When did Gillian last do an album, 2003? Â Sure, David Rawlings had a great release last year, but it was a Dave Rawlings album that Gillian sang on, not a Gillian album. Â Well, if you have a hankering for something new in that vein, I suggest you check out the latest release from The Honey Dewdrops, If the Sun Will Shine. Â The Dewdrops are the husband and wife team of Kagey Parrish and Laura Wortman, and they have a lot going for them. Â First off, and most obvious from 10 seconds into the first song on the album, is Laura’s voice has some of that haunting, plaintive sound that made Gillian Welch’s recordings so recognizable. Â But there’s more to this duet than that.
I have to give some kudos to the male half of the group, Kagey, for his ability to sing harmony with his wife. Â He gets up into an alto range and more than once I found myself also comparing them to the Indigo Girls and how tightly Amy and Emily can harmonize. Â How We Used To Be really showcases their harmonies with some great key changes and minor chords in the guitar. Â Wandering Boy offers a similar take on their harmonies in a song that’s blast right out of a 50’s Stanley Brothers album, except with better guitar work.
Let’s talk about that guitar work. Â Both Kagey and Laura play the acoustic guitar on most songs and it’s a work of art. Â The musical equivalent to a couple that finishes each other’s sentences. Â I liked both Nowhere To Stand and Bluest Blue Eyes for the outstanding finger picking and guitar harmonies. Â And whoever produced the album did a stellar job of creating a live feel to a studio album, with several songs where individual guitars show up in the right and left speakers while the harmonies are mixed. Â It doesn’t come across as gimmicky stereo, though, but just an honest recording of a couple of musicians sitting on stools playing an intimate little venue.
The only area where If the Sun Will Shine falls down a little is when they play a more wistful number, like When Was the War. Â There just isn’t the sadness that the lyrics seem to call for. Â Petals does that a little better, but the overall emotional range of the album never quite reaches its potential. Â But the vocal harmonies and guitar work make The Honey Dewdrops latest effort a keeper.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.