06/18:  Song of the Day.  Gillian Welch–The Way It Would Be

I’ve been a fan of Gillian Welch’s music from the very moment that I first discovered her debut album Revival back in 1997.  The music on that album instantly reminded me of the old country songs and hymns that my grandmother would sing or hum while she cooked in the kitchen.  This was real country music, not the bubblegum crap that parades as country music on CMT these days.  There is a timeless quality to Gillian’s early songs, almost to the point that you can’t tell if they were written in 1927 or 1997.  It’s truly amazing, deeply-rooted American music.

In the time since first discovering the beauty of Gillian Welch’s music (as well as that of her performing partner David Rawlings), I’ve seen them live maybe 15 times at various festivals and solo concerts (including a performance here in C’ville back in November of 2003).  And as new albums were released, I was right there waiting for them and I still haven’t been disappointed.  (For my money, Gillian’s Time (The Revelator) album from 2001 is still one of the finest country-folk records of the last ten years to my ears, but I’m always up for a good debate.)

[Gillian Welch photo by John Chiasson]

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