Thursday, January 31, 2019

Recording: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends

Artist: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends

Songs: Only Love Can Guide Us Now + Crying Shame [Jennifer Castle cover]

Recorded at The Baby G, December 20, 2018.

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends - Only Love Can Guide Us Now

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends - Crying Shame

A slightly-belated night to celebrate the release of Doc Dunn's Lightbourn album turned out to be a twofer, with the additional appearance of its follow-up Some Horses Run on the merch table. These "solo" albums (as distinguished from the collective grooves he heads with the Cosmic Range) found their songs fleshed out with an all-star band that included Simone T-B on drums, Grasshopper on percussion, James Matthew VII (formerly Blind Matty) on guitar, Andrew Scott on bass, Jonathan Adjemian on keybs as well as special guest backing vocalists Isla Craig and Meg Remy on a few numbers.

That exploded the sometimes-introspective vibe of the recorded versions into a cranked-up push-it-to-the-back-of-the-stadium wall of wailing guitars and pulsing funk, making these versions feel like they'd belong up on the merch table in a gatefold cover double-live album — the kind with just a couple stretched-out songs per side. There's even a tip of the hat here to peer and inspiration Jennifer Castle on a version of "Crying Shame" that tears with such momentum Dunn was pushing hard to keep up with the flow of the lyrical river.

[Doc Dunn and a smaller group of friends will be bringing some joy to the Mechanical Forest Sound 10th Anniversary celebration at The Baby G on Saturday, March 2nd.]

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