Dave Rawlings Machine | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer David Rawlings is best known for his longtime collaboration with musical partner Gillian Welch, with whom he has written and recorded a number of critically acclaimed folk and neo-traditional albums. He has also produced and collaborated with artists like Old Crow Medicine Show, Ryan Adams, Robyn Hitchcock, and Conor Oberst, among others. In 2009, he launched his solo career, releasing his debut album, Friend of a Friend, under the name Dave Rawlings Machine. Essentially a continuation of his partnership with Welch, but with his songs and voice taking the lead role, the band also featured members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and several others. Like his work with Welch, the album was largely in the neo-traditional acoustic style and showcased his high lonesome tenor vocals and inventive guitar work played, as always, on his signature instrument, a 1935 Epiphone arch-top guitar. After Rawlings involvement in various other projects, including his and Welchs fifth LP, Dave Rawlings Machine returned again in 2015 with their sophomore LP, Nashville Obsolete, again on Welchs Acony Records. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 2 Title: A Friend of a Friend Released: 2009-11-17 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ruby (04:54) 2 To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (03:48) 3 I Hear Them All (02:27) 4 Method Acting / Cortez the Killer (10:20) 5 Sweet Tooth (05:20) 6 Hows About You (03:54) 7 Its Too Easy (03:08) 8 Monkey and the Engineer (03:38) 9 Bells of Harlem (04:07) |
| A Friend of a Friend : Allmusic album Review : Ironically, the most telling line on Dave Rawlings first album as a frontman comes from one of the few tracks he didnt write. On his version of the Bright Eyes song Method Acting, imagine a more direct explanation of A Friend of a Friends genesis. Singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer Rawlings has worked with Bright Eyes and Old Crow Medicine Show in the past, and members of both bands return the favor by appearing here, but of course hes best-known for being Gillian Welchs musical foil throughout her career. After a decade-and-a-half spent as the shadowy figure in the background, chiming in with those reedy harmonies and concise guitar licks on demand, Rawlings is long overdue for this solo debut. While he has hidden light under a proverbial bushel, he hasnt been concealing any unexpected predilections -- the overall approach here is pretty much in line with that of the albums hes made with Welch, which makes sense, considering that he was the producer on half of those. The biggest difference is a slightly more expanded sonic palette, a result of Rawlings bringing his aforementioned buddies on board, in addition to Tom Pettys ivory-tickler Benmont Tench and of course, longtime singing partner Welch. But even though a string section pops up on a couple of tunes, A Friend of a Friend is essentially a low-key, acoustic-based Americana outing that feels more like a 21st century version of the early-‘70s Laurel Canyon cowboy aesthetic than anything else. The old, new, borrowed and blue song selection is balanced to present a quintessential picture of where Rawlings is coming from; he tackles Ryan Adams and Old Crow tunes he co-wrote, covers cohorts Bright Eyes as well as inspirations Neil Young and Jesse Fuller, and rounds things out with a batch of new Rawlings/Welch compositions. And while he doesnt exactly adopt an in-your-face approach to the leading-man role, preferring to become part of the powerful collective hes assembled, Rawlings proves himself fully capable of taking the reins and leading this horse wherever he wants it to go. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 2 Title: Nashville Obsolete Released: 2015-09-18 Tracks: 7 Duration: 44:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Weekend (05:29) 2 Short Haired Woman Blues (06:43) 3 The Trip (10:55) 4 Bodysnatchers (05:56) 5 The Last Pharaoh (03:37) 6 Candy (04:10) 7 Pilgrim (You Cant Go Home) (07:57) |
| Nashville Obsolete : Allmusic album Review : Nashville Obsolete is the second solo outing for ace guitarist and producer David Rawlings, who for nearly two decades has shared the load with creative partner Gillian Welch to become one of folk and country musics most celebrated duos. Like 2009s Friend of a Friend, this seven-song mini-album is billed under the Dave Rawlings Machine banner and features a small ensemble that sees Rawlings and Welch swapping roles in what has become their familiar format. His reedy tenor voice that usually melts so effortlessly with Welchs takes the lead here on a set of melancholic songs that channel tones of Bob Dylan and Neil Young through the Dust Bowl filter that has become his bailiwick. With Welch and former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson supporting him on guitar and harmonies, the group also includes Punch Brothers Paul Kowert on double bass. Beautifully captured on tape with the mix of spontaneity and professionalism expected from a Rawlings/Welch performance, Nashville Obsolete has something of a brooding grandeur to it with standouts like "Short Haired Women" and the meandering, 11-minute "The Trip" feeling bigger and deeper than the small group of players producing them. Aside from some of the added instrumental ornamentations -- which are all quite tasteful -- this neo-traditional country with a noir bent is familiar territory for Rawlings, and the album files pretty easily into the existing body of work hes made with Welch, regardless of which one of them is at the front mike. More uptempo songs like "The Last Pharaoh" and "Candy" keep things from becoming overly downcast and the album ends on a high note with "Pilgrim (You Cant Go Home)," a song that mixes dazzling three-part harmonies with a bit of the latent rock spirit that always seems to be buzzing at the edge of Rawlings periphery. | ||