login | Register

Fruit Tramp Ballads of the Great Northwest

by: Dave McGrew

Album Artwork

Dave McGrew’s Fruit Tramp Ballads of the Great Northwest preserves a testimony to those hardworking folks who may never experience the elusive “American Dream”. Taj Mahal (bass, mandolin, harp), Cool John Ferguson (guitar, piano), and Tim Duffy assist gravel-voiced McGrew on this subtle mood album. This combination of musicians provides an interesting duality between the smooth jazz influences from Mahal and Ferguson mixed with McGrew’s raw folkiness. One cannot help but hear a Woody Guthrie thread in McGrew’s songs.

These thirteen compositions paint stories of a hard-ass life of fruit picking, dirt roads, poverty, and traveling told by a cold blue poet, like a modern day musical chapter from The Grapes of Wrath. Lyrics on the song “Somewhere Out of Here” provide a glimpse into a world many Americans see:

If I could just pick one more box
I could buy the kids a pair of socks
Though tomorrow you know I’ll be in pain
Another crop another year
I’ll be getting out of here
Watching the view from my rear view mirror
If it’s a good year, I’m gonna make me some
If not I’m sticking out my thumb
To another crop somewhere out of here

Smelling the tractor fumes and the spray dope
Smelling the barbecue and the pot smoke
Smelling the beer from yesterday
Smelling the freshness of a summer morn
Smelling the fruit rotting on the ground
Just thinking oh what a waste

“What Does it Mean” reveals more sad truths across the land:
Hey try to raise a family when you haven’t got a job
Go to the food banks you always see a mob
Living in your soup lines living from your car
Living on the outside looking out of a jar

Hey it seems like the small time farmer is coming to the past,
All the small time businesses are folding up real fast
The rich is getting richer and the poor gaining mass
Just like before Boston we’re living in the past

“Sweet Valentine” could pass for a top-ten hit on any Country music radio station. Tim Duffy spoke about his old friend McGrew: “Well, Dave McGrew and Cool Johnson Ferguson lived together for a year. They were both helping me build up Music Maker. Dave’s been bouncing back and forth from the West Coast since 1988. He works out there picking fruit, and in the off season he comes down and hangs out with us. His lyrics are great, and there’s a tremendous loneliness on Tramp Ballads. Taj Mahal took Dave’s music to many people including Emmylou Harris telling them this is the real roots music; you’ve got to listen to this. Taj was pitching Emmylou Dave’s songs. Dave’s the real deal.”

Dan Duffy’s liner notes provide a revealing glimpse into the heart and journey of this great, unknown musician. This album shall inspire any hard-working family man to remain steadfast in his daily grind. Dave McGrew sings for the salt of the earth.

- James Calemine

related tags

North Carolina,
Lore,
Music,
Mystery and Manners,

Comments

jianhua says...

As a certified member of prada outlet , we are committed and proud to offer the highest safety standards for prada shoes. Trusted Shops is the established Internet seal of approval fo rprada handbags. An extensive security examination is necessary before prada bags is certified.true religion jeans outlet, called "Denim", in the earliest recorded in 1567 years, is from Italy port city of Genoa (of) Genoa merchant seamen wear pants, the name "Genoese" or "Genes". Start from the 1860's, Designer true religion outlet , We are the professional ture religion jeans, devote ourself to offer the top quality cheap jeans for womens and mens. Welcome to our Jeans Outlet Store, Get one for yourself, everything with huge discount!The headquarters of juicy couture are located in an industrial area in Arleta, Los Angeles, All of the juicy couture outlet items are manufactured with the company signature logo, A crown lies overhead, while a juicy couture handbags banner flutters below the underline slogan juicy couture bags outlet is known worldwide for its urban fashion with a touch of high end quality materials and craftsmanship. The store provides all kinds of the juicy couture bags for you reference, in there you can meet you like.chanel bags outlet brand has experienced 80 years of history, The classic style has been the originator of the fashion world. chanel bags 2010 has become a pride of the fashion world. They not only loyal to chanel bags sale and fascinating traditional style, and has a timeless classic and elegant but low-key style. Even chanel bags outlet are always in a series of simplicity and low-key design,but fashionistas can still immediately recognize the unique style of chanel bags,coach canada handbags are one of the most famous coach handbags in the world.durable and cheap handbags are supplied for you on buy-coach-handbags.com, here also show you Anna coach handbags 2010, Anya HindarMarch Handbags, Balenciaga Handbags, Bottega Veneta Handbags and so on. Besides, all the coach outlet on sale offer you with the affordable prices with exquisite craftsmanship and the finest quality. So if you are interested in the coach handbags outlet, come here for a try, please!

kokowowoman says...

