Jan. 30, 1996
by Seth Rogovoy
NORTH ADAMS
Singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey kicked off the new "NASC Cafe" series in The Grove at the Amsler Campus Center at North Adams State College on Tuesday night with a set of his alternative, funky folk music.
Mulvey, who also performed Wednesday afternoon in the "Music To Munch By" series in Hoosac Harbor, is one of the new breed of contemporary folksingers who borrow freely from other styles of music. Thus, Mulvey is alternately a sensitive balladeer, a new-age guitar picker, a yearning bluesman and an upbeat rocker.
What ties all his work together and gives him his own sound is, surprisingly for a folksinger, a foundation in funk. While Mulvey is a literate songwriter, with a keen eye for detail and a gift for poetic imagery, at bottom he plays groove music, sort of a one-man, folkie version of Earth, Wind and Fire.
The 1994 Boston Acoustic Underground winner who hails from Wisconsin and now calls Cummington home previewed songs from his new album, "Rapture" (Eastern Front), due out officially next Tuesday.
The title cut, which boasts a hypnotic bass figure and a lyrical hook to match, is already Mulvey's signature tune. But he flexed his muscles on a number of other songs, too. "All In Good Fun" was a lighthearted take on city life that acknowledged a debt to Vince Guaraldi's "Peanuts" music; "The Dreams" was inspired by Mulvey's three-year apprenticeship performing for commuters in Boston's subway system.
"Half the Time" was a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style folk-rocker, and "If Love Is Not Enough" hinted at Latin dance music. On "Black Rabbit," Mulvey stretched out instrumentally, suggesting that if he ever runs out of words he could probably make his mark as a guitar stylist.
With shoulder-length hair and goatee like one of his twenty-something peers in an alternative-rock band, Mulvey peppered his set with well- chosen covers that told as much about him as his own tunes. Songs by Dar Williams, Tom Waits, James McMurtry, Emmylou Harris and U2 showed that a great song is a great song regardless of its origin.
While the sound was good, the audience was attentive and the price was right - the program is free and open to the public - it's too bad that the "The NASC Cafe" is situated in a snack bar where the decor is inspired by fast-food joints. It is hard to believe there isn't a place on campus more appropriate to house this worthy new showcase of up-and-coming New England songwriters.
(This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 1, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.)
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