THE BEAT
Barbara Kessler, Linda Nawn, Peg Loughran
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 17, 1997) --
Barbara Kessler: More than a notion
There could have been worse things than sounding like Shawn Colvin, as some thought Barbara Kessler did to a fault on her 1995 debut, "Stranger To This Land." The CD, which offered catchy, country- inflected, pop-folk arrangements with a taste of the Beatles and Motown, garnered Kessler widespread acclaim, radio airplay, four Boston Music Award nominations and the Outstanding Debut Acoustic Album award, the 1995 Kerrville New Folk Award and the Female Acoustic Artist of the Year Award from the National Academy of Songwriters.As a result, her intriguing follow-up, last year's "Notion"(Eastern Front), came as a shock to some listeners. Produced by Peter Gabriel drummer Jerry Marotta, it was much more varied and experimental. If "Stranger" evoked an upbeat Shawn Colvin, then "Notion" -- with its processed vocals and occasional industrial-folk touches -- reminded some of Suzanne Vega's more recent work with producer Mitchell Froom.
It was good enough to make this critic's year-end, Top 10 list, in any case. "I was pretty clear about wanting to experiment a bit," said Kessler in a phone interview from her home outside of Boston. "I wanted to play electric guitar, and Jerry knew that I wasn't trying to just stick to one sound. It didn't concern me that I might lose some people. I don't want to be held back by something like that."
Where "Stranger" was bright and cheery, "Notion" was more intimate and edgy, both musically and lyrically. The kickoff track, "That Hurricane" -- propelled by Peter Gabriel sideman Tony Levin's funky bass hinting at Police-like pop-reggae -- surveys the damage of a broken, stormy love affair. The title track introduces the album's industrial textures underneath a paranoid plea for privacy: "I'll give you an inkling/Spare you a notion/Nothing more/You get what you pay for."
Continuing in that vein, "Carolina" is a gothic, Conradian trip through the South, "Jane's Last Day" takes a look at a planned suicide, and "Me" is a full-throttle, flawlessly-executed send-up of alternative-rock poseurs. In all, a far cry from "There's nothing better than being happy with you" or "Let's take a ride in the country baby/Take a roll in the hay," to offer just two typical lines off her first album.
Like "Stranger," however, "Notion" comes chock full of pop hooks. "I'm a total sucker for pop," confesses Kessler. "I grew up listening to classic FM rock and also AM radio, and I love Crowded House and Squeeze." No kidding.
The Barbara Kessler Trio, with Phil Antoniades on percussion and Jeff St. Pierre on bass, performs this Sunday, May 20, at 6, at Milltown Studios in North Adams, in the final concert of the Music on Main Street series. The special ticket price of $15 includes a CD copy of "Notion." Proceeds from the show will benefit Albany public radio station WAMC. Call 662-5770 for more information and reservations.
Linda Nawn: Folk homecoming
It will be a kind of homecoming for Linda Nawn when she warms up the crowd for Barbara Kessler at Milltown Studios in North Adams this Sunday at 6. The one-time North Adams State College student is now a fixture on the Boston folk scene, having worked in music management and booking, as well as helping to run things at Club Passim, the venerable Cambridge coffeehouse. But in the past year, Nawn has stepped out from behind the scenes to reveal her considerable talent as a singer-songwriter. Her debut CD, "Windows and Clocks" (Nawnsense), is chock full of jazzy, contemporary folk tunes that portray characters caught in emotional stasis or turbulence. Backed by some of the finest musicians on Boston's acoustic music scene -- including Phil Antoniades on percussion, Jenny Hersh on bass, Duncan Watt on piano and Kris Delmhorst, a Williams College graduate, on cello -- Nawn boasts a wide vocal range and rich tone with a slight vibrato that compares favorably with Joan Baez.Peg Loughran: Splendid isolation
Peg Loughran's "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" (Low Rent) collects 10 traditional-flavored, original folk ballads performed with quiet intensity by the Tamworth, N.H.-based singer-songwriter and a stellar backup crew of musicians including Celtic fiddle whiz Eileen Ivers. The songs on the CD, produced by Green Linnett recording artist Robbie O'Connell, delineate characters stranded in various states of emotional isolation, but it is Loughran's gorgeously warm and airy soprano, and her lush, rich fingerpicking, that garners the listener's attention. The title track is a musical setting of the John Keats poem by that name. Loughran performs in the campus center at North Adams State College on Saturday night at 9 in a free concert sponsored by CC's Cafe.[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 17, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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