Maine’s country singer-songwriter, Don Campbell, has come up with some of the best CDs in local country music. Those previous recordings were all with his band. This year, Campbell released Songs From The Campbell Kitchen, a collection of traditional songs that he had always sung around his childhood home.Campbell’s family used to gather with relatives to sing and play together. For this CD, Campbell has gathered the clan once again. Warmth is what stands out most about these old fashioned, time honored acoustic tunes. One listen tells you that this family has enjoyed for a long time playing music together.
Most of these tunes feature Campbell’s father Don Sr. on fiddle with Campbell backing him on mandolin, acoustic guitar, piano, and bass. Campbells’ Uncles Jack and Jim display their harmonica prowess too.
“The Angry Old Man And Old Woman” opens with some muscular fiddle playing from Don Sr. then the CD segues into the acoustic good time feel of “Big John McNeil.” There is already a contrast in fiddle approach in each that gives texture to these family favorites. “Rambler’s Hornpipe” makes for almost a two step dance with its mandolin melody so gently picked with care.
After the first three songs, it becomes easy to picture the Campbell family playing their instruments in their living room on family nights. “Cliffy’s Coin Pouch” has the aggressive strum of an old time song from a previous era. It is traditional music passed down through generations and it has a persistence that reveals itself in its solid rendering. “The Argyle Shore” has a subtle low end flow of notes that makes this song feel a little bit like old jigs and reels.
“Fisher’s Hornpipe” has a beauty of a harmonica line from Jim Campbell that makes you think of a roomful of people toasting to the player while smiling heartily at his skills. “Money Musk” takes you back in time with its mesh of instruments, fiddle, harmonica, acoustic guitar creating a fun, thick stew of sound. When the instruments take turns on the melody line, the music sounds like a polite, patient conversation between people who genuinely care what the other has to say.
“Jim’s Fancy” has more of that thick sound created when a jovial and original harmonica line from Jim Campbell works its magic over an understated low end and a persistent percussion beat. I don’t see anything about percussion in the liner notes, so they might be tapping their feet. This harmonica is fulsome and sweet, an allure of substance that makes you want to go back in time and sit around a fireplace with those who are playing it and those in the room who are enjoying it.
“Casey Jones,” a traditional American ballad, has, in between the main harmonica melody line, an acoustic guitar chord progression that reminds of the grand sweep of sound you hear in country music. The tune also makes you feel like dancing to its shuffling beat, courtesy of drummer Todd Richard. “Mister And Mississippi,” by Irving Gordon, sung by Don Campbell with Don Sr., Jim and Wayne Cambpell on backing vocals, has the living room sing-a-long feel imbedded deeply, making the song fun and likable on top of being well played and recorded.
“Shenandoah” gave Uncle Jack a chance to play the song everybody in the Campbell family remembered hearing him play as the evening was winding down. Tapping his feet and adding some Irish zest, Jack also took on “The Wearing Of The Green.” There is an undeniable quality here, in between his musicianship and his heartfelt effort. You can hearing something in this sprightly melody that has been passed on down time. It might be the improvements made to it over centuries. It might be the shared joy this song has engendered. There is definitely a lot of history in it. You can just feel it.
“The Water Is Wide” has Don singing and playing piano with violin accompaniment from Andy Happel. Campbell has his trademark handsome vocal tenderly wrapped around the melody to this traditional Irish folk music. Jim Campbell handled the vocal on Red Foley’s “Old Shep,” an old country song about man’s best friend. Jim Campbell sings this with a lot of affection for the song and its subject matter, and the warmth he brings fits the overall theme of this collection of Campbell family favorites. “Sweet Betsy From Pike,” a traditional American ballad from the Gold-Rush era, was also recorded with Jim Campbell on lead vocal. Don’s Uncle Wayne was one of a handful of family members gathered to sing the chorus. He had to sing along to a pre-recorded vocal track of his brother, Don Sr., who had since passed away after recording his parts, an emotional moment for this family that plays from the heart.
“The Old Ways,” a Don Campbell original, closes the CD, and it features Don on vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, and drums and Andy Happel on fiddle. This seemingly simple ditty is actually a meaningful yearning, yearning for a time before television, when people had to rely on each other to have a conversation instead of waiting to see something notable on television. The yearning is in Campbell’s smooth, plaintive voice and in Happel’s sweet fiddle. This CD should go over well with a broad spectrum, country, acoustic, fiddle, and harmonica fans alike. Songs From The Campbell Kitchen is simply a warm, enjoyable listen.
www.doncampbellmusic.com
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