Andy & Judy put together their new album Another Ghost Town with the upmost care. It is true folk music, rooted in the Americana sound and also in the American story. Work songs. Abandoned towns. A song about radio. A heroic athlete’s song. A song for the next generation. Much of the American experience is related on this album. Andy & Judy’s use of acoustic instruments makes each feel earnest and their voices are perfectly suited to each voice or narrator they are singing through.
“Optimistic View” places a halting feeling in its hesitant acoustic guitar chord progression. Yet, it’s contrasted with bouncy fiddle and plucky banjo and mando. The tuft of acoustic instruments brace against the guitar just as the lyrics are fighting off negativity. There is sincerity in the words buttressed by the confidence in the Judy vocal line and in the instrumentation. This one builds itself up beautifully.
Andy Daigle’s “I’m Just Exploring” unfurls its humor at a considerate pace. His lyrical imagery carries one through his golden years with wit and wisdom. His folksy lyrics get perfect support from slow traveling acoustic instruments, notes that walk in little baby steps, leaving plenty of room for Andy atop the song to keep us informed about his interesting explorations of life.
Title track “Another Ghost Town” finds Judy Daigle crooning about a location that reflects the soul of the people who used to people it. Her firm, sweet vocal timbre maintains the backbone in this song. Her sincerity shows as she takes the listener through the places that no longer exist or function. The gritty but fleeting acoustic notes around her keep the tune in motion, especially an emotive fiddle that widens the sense of melancholy reflection.
About a legendary national athlete, “Henry Louis Aaron” chronicles the spectacular life and career of a compassionate figure. Andy Daigle’s handsome, even vocal carries well over this sung-spoken narrative. With spaces filled in with bluesy harmonica, clap percussion, acoustic guitar, and banjo, the song sounds distinctively of Americana roots, a perfect backdrop to this all American tale.
A wise singer-songwriter, Judy Daigle calls on her listeners and the world at large to hearken to the wisdom of the very young. “Listen To The Children” points to the wisdom in the innocent who see the world through innocent eyes. Daigle’s pure, clear voice makes her lyrics come alive with a stunning force that hits the conscience hard. She also injects a mid-tempo crust of acoustic instrumentation that carries this along with rippling banjo notes and a running stream of six string acoustic.
Beautifully sung as a duet, “The Cape” weaves a lyrical picture book of every New Englander’s favorite vacation spot. Focusing on the sailing ship adventures, the words become three-dimensional as Andy Daigle’s sturdy vocal and Judy Daigle’s contrasting sweeter vocal turn that verbal grist into life and death struggles on the sea. As usual, their accompaniment adds verisimilitude as the acoustic instrumentation reflect, in an earthy manner, the feelings of adventure, fate, and certain death in an unaffected manner.
“The Pemberton Mill,” again, reflects the social conscience of this songwriting duo. Hinting at dark forebodings with a moody acoustic guitar, the song gets a second dose of seriousness. Judy Daigle’s’ vivid description of a large work place that collapses and catches fire nestles one image in our minds before moving onto another. The listener feels the history in a dark cello line and in a slight edge in Judy Daigle’s vocal. It’s in her ability to put emphasis on certain words and in the words she chooses to tell this story.
“A Wink And A Tip” is as friendly and informative as its title suggests. Andy Daigle is telling us to go for the gusto in life, grab a hold of something, make it yours, and have something for everyone to remember us by. His amicable voice takes as much time as he needs to tell his even-handed song. Daigle also features gritty notes from acoustic instruments, natural rustic sounds that feel close to nature just as this song feels natural as it tells us about the choices we make and the different directions we all go in.
Judy Daigle’s girlhood memory song, “The DJs,” focuses on the songs she grew up with. Yet, this song also reflects on how her relationship with her radio influenced her life. She heard numerous songs, teaching her a diversity of music, and she learned that DJs are company for listeners. Her winsome chorus draws one in warmly while keeping the song withing the realm of a folksy singalong. Her sharp voice develops her more poignant moments and the perky acoustic instrument notes maintain the liveliness of her lifetime experience.
“When Love Comes Around” sweetly documents a love that has lasted into a couple’ golden years. While Andy Daigle applies his handsome vocal timbre to this tender reflection on a matured love, he and the other instrumentalists inject a lot of down tempo supple notes from acoustic instruments. Mandolin notes unobtrusively waltz across the landscape, circular patterns of notes reflecting the circle of life. When Judy Daigle joins in on the chorus, the pair expand the sensitivity of this song, making it feel more tender, more reflective, and their sense of acceptance insures the eternal nature of love. What else can a couple do but continue to love each other with more maturity.
“Southwest Kansas” provides a glimpse into the live of people living hardscrabble style in isolated rustic areas. With a plethora of sweet little mandolin notes played by Greg Daigle supporting, Andy Daigle carries us through this tale of true American grit with sensitivity and compassion. His soft, handsome vocal timbre infuses this song with feeling. The optimism and hope of hard working people is something we can clearly identify with due to this piece’s lyrical strength and in how it is delivered.
Close out song “Music Is The Keeper Of Our Lives” concerns itself with how music and songs impact our memories. Using two older people as examples, Judy Daigle sings of how their memories were brought back to earlier periods in their lives when they either heard the music or received an instrument to play. Daigle’s gentle pace, even vocal, and support from an acoustic six string and a fiddle keep this tune beautifully matched with the hopefulness and peace that music brings to the people in this song.
Written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, and made hugely popular by Janis Joplin, “Me And Bobby McGee” has grown into one of our most popular and most important American songs. Judy Daigle’s folksy rendition closes out this Andy & Judy album with a touch of Americana class. Daigle’s voice feels large and sounds wide as she travels through this very familiar classic. She is bluesy and soulful in an elegant manner, her phrasing being perfect, clear, and loaded with forlorn emotion. Andy Daigle’s harmonica puts another line of emotive grist into this and their abundance of guitar and mandolin notes keep the fire burning.
Another Ghost Town is a particularly strong effort coming from Andy and Judy Daigle. This Andy & Judy album becomes all things folk music is supposed to become. It’s earthy. It’s heartfelt. Its songs are based on real people in real situations and we can feel something when we listen to Andy & Judy sing about their lives, especially in their work songs. Multi-instrumentalists, Andy & Judy offer a lot of perky acoustic notes and chords throughout this outing and they know how to make every note count. They even out sexy Kris and Janis on their close out cover song. Recorded and mixed by Andy Daigle at Cherry Bridge Studios and mastered by Glen Barratt and Erik Balkey at Morningstar Studios in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, Another Ghost Town plays out with a clear, crisp sound.
