I recently saw psychedelic rock outfit Ghost Woman live, and for some reason the venue played good old country music leading up to their show. Although I didn’t really understand that combination, it did put me in the right mood for Corb Lund‘s new full-length, El Viejo – dedicated to his friend Ian Tyson, who passed away a few months back (he was occasionally called ‘El Viejo’, or ‘the old one’). The title song has a central place on the album, a goosebump moment: “We played up most all of your songs // But with you and Don and Baxter gone // That sure leaves some boots to fill // And I’m not sure we ever will.”
The eleven original songs here sound quite different from those on the Canadian singer/guitarist’s 2020 Agricultural Tragic LP, which easily made it onto my year-end list at the time. All new tracks are fully acoustic – banjos, mandolins, string basses and stripped-down drums – and were recorded in Corb’s living room. It makes for an atmospheric and intimate listen, heartfelt roots music but certainly not a dark experience. I imagine it would also work well before any live show, but I would prefer to see this band perform these fascinating stories themselves.
El Viejo, produced by Corb Lund with Grant Siemens and Scott Franchuk, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through New West Records. Featuring The Hurtin’ Albertans: Corb Lund (vocals, acoustic guitar), Grant Siemens (acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, resonator and nylon string guitars, banjo, mandolin), Sean Burns (upright bass, background vocals, harmonica), Lyle Molzan (drums, percussion). Gang vocals on Old Familiar Drunken Feeling by The Southern Alberta Community Singers