‘Green and Blues’ is the Whitman Sampler of albums.
Brooks Williams & Aaron Catlow’s third album, ‘Green and Blues’, is like a Whitman Sampler, the iconic box of chocolates in homespun packaging that has been popular with Americans for more than a hundred years. And the album is a sweet collection, but not chocolates instead it offers a variety of songs presented by exceptional musicians that vary from old-time standards to newly minted ones.
Williams and Catlow were well-established musicians before they joined forces in 2021. Catlow, who has been described as “a master violinist”, is half of a duo with guitarist-singer Kit Hawes. He also plays the fiddle with Sheelanagig and has worked with Mad Dog Mcrea and Grammy Award-nominated Yola and Afro Celt Sound System. Williams now based in Cambridge, is originally from Georgia in the U.S. He has recorded more than 30 albums using the guitar to combine country, blues and folk to create his own style of acoustic music. His voice has been described as ‘chocolate’, highly suitable for the Whitman’s Sampler of albums.
The album opens with ‘Rock Me’, by Rev. Thomas Dorsey, said to be the Father of Gospel Music. Dorsey, who is said to have “combined the good news of gospel with the bad news of blues”, wrote ‘Rock Me’ nearly a century ago and the song is a standard, having been recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharp, among others. Williams and Catlow’s version starts out with a solid instrumental opening that previews what’s coming; guitar and violin working together as smoothly as chocolate and caramel.
The opener is followed by an original composition, ‘Anniesland’, that conjures up sorrow and the sense of resilience that echoes throughout great blues standards: “I’m going back to Anniesland/In memory of a friend/What I’d give to hear him play/ His Southern Jumbo again”. William and Catlow stay traditional while being entirely original.
The next three songs are from some of the bigger names in roots music. The first is ‘Red Clay Halo ‘ by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, current aristocrats of instant traditional music. ‘Bells Of Every Chapel’’ is by Sierra Ferrell and Oliver Craven, rising stars in the firmament of roots music. ‘Dooley’s Farm’ is from the brilliant Molly Tuttle, along with Ketch Secor.
It’s a challenge to cover songs from exceptional living musicians. Any version will be compared to the originals if not the most recent live versions on YouTube. Williams and Caltow are more than up to the challenge. They put their own stamp on each of the three songs, respecting the great variance between them. ‘Red Clay Halo’ captures the down-home sound that the ‘aw shucks’ lyrics require. In ‘Bells Of Every Chapel’’ they a use waltz-like timing to emphasize the bittersweet lyrics. And ‘Dooley’s Farm ‘is just a joy; Williams and Caltow’s simple, sombre orchestration is perfect for this ballad of today.
But while the covers are treats, the best songs in this collection are the ones they wrote. ‘Wild, Wild’ is reminiscent of Grappelli and Reinhard’s The Quintet of the Hot Club of France with all that energy and unique sound. ‘Jump That Train’ is a rousing, get-up-out-of-your-chair addition to the great tradition of train songs, providing both Williams and Catlow the chance to cut loose on guitar and violin. This alone is worth listening to the album. But it doesn’t end there.
The finale, the eponymous ‘Green and Blues’ song, is a modern classic by Shirley Collins. This is a delightful cover of an exceptional song, treating it with the respect it deserves. Williams’ slight Georgian accent suits the song; it’s a perfect pairing like chocolate-covered maple cream and Catlow’s guitar is like nougat, together closing out the selection and leaving you comforted, challenged and satisfied.
