 |
 It was 6:00pm on Sunday 30th May 1999 at the Quiet
Valley Ranch in the West Texas Hill Country when the
four-piece ensemble led by Keith Greeninger took the
stage. One hour later - the verdict - I was helplessly
addicted to the music I had just heard. Another of those
memorable musical moments had been implanted in this
heart - for as long as it dares to beat. It's amazing
how a concert grand piano, accordion, double bass, acoustic
guitars, resonator guitar and flute can invest what
are already stunning tunes, about life, love (lost and
won) and death, with such vibrancy.
Come to think of it, Californian musicians have been
the source of the most interesting music on my most
recent visits to the Kerrville Folk Festival. Back in
1992 it was Michael McNevin. 1996 produced an introduction
to Joel Rafael. At the threshold of the next millennium,
Keith Greeninger, a 1997 Kerrville New Folk winner,
did it......and how.
Over the ensuing months I've played this 1997 album
ad infinitum. Some folk around here would probably offer,
"ad nauseam." Based on the foregoing act of repetition,
Wind River Crossing has ascended to my personal,
and rather select, Library of Recorded Fame.
On a number of tracks there's a hint of Jackson Browne's
music, principally from his fruitful, collaborative
period with David Lindley. No copyist, Greeninger leavens
his melodies with a dash of acoustic blues and a considerable
measure of the rhythms from the land of Baja California,
Sonora, Chihuahua et al. Vocally, where necessary, there's
a throaty roughness to Greeninger's delivery or a heartrending
ache that perfectly captures the often anguished situations
painted by his words.
Clocking in at just over 64 minutes duration, the only
cover on this set is the Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia
collaboration "Broke Down Palace." Among the supporting
players enlisted by Greeninger are Flaco Jimenez (accordion),
Pete "Coke" Escovedo (percussion) and Martin Simpson
(guitar).
In "Mercy of the San Joaquin" Maria and the unnamed
narrator are fruit pickers in the fields of California's
San Joaquin Valley who, unknown to their parents, partake
in late night trysts. Their desperate plight is further
magnified by the lovers' seemingly unattainable dream
of making sufficient money to allow them to return to
their homeland, Mexico. Elsewhere there's the delightful
"Josephina," the thoughtful hymn to mother Earth "My
Religion," and "Catch A Glimpse," a call to stop, untie
and find a new way to ensure the survival of mankind
on this planet.
Quite frankly, all the way from the gentle opening
title cut through to the eleven minute closer "North
to Southeast," Wind River Crossing is a musical
journey of truly epic and thoughtful proportions. Enrich
your life today.
|
