My first exposure to David Bromberg was a few months ago listening to his 1974 album, Wanted Dead or Alive, which featured a fair number of members of the Grateful Dead. I spotted another Bromberg album recently in my recommendations from Apple Music, so I figured I’d give it a listen and write about it this time.
Oh wow, it turns out Jerry, Bill, Phil, Keith, and Donna of the Grateful Dead are also on this one. Now I’m even more excited to take a listen. I guess with that, I’ll jump right in.
“Hardworkin’ John” starts out with a really fast moving bluegrass guitar that is quickly joined by a fiddle of sorts, and possibly a mandolin as well. This song is pure bluegrass – great storytelling with a fast-paced, very tight jam by some acoustic instruments. I’m not sure what kind of bass is being played, but it’s doing a great job of keeping the song grounded. Wow, those vocals really roll over onto one another, while the guitar, mandolin, and fiddle all really jam out. This a sweet jam, in my opinion. These solos are super sweet, all building off the last instrument’s solo, meanwhile incorporating some classic bluegrass licks and making that portion of the song their own, all while sharing in a really sweet bluegrass jam.
Oh wow, “Sharon”, has a super bluesy feel to it. Wow, there’s a bluegrass feel to it still, but I think there’s some horns and a synth too. This song is a great fusion of genres. Dang, these vocals get really interesting, almost reminding me of Jim Morrison at times. Wow, that saxophone is really juicy. Add in the gospel type background vocals and you’ve got a heck of a song. That drum break was super awesome. The electric guitar tone sounds almost like it’s crying. The fusion of genres in this song is awesome. At this point I’m sort of reminded of Van Morrison and Them a little bit in the delivery of the song. Dang, those keys are adding such a great flavor to the mix. Awesome song.
Wow, “Medley of Irish Fiddle Tunes”, has such a great European folk feel to it, sort of reminds me of Planxty a little bit, as well as Caedmon, and even Steeleye Span. It’s got almost a medieval feel to it – especially as it speeds up, in my opinion. This solo guitar piece is incredibly impressive. The range on this album is incredible so far, I’m looking forward to the rest of it for sure.
Wow, “Diamond Lil” is such a soft, delicate song. It sounds like a ballad of sorts. Wow, that pedal steel slide guitar is super dream-inducing, as the electric guitar delicately melts away with the piano, and the drums and acoustic guitar keep the momentum of the song moving forward, as delicately as possible. Those gospel-like backing vocals are really making the tune all that much sweeter. Bromberg sings in such a delicate, personal manner on this tone. It’s almost the opposite of his style on “Hardworkin’ John”. The entire track is so delicately performed, it’s really quite heartfelt. Oh wow, this instrumental break is very moving. The acoustic guitar and piano are having a very delicate jam, and drums and bass play even more softly behind them.
“Jugband Song” definitely has that old style feel from old delta blues groups like Jack Kelly & His South Memphis Jug Band. This definitely has a great bluesy feel to it. The guitar has that classic blues sound, as does the bass that keeps the song trucking along. The mandolin and harmonica really add great little parts that really pack some flavor into the song. The vocals really have great feeling to it, they almost remind me of Gram Parsons in a way – definitely pretty smooth, but a heck of a lot of emotion packed in.
“Demon In Disguise” is the other track (“Sharon was the first”) on the album that features some of the Grateful Dead. The acoustic guitar intro has a great emotion to it, that are accentuated by the piano and bass. Dang, the song picks up tempo really nicely right about the time the saxophone is added. This song has a great attitude, definitely has a bluesy rock and roll feel that has a sort of folky country inflection. That acoustic guitar really takes some left turns in some of its playing that really adds to the song quite nicely, and that the other instruments quickly adapt and build and incorporate into their own portions of the song. Wow, that song has a super juicy ending to it.
“Tennessee Waltz” brings back the bluegrass feel with a certain country-type inflection to it. Honestly, it kind of sounds a bit like Billy Strings at the moment. There’s still a bit of a bluesy feel to this one too. I’m kind of reminded of the Kris Kristofferson album I listened to a few weeks ago a bit. The mandolin playing really is superb, and adds to the song quite nicely.
“Mr. Bojangles” has a super folky feel to it, and almost has a certain waltz-like feel to the instrumentation. This one has some great storytelling to it, and the guitar is quite reliable in what it plays, differing very slightly as it repeats, adding some variation and flavor to quite an interesting tune. The song feels very sincere, it kind of reminds me of Paul Simon a bit. Bromberg comes in with a bit of talking about the story behind the song, which is based on a true story according to Bromberg. It definitely adds to the folkiness to the tune, in my opinion. Wow, the talking turns seamlessly into singing. Bromberg seems to feel this song on a very intimate level, from what I can gather. Definitely a great rendition of the song. The guitar and bass get extremely tasty near the end of the song, almost bluesy, but both very heartfelt.
The transition into “Sugar In the Gourd” is very seamless, and the change-up from something very heartfelt to something so joyous in this bluegrass jam tune is super interesting to how it plays in the album, and quite exciting at that. That’s an absolutely ripping jam to finish the album off; that was awesome.
Wow, this album my David Bromberg has me incredibly interested in his other works at this point. There was so much range in sound, and the fusion of non-traditional bluegrass instruments into songs with that sort of base with a healthy measure of rock and roll to them was an eye-opening experience. Definitely worth a listen in my opinion, and you’ll probably enjoy it especially if you enjoy blues, bluegrass, and/or folk music at all – definitely a super interesting mix.
-A