DBT #242 Duets Vol. 1 - Karen Mal & David Stoddard
Duets, the classic back and forth probably epitomized by Johnny and June Cash's "Jackson" and then John Prine went and put out a heck of an album "In spite of Ourselves" with a bunch of women after the success of his duet with Iris Dement. Yes I have a soft spot for duos already, but when you know the format is going to be duets; I impulsively buy them.
That's what happened with a suggestion from a friend David Stoddard that I think about reviewing his duet album with Karen Mal. I told him my rules (yes even friends need to follow review rules) and the first one is that it needs to be on Bandcamp. He said he'll do just that, and before he could give it to me for free, I impulsively bought it.
They call it Volume 1 because after playing together off and on for the last 20 years they have so much material that didn't fit on this album. I'm not sure if they met there, but David and Karen were both Kerrville New Folk finalists in 2005! She was from Austin, TX and he was from Austin, MN (just kidding he was from Beaver Dam WI and now lives in MN) This was their first time they recorded together, so they gave themselves a self imposed target of making the second volume. I'm looking forward to it.
David said, "We sat facing each other and performed the songs live, with a time limit. A couple of things were added later (pedal steel and cello, in particular), but mostly it's just as the songs were played. We even avoided adding third harmonies, wanted to really focus on it sounding like two people, and it being a calling card for (mostly) how we sound live."
The first song reeled me in and it was classic humor I'd expect from David but I really don't know Karen that well... let's get this started.
1) Girl Next Door
I've asked David to ultimately put the lyrics in Bandcamp to also kind of find out if these are all co-writes or if they take turns bringing their own songwriting prowess to bear. I've known David to co-write since he wrote "Turds in the Street" with his daughter. This song definitely fits the back and forth of a couple who both does and doesn't belong with each other.
Of course I learned from looking for a video that Karen likely wrote as she explains it was based Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy; and a line Katherine said. Now that isn't David on keys; and while this is great video it's much better David singing the response.
2) Firefly
Pretty song, close your eyes and enjoy the summer. The gentle piano is likely David because he's got some classical piano chops in his background. This song is more the duo with David coming in on the chorus with harmonies.
And with the video we learn it's Karen's song for her Ten year old daughter.
3) Devil in the Room
David leads this vocal, angel on my shoulder versus the devil in the mirror.
4) Hard Days
On this song they trade off singing verses, and add a beautiful cello in the background. The loneliness of the road certainly helped write some of these words, because Karen and David do travel solo many times.
5) Queen of Sullivan Street
Now this is another perfect duet, and my favorite song off the album. Any guitarist needs more cash, and it's hard to say no to the Queen; unfortunately for David there's a lot of pickers out there.
And the search of videos found Karen wrote it, and here is a great solo video:
6) One Way Street
David leads on this country swayer which truly has his style of word smithing shining through the song.
7) Halfway Grown
Karen takes the lead on this touching ballad of being a parent.
8) Starting Tomorrow
Yes another classic duet about changing your life for the better, but.... Ha it's so classic the youngsters might not know what "Making Hay" is all about. The accordion from David is a highlight of the song.
I found Karen playing with another guitarist, so maybe she is the Queen of Sullivan Street.
9) Underdogs
They blend voices from the start, and yes there are days we want to stay in bed, and truly too often we feel like underdogs.
10) Back to the Woods
You might think that this is George Winston song with lyrics; a beautiful walk in lyric, piano, and cello.
11) Waiting for the Rain
David's accordion work presents itself right away and a completely opposite to the Back to Woods. Dirt, mud, and bugs definitely a smiling playful counter.
And we find out that it's all about being a seed.
12) Song for You
Ha, when you break up a relationship and are left with a love song that sticks in your throat later. I can relate to this song so much since I have songs in my library that have a face attached to them. Yes, some of their faces are fading with age too.
With the limited videos for this album, if you want a one click listen just let Bandcamp work for you.
Next steps:
- Stop over to the Review page to my other most spinned and loved albums.
- Browse the rest of the blogs by stopping at this "Theme Page."
- Enjoy Tune Tuesday which brings you one song from a past blog post.
- See what other post have been most popular recently with our Stats Page.
- Find out who in the world thinks he has the authority to write this blog in the About.
- Let me answer why you won't find the playlists on Spotify here.
- Finally, the Mission page explains why there is no advertising cluttering the page.
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