It is now more than six decades since Tom Paxton was among the founding artists on the famous Greenwich Village music scene in New York City. Since then a generation - or two - of talented folk and bluegrass artists have followed in his illustrious footsteps. And what better than to have them salute the folk legend on a memorable tribute album.
Titled Bluegrass Sings Paxton, the 12-track album could, more fittingly, be described as “Newgrass Sings Paxton,” or perhaps, to be strictly accurate these days, “Americana Sings Paxton.” For this easy-listening collection includes some of the big names across a multi-genre of acoustic music, from bluegrass Hall of Famer Alice Gerrard and big-name Tim O’Brien to up-and-comers like Unspoken Tradition’s Sav Sankaran and Aaron Burdett from the Steep Canyon Rangers.
Paxton, now 86, is still writing at his home in Virginia – sometimes up to five songs a week - and, indeed, this compilation includes two recent compositions. But, of course, he is known for writing such folk classics as “The Last Thing On My Mind,” “Ramblin’ Boy,” “Can’t Help But Wonder (Where I’m Bound)” and “The Last Hobo.” As might be expected, all get an outing on the tribute album.
With more than 60 albums in his discography, Paxton makes an appearance on this homage to himself.
His first outing - on the opening track - is a wonderful fiddle-fueled duet with all-female string band Della Mae on “I Can’t Help But Wonder (Where I’m Bound).” Paxton’s vocals are at their eternal best as he swaps versus with the band before synchronizing beautifully on the chorus. It has long been on Della Mae’s repertoire. “We did it live in the studio, no overdubs or anything” Paxton told The Bluegrass Situation. “I had a ball doing that track.”
His other contribution comes when he teams up with long-time collaborators Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, with whom he released a double album All New two years ago. The three combine on “All I Want,” the first of Paxton’s recent writes.
The other newbie is “You Took Me In” which he co-wrote with Tim O’Brien and his wife Jan Fabricius. It is O’Brien’s contribution and he does his co-writers proud on an up-tempo number which Paxton calls “gospel without being gospel.” He told BGS: “I took the literal gospel out of it and kept everything else!”
I could take no more and I was lost in sin
I was tired I could take no more
You made me a pallet down on your floor
You didn’t have to, but you took me in
The Bluegrass Sings Paxton project started with a conversation between Paxton and Grammy-winning producer Cathy Fink who has worked with Paxton for over 40 years. She had long thought about making his music more familiar to the bluegrass world. Another award-winning songwriter-producer Jon Weisberger shared her vision and the pair then set about recruiting suitable artists for the album.
Finding the talent wasn’t hard. Not only were they all eager to contribute, but most nominated their favourite Paxton song to interpret – among them Danny Paisley, son of popular bluegrass traditionalist Bob Paisley who played with the likes of Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb and George Jones. Danny wanted “Ramblin’ Boy” because his dad performed it and he remembers Bob taking him as a child to see Paxton at a folk festival.
Indeed, Paisley does Tom and his dad proud with an infectious high-tone interpretation of the classic.
The album ends with “The Last Thing On My Mind,” certainly Paxton’s most popular song and probably his greatest composition. He first recorded it in 1964 and overs the years some of the greatest names in music – everyone from the Grateful Dead and Willie Nelson to Judy Collins and Phil Everly – have it in their catalogues.
So when Sister Sadie were given the honour of making a bluegrass interpretation of this classic, much rested on their shoulders. But the first all-female band to be named as IBMA Entertainer of the Year come up trumps. Their wonderful harmony is as soothing as Deanie Richardson’s infusing fiddle.
In fact, Richardson goes on to form the backbone of the all-star backing band Fink and Weisberger enlisted for the project. Besides Richardson, the lineup includes guitarist Chris Jones, banjo player Kristin Scott Benson from the Grascals, mandolinist Darren Nicholson and bassist Nelson Williams.
And their musical fire-power is no more apparent than on a very intoxicating version of “The Last Hobo” which sees Jones taking lead on vocals. It was a song selected by Jones who told BGS he picked it because the tune “felt like a classic Tom Paxton third-person story song, sort of in the spirit of “Ramblin’ Boy” in a way. It has the kind of tenderness that is so often present in Tom’s songs.” He also said he felt the band “clicked well together” and gave the music “a natural sound, which helped give the impression that these were bluegrass songs to begin with, even if they weren’t”
So what does the great man himself think? Paxton said he took a somewhat hands-off role in the making of the album. “I just sat on the sidelines in amazement,” he said. “I was just blown away.”
He added to BGS: “I’m still the same writer I was when I wrote ‘Last Thing On My Mind.’ It’s like a farmer who puts in the same crop every year. It’s the same farmer.”
And this is a bluegrass crop which will continue to bear fruit.
Paul Cutler
Editor Crossroads – Americana Music Appreciation
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