The River

Friday, January 09, 2004

E-mail/blog reply

>>on 1-8-03, Chlora wrote:

This guy [Greg Brown] is awesome! Thanks Bruce.

---

Chlora,

I’m glad you liked the lyrics I posted. I guess you are unfamiliar with Greg Brown. I discovered him about 5 years ago (hard to believe it’s been that many). Leigh recently asked me how I found Brown. I said it was just like anything else, you find something you like, a writer, an artist, and then you learn who they like, or they are mentioned in the same breath with some other folks you’ve never heard of and you make a mental note to investigate. It all depends on your interests. Singer-songwriters have always been a big one for me.

The first Greg Brown CD I purchased was Slant 6 Mind. I also own Further In and a Live Barn-Aid thing he is on. The first two are highly recommended. I’ve played Brown for both Leigh and a fellow music nut you “know,” Ray Sweatman. Neither shared my enthusiasm!! To be fair, Leigh didn’t hear much, and Whatever It Was, which was playing when she was in the living room, is a bit depressing. And Ray was rappin about some ESL adventure or something on his balcony when Brown came up on my mix CD playing on his stereo inside. Loud enough to be heard, but still.

Consequently, when Brown came to town lo those many years ago, before kids and 9-11, I went to see him by myself. And I heard the same question when I went to the men’s room. How’d you hear about Greg, one guy asked another, with that air of “damn, ain’t we the lucky few who got our asses out here to see this guy.” He’s one of those artists you have to discover. He ain’t gonna be trumpeted by The Media. It’s just one of the way’s you know he’s the real deal. Hearing his music is another. :)

I never explored Brown’s earlier music, nor did I buy a recent release, Covenant, which I’ve heard some of and think is worth owning. Guess I didn’t want to journey alone. Now, my friends are catching up with me ;-). And a friend of Leigh and I recently discovered Brown (that’s how I heard Covenant), so I’ve been getting back into the songster.

Over the holidays, we were in a Borders and I had a bit of a windfall in my pocket, so when I saw that a Greg Brown Essential Recordings compilation had been put out by Red House, I jumped on it. The fact that it also contained a DVD disc with a 46-minute documentary on Brown clinched it. I’m glad I did. The documentary is great. And the CD provides highlights from all those earlier albums that I can’t really afford to buy. So if you are new to Greg Brown, this is a good place to start.

Thought I’d pass along that tip. Here’s the link to his label, Red House Records: http://www.redhouserecords.com.

Best,

Brucey

Comments: Post a Comment