Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer

Seven is the Number (2006)



In 2002, Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer were on the fast-track to folk fame. With three critically acclaimed albums in their discography, a slew of superlative reviews and an aggressive North American tour schedule which included a five-week stint with legend JOAN BAEZ, the duo was poised for greatness. Then, suddenly and sadly, Dave Carter died of a heart attack in July 2002 while the duo was on tour in Massachusetts. He was 49.

With SEVEN IS THE NUMBER, Tracy Grammer fulfills her promise to bring the last Dave & Tracy project to fruition. Begun in the duo's home studio during the winter of 2001-2002, SEVEN is essentially a re-recording of songs from Carter's out-of-print solo album, which had been released prior to his collaboration with Grammer. SEVEN was unfinished at the time of Carter's death; Grammer and engineer Mark Frethem finished the tracking, mixing and mastering in May 2006.

SEVEN IS THE NUMBER brings together dustbowl drifters, evangelists and prisoners, politicians and gamblers and defenders of the land. With acoustic guitars, violin, mandolin, and two perfectly matched voices, the arrangements are refreshingly spare and astoundingly appropriate. The frenetic and evangelical "Snake-Handlin' Man" arrives like a bat out of hell after the dreamy, violin-drenched title track, while faux-tuba accents mock the carnival-like underworld in the wry Texas Underground. Mournful mandolin tumbles across the desolate highways of "Gas Station Girl" while "The Promised Land" is an energetic guitar tune rocked by the fires of rebellious and disaffected youth.

This long-awaited, highly anticipated final release by Dave & Tracy delivers on all the promise of the duo's first three albums, and then some. Coming four years after Carter's death, SEVEN is destined to be both a sentimental favorite as well as a valuable glimpse at the early writings of a musical and lyrical genius. With Grammer's graceful and emotive backing on violin, mandolin, percussion and vocals, SEVEN is an absolutely essential album for collectors of the duo's work.


TrackListings:

01. Seven Is the Number
02. Snake-Handlin' Man
03. Red (Elegy)
04. The Promised Land
05. Hey Tonya
06. Texas Underground
07. Gas Station Girl
08. Long, Black Road Into Tulsa Town
09. Workin' for Jesus
10. Gun Metal Eyes
11. Sarah Turn 'Round

Posted @ 320 kbps cbr




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When I Go (2002)



"When I Go," the opening song and title track to Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer's first CD, previously limited in its availability and now re-released on a larger label, is a haunting piece about death that brings in myriad lyrical and musical metaphors from the American west of the Native Americans combined with the Celtic mythology brought to that region of the world. Featuring Carter's banjo and vocals, accompanied by Grammer's violin and backing vocals, it is a sparsely arranged number that hits home even harder since Carter's premature death from a heart attack on 19 July 2002. Although it was written for his mother, it now takes on even more poignancy.

This independently released album that was recorded mostly in Grammer's kitchen on a tight budget in 1998 was, as Grammer states in the CD booklet, "the album that launched our career in the folk music world." It places them clearly in the bluegrass-tinged element of folk music, but it's not truly bluegrass music. It's more a relaxed acoustic folk style that defies a niche within the acoustic music universe. There are shades of Bob Dylan in his most authentic folk mood in "Don't Tread on Me" as Carter packs dense lyrics in a song that, like most of his compositions, is more of a story. "Lancelot" is the old American west's version of Arthurian literature, complete with a gentle yodel; and dead set in the middle of the CD is a song of lost love and magic, "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love," a counterpoint duet sung only to a gentle acoustic guitar in the background.

Carter's songwriting produces an eerily realistic dreamlike world that is only a bend or two in the road from our own. Populated by deceased rock music stars ("Elvis Presley"), the defeated ("Frank to Valentino") and "new age wonders" ("The River, Where She Sleeps"), it is accentuated by only a handful of acoustic instruments that still manage to create and change moods in a matter of measures. Grammer's frantic violin in "Little Liza Jane" builds the tension; Carter's guitar relaxes the mood a bit, then both instruments succeed in creating the final crescendo.

"Postmodern mythic American folk music" is quite a mouthful, but it's the term that Carter and Grammer have used to describe their sound. It sounds a bit new age and perhaps even rather pretentious, but it pretty accurate. The misfortune now is that there is such a limited supply of it available. Carter and Grammer were due to return to the recording studio in December 2002; perhaps some tapes hidden away, yet to be released, will be uncovered. Dave Carter's passing has taken some poetry away from the world. Where I Go is a remarkable representation of Carter and Grammer's early work. ~ by Ellen Rawson


TrackListings:

01. When I Go
02. Don't Tread On Me
03. Annie's Lover
04. Grand Praire Tx Homesick Blues
05. Kate And The Ghost Of Lost Love
06. The River, Where She Sleeps
07. Lancelot
08. Frank To Valentino
09. Little Liza Jane
10. Elvis Presley

Posted @ 256 kbps cbr



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Drum Hat Buddha (2001)



Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer would be impressive as solo artists, but together they have become the up-and-coming duo to keep an eye on. Drum Hat Buddha follows the critically acclaimed Tanglewood Tree, featuring the same dense, symbol-filled lyrics set to fairly straightforward arrangements. Multiple violins and a cello perfectly underpin "Disappearing Man," a quiet melody that evokes a new birth -- a coming of age -- with Grammer's lovely vocal carrying the weight of the old-world religious imagery. Carter, aided by Grammer's harmony, sings the magnetic "41 Thunderer," painting a tale of the old West in a few spare words. "Highway 80" is an upbeat country stomper in the same mold as "Hey Conductor" from Tanglewood Tree, while "236-6132" is a bouncy recollection of a lover's phone number. Most of these lyrics are very heavy, and their meaning isn't always obvious. "Love, the Magician" begins much like Townes Van Zandt's "Tecumseh Valley," only to blossom into a mystical story of runaway lovers. When the father finally believes he has cornered the lovers, a pair of lovebirds appear and fly away. All of these songs are supported by good instrumental work, with Grammer's violin adding atmospheric touches and Carter's guitar providing a tasteful acoustic backdrop. Overall, Drum Hat Buddha holds up well to Grammer and Carter's earlier work, though it is hard to match the quality of songs like "The Mountain" and "Walkin' Away From Caroline" from Tanglewood Tree. Fans will not get hung up over this. Instead, they'll concentrate on the great harmony, opaque lyrics, and acoustic sound they've come to expect from this exciting folk duo.


TrackList:

01. Ordinary Town 2:48
02. Tillman Co. 3:26
03. Disappearing Man 3:49
04. The Power And Glory 2:45
05. 236-6132 3:04
06. 41 Thunderer 5:03
07. Gentle Arms Of Eden 3:03
08. I Go Like The Raven 3:35
09. Highway 80 (she's A Mighty Good Road) 2:23
10. Love, The Magician 4:18
11. Merlin's Lament 3:35
12. Gentle Soldier Of My Soul

@192kbs



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Tanglewood Tree (2000)




Tracks

01. Happytown (All Right with Me) 3:34
02. Tanglewood Tree 3:42
03. The Mountain 3:39
04. Farewell to Saint Dolores 4:29
05. Hey Conductor 3:20
06. Crocodile Man 3:02
07. Walkin' Away from Caroline 5:09
08. Farewell to Fiddler's Rim 2:12
09. Cat-Eye Willie Claims His Lover 4:06
10. Cowboy Singer 3:44
11. Farewell to Bitterroot Valley 2:37

Quality: 190kbps VBR




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