Three Horse Shoes
Artist: Phil Madeira
Label: Stunt (US) / Word (UK)
Length: 12 tracks/49.19 minutes
When you've guested on as many albums as Phil Madeira, it's only
fitting that your own work should feature a host of guests. For this follow-up
to Off Kilter, Madeira has filled out the sound with the help of
such players as Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong (the Choir), Dave Perkins,
Chris Donahue, Tommy Sims, Phil Keaggy, Terry Taylor, and Buddy Miller,
to name a few.
The music continues in similar vein to Off Kilter, a melting
pot of country, blues, folk, and rock, but more has been built upon the
stripped back foundations laid earlier. The fiddle solo on the first track
is probably the first sign of this, and the fuller guitar parts and frequent
use of a mandolin all serve to make this album a suitable progression.
Naming the album after a pub in Derbyshire in the UK may not have
been the most commercially sound move if Madeira wanted to appeal to the
broad scope of the CCM market that his session appearances have reached.
But once you get into it, it is obvious that forthright music is far more
important to Madeira and his cohorts than commercial appeal. Recent visits
to the UK have obviously been important to Madeira. The opening track,
"Mysterious Ways," speaks of this clearly:
Here in the Midlands I found my spirit
under a cloud in a field of green.
I can't explain it, somebody woke me,
I opened my eyes and I
walked into a dream.
Tracks such as "England" continue this theme, while others consider
further aspects of life, with the recurring image of journeying being very
evident. Mixing a group of trained backing vocalists with some friends
from the pub, the vocals on "Christmas This Year" make this one of the
most memorable tracks, but this album rests more on an unhurried, well-crafted
collectivism than hooky tunes.
The instrumental performances are well balanced with the vocals
being the most prominent ingredient in the melting pot. Underneath everything,
Chris Donohue's bass is very appropriate with some nicely considered progressions.
The other musicians all bring something of themselves. It was particularly
interesting to hear Phil Keaggy's mandolin work on "Candle to You," which
is typically well performed and fits Madeira's husky, understated vocals
extremely well. Madeira's trademark Hammond organ is present, of course,
and while it seems slightly overpowering on "It's Gonna Be Alright," it
is mostly a fitting part of the songs.
"Candle to You" appears to be a simple love song and is performed
in suitably poignant style, wrapped well around Madeira's warm and husky
vocals. "Christmas This Year" appears to be a simple song about not returning
home for Christmas, but could equally be a metaphor for the passage of
time and the changes it brings. The final two tracks, "It'll Do for Now"
and "Long Lane Rag," are a fitting close for the album. The former once
again pays tribute to friends found at the "Three Horse Shoes" and adds
Matt Slocum (Sixpence None the Richer) to the already strong cast of musicians.
"Long Lane Rag" is a slightly bluesy number about the continuing journeys
in life.
A strong follow-up to an impressive solo debut, this album again
showcases the fact that Phil Madeira is much more than just a session player.
By James Stewart (12/5/1998)
