey’s Battle of the Bands competition where his band ("Cold Hard Truth") and my band ("Bayou Boogie Boys") participated in the action. (We both lost - by the way - to a highly entertaining country show band with two gorgeous blondes called "Ruckus"!). However - I did get to see Rod Dowsett and the Cold Hard Truth for the first time. I met up with Rod after the show and introduced myself…we traded albums (one of the unexpected advantages of being an artist - you get to trade music with other artists!). As I listened to the album I realised that I was on to something special. The closest comparison that I can make is either Chris Knight or an early Steve Earle - the songwriting is that good - it’s poignant and personal. He’s particularly good with character development. "Tobacco May" is about a madam in a boom town and the song takes you straight into the middle of a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. "12 Foot Tinny" takes you to the North Coast of NSW in the 1980’s - complete with BBQ, fishing trips, heat and beer. "Shot Gun Wedding" transports you to hillbillyville…where the best man is your new wife’s uncle - and though you’re ’forced’ into this marriage - you realise how attractive she is when you lift the veil to kiss her…and so does, rather uncomfortably - your new uncle…(yuck!). There are four qualities that make his songwriting so good. One is his absolute fearlessness in saying out loud what is often thought quietly - just raw honesty. The other is that his songs have an unexpected twist and turn - you’re always listening for the next line - because sometimes the next line goes where you don’t expect it too. The third is his attention to detail - descriptions that bring you to a time and place - like "Tobacco May" - who "rolled her own with a slight tremble in her hand". Finally - and most importantly - his ability to mix sadness with beauty - true beauty always has at least a touch of sadness. His songs are so honest - in less skillful hands they might be depressing. However…there’s enough beauty in his lyrics to bring hope through the sadness…no mean feat - even though the songs are about touch subjects like depression and suicide ("Rhyme Or Reason"), a man who talks with his parents after having been involved in a drink driving fatality ("Thank You") and the abject poverty of a woman with two small children and a no account man ("Bread Crumbs"). There’s no easy or pat answers in these songs - just the beauty of the human spirit that carries on despite bad circumstances. It’s not all bad news, however…he gets raucous and rocky with "Country Living" and "It’s My Shout". These are fun enough songs - for me they don’t have the impact of a lot of the others - but are a nice contrast. He is a songwriter - so the vocals are what I’d call ’songwriter’ vocals. But they do the job quite adequately - and will undoubtedly improve as he does more recording. The main problem I had with them was the lack of dynamic…all the same level…so that by track 10 I was a bit tired of hearing them. However…I didn’t notice at all until track 10 on my second listen through - so it couldn’t have been too distracting! (I think mainly we singers develop this when doing lots of pub gigs without an adequate P.A. - so we end up pushing the whole show rather than developing a dynamic singing style). It’s a great album and you will want to get it. Rod is an independent artist - truly independent. He’s not trying to have a ’commercial’ appeal - which means he’s not trying to act like something that he’s not so that it’s more so-called ’marketable’. Rod Dowsett is the real deal. The album is a treat - so treat yourself to some ’cold hard truth’ with Rod Dowsett’s - "Rhyme or Reason". Buy it at http://www.roddowsett.com I used to do a weekly radio program called "Hi-Tech Redneck" on 2RRR 88.5FM in Sydney but I’ve unfortunately have had to give it away – for good reason however – too busy doing live gigs on Friday nights. One of the things I loved about radio was listening and recommending new material - so here’s where I get to do that - and in keeping with the spirit of my radio show I call the spot "Redneck Recommenders" - just music I love and you may not have heard of yet!
|
|