Railroad Earth
Bird in a House
Sugar Hill Records

by William Michael Smith

Railroad Earth's Bird in a House is one of the more unusual and interesting musical statements I've encountered in a long while. Their music invites wonderful oxymoronic descriptions. Structured jam band. Modern traditionalists.

Essentially a revved-up virtuoso powergrass ensemble that takes off from traditional music before translating it into an entirely modern form, the band can at moments sound like everything from traditionalist folkies like Doc Watson and Vassar Clements to old hippie outfits like the Jefferson Airplane spinoff Hot Tuna with fiddler Papa John Creech. Some tracks even remind me of Michael Doucet's band, Beausoleil. Singer Todd Sheaffer's slightly reedy voice certainly has a lot in common with Mr. Doucet's, but one could be forgiven for mistaking him for Arlo Guthrie or Roger McGuinn occasionally. There is also a definite Country Gazette feel to some of the work, the feel of a band with breakneck country picking abilities that may feel the need to transcend to jazz at any moment.

While Railroad Earth's songs have definite structures, they maintain a loose, happy jam band feel as fiddle, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and banjo weave and intertwine in soaring flights that seem to have no beginning or end. The music is so pleasant and engaging, it seems like it's "just there," effortless, like something floating naturally in the air, mystical. There are only a few tracks under 4 minutes, and the gentle, ethereal "Mountain Time," with its quiet but complex arrangement, measures over 7 minutes. Like I said, "Structured jam band."

But don't be mistaken by the jam band label. This tightly wound album just leaps out of the player from the first notes of "Drag Him Down" as Sheaffer's vocal and Andy Goessling's loping banjo create a Sweetheart of the Rodeo vibe. But these Railroaders are pickers far beyond the skill level of the Byrds at that stage of their careers. The Byrds didn't have these chops or the ability to operate at this level of intricate musicality. Imagine a six-piece Split Lip Rayfield without bad attitudes, whiskey, and amphetamines.

The title track combines tension and beauty while it points to another aspect of Railroad Earth's music that simply sneaks up unannounced, a certain other-worldly spiritual element. Part of this stems from Sheaffer's vocal treatments. He manages to sound terribly sincere and, like the great folk singers, projects an empathy and humanism that take the music above the simple "entertainment" level. Sheaffer is blessed with the ability to make the music sound important, like it truly makes some difference in the bigger scheme of the day-to-day. But beyond his plaintive, honest voice, the music on "Bird in a House," with Jeff Skehan's delicate but manic "beating wings" mandolin demanding the primary focus, becomes trancelike in its beauty while complimenting the lyrics that are above average depth in both imagery and in perception.

"I want to sing my own song, that's all"
Cried the bird and flew into a wall
"There must be some way out," he cried
And his desperation echoed down the hall
Just another bird in the house
Dyin' to get out

Tunes like the rhythmic, jammy "Like a Buddha" seem to imply that these Railroaders have more than a passing acquaintance with Papa John and Doucet. Fiddler Tim Carbone leads the ensemble into the rhythmic stratosphere with some fiddle work that can hardly be termed anything less than psychedelic. But just as the band can literally soar off the known navigational charts on a tune like "Buddha," they can just as easily whip out a tradition-based, structured instrumental breakdown like the adventurous "Pack A Day" that crosses the line from bluegrass into something akin to acoustic jazz-rock (or acoustic jazz-country-rock) without even dropping a hint that a change is in order. This is Reinhardt-Grapelli territory, if those gypsy boys had grown up in Appalachia and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music.

The raucous cover of Neal Casal's "Dandelion Wine," with its nuclear mandolin and flattop guitar picking, could easily be mistaken for a Country Gazette track, if the Gazette had ever deigned to employ a breakneck drummer like Carey Harmon. Harmon is matched by 22 year-old bassist, Dave Von Dollen. Von Dollen may not have attended the New England Conservatory, but he was studying jazz at NYC's prestigious New School when asked to join the band.

On "Saddle of the Sun," the band lets Carbone's fiddle accent and push a rhythmic country-rocker that maintains a delicious tension as it works through numerous changes. "Mighty River" reaches for universal themes and, in doing so, attains a Richard Thompson-like magical ability to achieve a sense of tension while at the same time soothing and reassuring us.

Railroad Earth can work intricate Old World themes like the Celtic-flavored instrumental "Lois Ann," and brush arbor gospel is another time-honored form that is right up their musical alley. "Peace on Earth" is a joyous gospel shout that combines an old-timey instrumental treatment with some slick production on the harmonies. Harmon and Von Dollen again drive the ensemble hard while the four soloists show off their huge instrumental prowess. The band also proves they can subtly manipulate the musical atmospherics in a pop setting on "Walk On By," which provides the multi-instrumental Goessling an opportunity to color the longing, desperate vocal with flute and pennywhistle.

My wife is more a fan of electric guitars and honking saxophones than she is of fiddles and acoustic guitars, and she's been known to run from mandolins and banjos as though they were the key components of a dirty bomb. But I put Bird in a House on last night as she sat reading a novel (while I washed dishes!) and I was surprised when she looked up during the third track and asked, "Who's this?" Highly undemonstrative, she seldom comments on music and if she remarks about new, unknown artists at all, it is usually a scathing comment like "TURN THAT DOWN!" But an innocent "Who's this?" is usually a sign that she is about to exercise her right of Eminent Domain.

As I scrubbed the gravy bowl, I got the feeling these Railroad Earth fellows will be riding around Houston with Albert King, Susan Tedeschi, Radney Foster, Delbert McClinton, and Cooder Graw soon.

* Railroad Earth has a site at www.railroadearth.com or the CD can be purchased directly from the label at www.sugarhillrecords.com This is music that'll just make you feel good.


Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
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