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New Tatoo
Artist: The John Cowan Band
Label: Pinecastle
Length: 11 Tracks/46.52 Minutes
My buddy Greg Martin (The Kentucky Headhunters) introduced me to John Cowan a few years back by playing Cowan’s amazing cover of Yes "Long Distance Runaround" from the Always Take Me Back CD. I was amazed that song sounded so well with a bluegrass flavor (banjo and all!) and I instantly took to the soaring, soulful tenor of Mr. Cowan.
New Tatoo is a refreshing change of pace— captivating acoustic progressive bluegrass with interesting musical twists and amazing vocals. The album is chock full of story songs, catchy instrumental breaks, and haunting musical/yrical passages that will stick with you. Fans of Cowan’s previous ground-breaking work with New Grass Revival will welcome the return to a more acoustics/roots style of music and production. But there are enough elements of other musical styles mixed into New Tatoo to please fans of many types of music—country, Americana, power-pop, southern rock, heck even fans of Led Zeppelin will find a lot to love here.
Of note is the final song "Drown." The song describes the sexual abuse that Cowan suffered at 8 years old. It is stark and tough…difficult to listen to, and a painful reminder that people all over the world have to deal with this type of abuse. Cowan is to be commended for touching on this subject with honesty and I hope in some way it might bring some healing or help someone else. The listener’s views on God's involvement in the world might differ from Cowan’s but the artist's struggle to find answers or make sense of this is understandable:
And if God is a spirit tell me where does he goRead more about the song "Drown" here: http://www.johncowan.com/index2.php?content=journal
Is he busy with devils confessing their woes
I guess it’s up to us to find one another
And try and touch souls and try to recover
The lives we’re making all over again
In hope that some child will never again…
Drown
Visit the John Cowan Band online: http://www.johncowan.com/
Barry Nothstine hosts Soul Frequency Radio ( http://www.soulfrequency.com) a weekly freeform FM radio show showcasing progressive rock, instrumental rock, power-pop, psychedelic rock, rock classics, blues, and more—great rock for the ages!