RECORD REVIEWS

RECORD REVIEWS

Over the Rhine

Album: “Love & Revelation”

Grade: B

Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler share a marriage and the stage as the duo Over the Rhine, but often write separately, and so far that approach seems to work. For their latest album, Detweiler composed “Let You Down” – a pledge of commitment – and the Ohio couple sing it together, their partnership still harmonious after 30 years.

“Love & Revelation” is a subdued but lovely celebration of the milestone. It won’t surprise longtime fans that the topics are often sad and the tempos mostly slow, all the better to showcase Bergquist’s warm, wise, honest alto. She sounds better than ever, with a depth and richness that makes her voice resonate like a prayer.

The songs are strong, whether written by him or her. They address heartache, hope and the push and pull of the road and relationships. Bergquist and Detweiler co-produced, and a crack supporting cast includes Greg Leisz and Bradley Meinerding, who shine on electric guitar, and drummer Jay Bellerose, who makes sure the leisurely beat doesn’t stall.

–Steven Wine, Associated Press

Todd Snider

Album: “Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3”

Grade: A

The microphone pops when Todd Snider delivers an especially emphatic lyric, and his chair creaks under the weight of his performance. The rustic charm of the setting – Johnny Cash’s recording studio in Hendersonville, Tenn. – is audible throughout an album that ranks with Snider’s best work.

On “Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3,” Snider is clearly inspired by his historic surroundings, and he came armed with marvelous material to enhance the intimate front-porch feel. (The album title is a bit confusing, because there was no Vol. 1 or 2, and the CD jacket sports a photo of Snider holding a single finger aloft.)

The 34-minute set features mostly a one-man band, with occasional backing vocals from Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. Snider accompanies himself with Cash’s Martin guitar, a 12-string guitar, mandolin, harmonica and a four-string banjo that’s perfect on “The Blues on Banjo” even though he can barely play it.

As usual, Snider’s best instrument is his sharp wit. He sings a song about a song, fondly remembers an Elvis roadie, reflects on the history of TV and addresses our current follies, most pointedly on the closing “A Timeless Response to Current Events.”

Snider makes it all as engaging as a visit from a funny friend, a vibe not easily created. According to the excellent liner notes, Snider’s breathtaking screed on “The Blues on Banjo” was captured on the first take, but other songs involved up to 40 takes. Polish is sometimes needed to achieve raw beauty, as Johnny Cash well knew.

–Steven Wine, Associated Press

Renee Wahl and the Sworn Secrets

Album: “Cut to the Bone”

Grade: B

The first sound of Renee Wahl’s voice on her fine new album is enough to set off the comparisons to Rosanne Cash.

The opener is “To the Bone,” and the song’s first line even includes a black Cadillac, which of course was in the title of one of Cash’s best albums. Wahl’s “Cut to the Bone” has more in common with Cash’s fiery, passionate earlier work, and yet it sets itself apart with an intensity all its own.

For all that, though, her voice has the same kind of let-me-tell-you-something urgency that set Cash apart. There’s the vivid writing, too, when she describes “the smell of chicken and gasoline” on “Cold Day in Memphis.”

But Wahl, an Air Force veteran and physicist who is also a teacher, demonstrates the capacity to dig deep. There’s the edge of anger mixed with warmth and regret, as on the title cut and “From Here to There,” a song set on a long drive across Texas as she daydreams about a man she knew in Ireland.

“Me Before You” is a cleverly structured ballad with an evocative melody. “In the Field” describes lying in a field where a soldier has died, set against an understated but persistent military drum cadence.

Despite the similarities to Cash, this is an ambitious, fresh contribution to the Americana canon. The songs are well thought out and finely crafted, and several of them seem likely to endure.

–Scott Stroud, Associated Press