Nobody that I know has a stronger sense of community than people from Newfoundland. Maybe it's that Island thing, because I certainly feel it in P.E.I. and Cape Breton as well. But Newfoundlanders in particular never lose that visceral need to feel connected to their home.
Maybe
that's why Alan Doyle and company felt compelled to take strength from
their friends and fellow musicians from Newfoundland in this new six
track E.P. A road warrior by any definition of the term, Doyle has spent
the best part of the past quarter century either on tour or getting
ready for the next one, so Covid put him off-kilter. He couldn't even
hang with his musical friends at home thanks to the virus. He needed to
rekindle that sense of community, to strengthen the bonds rather than
let them slip away.
The result is this all-star
set, featuring a track each from all five: Doyle, Fortunate Ones, The
Ennis Sisters, Rachel Cousins and The Once. Plus, there's a final tune
that features all of them, "It's OK," a reworking Doyle song from his
last release, Rough Side Out. That was the only time the artists saw
each during the process, working in a socially-distant recording
session. Instead they formed a community around the common goal of this
release, proving that there's always a way to connect.
These
are some of the best singers from NL, whether it's solo, duo or trio,
and all of the songs here reflect that, rich ballads with emotional
vocals shining through each cut. Home comes into play often, mostly
through missing it, or the spirit of it. It seems these travelling
musicians all share that, whether it's the dreamy folk of The Once on
"Lost Are Found," or Doyle's lonely hotel number from Nashvillle, "A
Tennessee Whisky and a Newfoundland Song," which evokes Ron Hynes and
"Sonny's Dream." It's going to be a long winter, and if any record can
help you get through it, it's this one.
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