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February 2006 - As the saying goes, every dog has his day. Or in the case of TOM WILSON, DOG YEARS. On this his second solo album, the well-traveled troubadour has come up with a gem of a record that surely confirms him as one of Canadas most compelling singer/songwriters.
There is no over-arching concept or grand mandate behind DOG YEARS. This is just a collection of songs Ive written over the last couple of years, explains Tom. Nothing more elaborate than that was required, given the strength of this material.
Over the course of a career that now spans three decades, Tom Wilson has put together a body of work impressive in both quantity and quality. Beat Music, his first full album, was recorded in 1986 with The Florida Razors, a popular band on the Hamilton scene.
Tom struck Canadian rock gold in the 90s as the leader of the much loved Junkhouse, and then found a whole new audience as a crucial component of roots-rock super-group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, with whom he now shares a label home in True North Records. He found time to release a solo debut, Planet Love, in 2001, while last years collaboration with Bob Lanois, The Shack Recording, Vol. 1., was critically acclaimed.
Wilson is now in top form, personally and creatively. As he explains with typical candour, For years I was in love with music and in love with a lot of my life, but I was completely destructive. In the last little while, I have been productive, and I am figuring out how to be happy. That is reflected in the optimistic and positive spirit of many of the tunes on DOG YEARS, while others prove his ability as a storyteller and social satirist remains undiminished.
To call DOG YEARS a solo album is something of a misnomer. Tom Wilson thrives on collaboration and creative interaction, and the benefits of that process are well in evidence here. A varied group of co-writers was recruited, and the A-list musicians corralled by producer Colin Linden further spurred Wilson on to greater heights.
Award-winning producer and musical renaissance man Linden is, of course, a fellow member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. He and Tom first met when they were playing folk festivals in their teens, and their deep musical and personal empathy shines through the grooves of DOG YEARS.
I trust Colin so much, states Wilson. It is startling to be involved with someone whose love for your music even goes beyond your own. It makes you respect what you do more, because someone is putting so much time and love into it.
Lindens idea of bringing Wilson down to his Nashville base to record was an inspired one. I wanted to take Tom out of his natural habitat for some of the recording, he notes. I wanted to see him with some musicians who didnt know him. I knew theyd be knocked out by Toms songs, singing and musicality, and I knew Tom would rise to the occasion.
The core of Dog Years was recorded in just three days at The Rendering Plant, a studio in Nashville favoured by Shelby Lynne. Tom and Colin later added some backing vocals and guitar parts at Lindens home, but the essential spontaneity of the sessions remained.
Lending their talent are such legendary players as Funk Brother Bob Babbitt, Gary Tallent of The E Street Band, and bassist David Roe (Johnny Cash), while Colin Linden adds characteristically fluent guitar. Their approach complements Wilsons musical mission. The whole point of making music to me is to communicate, he stresses.
Tom communicates via a voice best seen as a force of nature. Seemingly spawned from the mud of the Mississippi Delta, it is steeped in the spirit of the blues. It also reflects Toms beloved hometown, Hamilton, Ontario. It is raw, honest and unpretentious, primal and a little dirty, but possessing its own unique grace. If Steeltown could sing, chances are it would sound a lot like Tom Wilson.
That voice is a natural resource that Wilson has both mined and gently honed over the years. As The Shack Recording showed, it is now capable of a real subtle delicacy and soulful expressiveness. On the disc DOG YEARS, that is exemplified by songs like Talk Of The Town a haunting, honky-tonk duet with the wonderful Roseanne Cash. Then there is Dreamland, a classic-sounding ballad with a cinematic feel. He can still rock out righteously, as on the gloriously raucous opening cut Super Sun Natural and Little Domino.
A colourful cast of characters assist with co-writes on DOG YEARS. They include Englishman Stephan Starbuck (The Verve), American David Ricketts (Sheryl Crow, David & David), and such ace Canadian songwriters as Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers), Craig Northey (Northey Venenzuela, Odds), and Tawgs (Edwin, Kazzer). Top comedienne Cathy Jones (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) proves herself a real musical talent with Keep On Grinning penned with real-life partner Wilson.
Not that the prolific Wilson requires help in the writing department. After all, his compositions have been covered by the likes of Murray McLauchlan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Edwin, and Colin James and Mavis Staples. I just like writing with other people because Im interested in their perspective, explains Tom. This eclectic ensemble of co-writers helps account for the refreshing diversity of DOG YEARS. The album is given coherence via Wilsons distinctive voice, Lindens sympathetic production, and the topnotch playing.
2006 promises to be another hectic and creative year for a rejuvenated Tom Wilson. He intends to tour extensively with DOG YEARS, prior to hitting the road once more with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, their much-anticipated fourth release is finished and is scheduled for the fall. With talk of another Shack Recording as well, there is clearly no rest on the horizon.
My goal is to always be making records, to keep productive, insists Tom. For that, we can be very grateful.
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