Acoustic intimacy draws on thirty years of songwriting rooted in the deep south.
Jimmy Fretwell, formerly Jef Fretwell, grew up in Georgia and spent a decade criss-crossing the American south, frequenting bars and backrooms, coffee houses and living rooms. A wandering nomad playing wherever the road took him. For the subsequent twenty years, Fretwell’s musical road trip took a back seat as he focused on raising a family. And so it is now, with thirty years of songwriting behind him, that Fretwell has re-emerged, blinking into the light once again to release an album, “analog dream”, that taps into all that backstory.
That southern upbringing drives all his songwriting, and it becomes apparent very quickly that this is an artist who would, indeed, sit very comfortably in those intimate settings. With just his guitar as a companion and, with a voice that bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain Willie Nelson at times, there is no mistaking that we are embedded deep in country territory here. That comparison makes the ears prick up from Fretwell’s very first vocals on ‘Pretend Like I Am Through’ and also provides a good introduction to the artist’s finger-picking acoustic playing that presents itself throughout.
Although very much an acoustic album that showcases Fretwell’s ability to weave a story, there are notable contributions from guest artists that add a little more depth on those tracks. ‘Promised Land’ features the exquisite fiddle and vocal backing of Beth Chrisman and is an undoubted album highlight. Bill Kirchen’s website describes the guitar legend as the “Titan of the Telecaster” and, just as Chrisman elevates the aforementioned track then Kirchen’s input on ‘Frozen Ocean’ is equally telling. And, to complete a fine hat trick of the best musical kind, the keening guitar of Darrell Scott on ‘One Of The Good Ones’ gives the song a gorgeous, aching melancholy.
If it is these three tracks that leave the deepest impression, it is not to denigrate the rest of the album and Fretwell’s solo acoustic offerings. It is easy to see how those songs would fit easily into those intimate settings with which Fretwell is so familiar but, on a full-length album, it is just that those extra accompaniments add a little something extra that makes those the most memorable tracks to take away from what is, clearly, a labour of love.
