Steve Dawson
Nightshade
Black Hen Music
In 2008, Steve
Dawson gained
national attention
for producing
Things About Comin’ My Way, a tribute to
the Mississippi Sheiks—the pioneering string
band founded by the Chatmon brothers in
1930. Featuring stirring performances from a
host of superb guitarists (including Kelly Joe
Phelps, Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell, and Bob
Brozman), the album is both an aural delight
and an inspiring collection of edgy songs.
Now with
Nightshade, the Vancouver-based
Dawson proves he has his own story
to tell. His songs offer a compelling blend
of tight grooves and dark, haunted lyrics,
but it’s the guitar playing that stops
me in my tracks. Whether he’s fretting
gritty solos, playing burning bottleneck
blues, laying down wicked Weissenborn
licks, or soaring on pedal steel, his timing,
tone, and dynamics are impeccable. While
always serving the ensemble, Dawson’s
multi-faceted picking plays the starring
role in this 12-song collection.
If you dig Greg Leisz’s pedal steel,
you’ll smile as Dawson sonically conjures
a Lava Lamp on “We Still Won the War.”
If your thing is early Kelly Joe Phelps or
Ben Harper, you’ll hear echoes of their
sweetly stinging bar work in “Fairweather
Friends,” “Darker Still,” and the album’s
title track. Throughout
Nightshade,
Dawson also draws on Steve Cropper,
Leo Kottke, Dominos-era Eric Clapton,
and the more pensive side of Jimi
Hendrix to create a soulful guitar
orchestra.