Review of a CD I'm on

Dick Weissman
Four Directions

Multi-instrumentalist Weissman has been active on the folk scene since his days with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie in the iconic folk group The Journeymen. This all-originals double CD set (one instrumental, one with vocals) reveals a musical landscape both sonorous and expansive in style, subject matter, time frames, instrumentation and overall alchemy, with contributions from several of Weissman’s friends including Mary Flowers, Anne Weiss, The Robert Zimmerman Memorial Choir (on the tongue-in-cheek parody “So Much Dylan”), Noah Peterson and Chico Schwall. In addition to banjo and various guitars (often over-dubbed), Weissman also proves virtuosic on the banjeaurine, kazoo, mandola, melodica and piano. He likewise adds a dash of stage presence with insightful commentary on each track on each CD’s final cut.

A pair of suites particularly impress on the instrumental disc, as he exhibits a knack for expertly evoking the ambience of a locale or mood. Four Corners Suites (“Canyon de Chelly,” “New Mexico,” “Durango” and “Four Corners”) eloquently captures the Native Americana and Spanish atmosphere rife in the region, wile the Long and Silent Journey of Wesley Westbrooks (Arkadelphia,” “Train to Kansas City” and “Charley’s Not Home”) conjures the perilous boyhood saga of the renowned gospel composer. Weissman also nods to blues guitarist Jerry Ricks on “Jerry Told Me,” leans jazz-wise on “Sam Brown’s Blues” and “Double Banjo Intuition,” and mixes up the Brazilian ethos of Baden Powell with some Claude Debussy tonal coloration son “Bix, Claude and Baden.”

Weissman is an accomplished songwriter as well. Favorites on disc two encompass the nostalgic “Three Dreamers,” which recalls his Journeymen days, along with a pair about the late union activist Karen Silkwood (“One Big Union” and “Dancing in My Dreams”) a tribute to early mentor “Blind Gary Davis,” a road songs dedicated to Karen Dalton and “Larimer Street,” a reflective vignette about an old Denver railroad man.

Recommended.
Sing Out – GvonT