CARL WEINGARTEN

Escapesilence

Multiphase Records (2002)

review by Bill Binkelman

Escapesilence, the latest effort from dobro player/slide guitarist Carl Weingarten, is sheer musical pleasure. I loved it from the first playing (in fact, from the first track). Supported by Michael Manring on bass and ebow, Brian Knave on drums, percussion and harmonica, and Robin Bonell on cello.(as well as a few guest stars including Alex deGrassi and Robert Powell, who contributes some bad-ass pedal steel work), Weingarten crafts thirteen evocative instrumental numbers (mixing acoustic with some electric instruments) that run the gamut from rocking and uptempo to moody and introspective.

I was impressed at how Weingarten (who composed all the music) stayed in a minor key motif most of the time, which added to a distinct forlorn feeling on many tracks. Some songs have a morose somber mood while others are draped in mystery or clothed in bluesy bayou trappings (kinda like the music Ry Cooder provided for the Walter Hill film, Southern Comfort).

"Hand in the Sand" opens the album on a downbeat, sadly nostalgic note, with Weingarten playing both slide and dobro to paint a sepia-shaded tone poem. "Read the River" picks up the pace, but the mood is hardly celebratory - instead, the song hints of foreboding and subtle menace (this is the first track graced by Powell's pedal steel work and it fleshes out the song nicely). Later in the album, we're treated to a short slice of minimal delta blues on "A Life in the Family." Weingarten's offers up some superb solo work, hitting just the right notes (and bending more than a few, too). This cut is followed by probably the "cheeriest" song on the album, titled (ironically) "Bone Dog Blues," which spotlights Knave's smooth harmonica work, dueting with Weingarten (on dobro) in an optimistic, yet bluesy, vein.

While I enjoyed every song on Escapesilence, I loved the more downbeat tracks the most (owing more to my predilection for that kind of music). "After You've Gone" is appropriately sorrowful and features Barbara Else's amazing flights on classical flute - in fact, I swear this track reminds me (at times) of some snippets from Vince Guaraldi's score for one of the Charlie Brown specials (the Halloween one). And if you know that score, you will recall there are some moody moments in it. "Child's Play" (with Manring's usual bass wizardy outfront) is another winner, and will recall the best work from any one of several "early-era" Windham Hill artists; the track has that same jewel-like sound and feel that so much of the earlier "classic" new age music (a term I know Will Ackerman loathes) had in abundance. The CD's title track may be the best song on the recording. It's incredibly atmospheric, helped along by Rosa Koire's bluesy saxophone, evoking images of deserted city streets late at night illuminated by dim neon lights in the windows of bars long since closed.

Escapesilence illustrates just how fantastic the results can be when musicians take their art and their craft seriously, playing with passion and chops in equal measure. Some tracks sparkle with obvious viruosity while others work their magic with subtle nuance and restraint. Anchored by the hugely talented Carl Weingarten on his signature instruments, and assisted by a crew of fantastic supporting players, the album earns my highest recommendation.