A ugg boots clearance recent survey found that one out of five Americans teenage or older want an iPad. No wonder Apple is selling three million iPads a month. It's the fastest-selling single product in the history of consumer electronics. Most buyers are choosing an iPad as a supplement to their current computers -- for watching movies in bed, like I do, or reading books in my easy chair when there's nothing good on TV ugg boots clearance. The iPad pretty much has the personal side of computing covered. But what about the computer side? What about the tasks you do on your laptop or on your desktop computer ugg boots clearance? But I'm convinced that many of you would find the iPad a delightful replacement for a typical laptop computer, whether a Windows PC or Mac, if you mostly use a laptop for three typical functions -- e-mail, social networking (through Facebook, for example) and Web browsing ugg boots clearance. What about occasional word processing? Apple's word processor, called Pages, is outstanding on the iPad. (A bonus: It also works easily with Microsoft Word documents, both reading them and saving them.) If you need software that can show and create PowerPoint presentations, iPad software called Keynote can do that nicely. There's even an Excel-compatible program called Numbers ugg boots clearance. All three of these productivity programs -- called apps -- sell for only $10 each. Getting something equivalent to Microsoft Office for only $30 is surely a steal ugg boots clearance. There are many, either free or a couple of dollars, at the App Store ugg boots outlet. Could an iPad be your only computer? Not for long. It gets updates via free software called iTunes running on a standard computer. When you plug the iPad into the computer using a USB cable, iTunes transfers the updates to your iPad ugg boots outlet. (iTunes is also used to add music, books, podcasts, university lectures, TV shows and movies to an iPad.) But if my experience is a guide, the iPad can function well as a replacement for a laptop. If you buy one, be sure to get the Keyboard Dock and the Camera Connection Kit. Photos look spectacular on the 10-inch screen ugg boots clearance.

kokowowoman says...

A ugg boots clearance recent survey found that one out of five Americans teenage or older want an iPad. No wonder Apple is selling three million iPads a month. It's the fastest-selling single product in the history of consumer electronics. Most buyers are choosing an iPad as a supplement to their current computers -- for watching movies in bed, like I do, or reading books in my easy chair when there's nothing good on TV ugg boots clearance. The iPad pretty much has the personal side of computing covered. But what about the computer side? What about the tasks you do on your laptop or on your desktop computer ugg boots clearance? But I'm convinced that many of you would find the iPad a delightful replacement for a typical laptop computer, whether a Windows PC or Mac, if you mostly use a laptop for three typical functions -- e-mail, social networking (through Facebook, for example) and Web browsing ugg boots clearance. What about occasional word processing? Apple's word processor, called Pages, is outstanding on the iPad. (A bonus: It also works easily with Microsoft Word documents, both reading them and saving them.) If you need software that can show and create PowerPoint presentations, iPad software called Keynote can do that nicely. There's even an Excel-compatible program called Numbers ugg boots clearance. All three of these productivity programs -- called apps -- sell for only $10 each. Getting something equivalent to Microsoft Office for only $30 is surely a steal ugg boots clearance. There are many, either free or a couple of dollars, at the App Store ugg boots outlet. Could an iPad be your only computer? Not for long. It gets updates via free software called iTunes running on a standard computer. When you plug the iPad into the computer using a USB cable, iTunes transfers the updates to your iPad ugg boots outlet. (iTunes is also used to add music, books, podcasts, university lectures, TV shows and movies to an iPad.) But if my experience is a guide, the iPad can function well as a replacement for a laptop. If you buy one, be sure to get the Keyboard Dock and the Camera Connection Kit. Photos look spectacular on the 10-inch screen ugg boots clearance.

Please login or you can to leave a comment.

If you aren't registered, Register Now to start leaving comments.

Copyright 1998-2018 by Swampland Inc. All rights reserved.