DEBRA COWAN
The Long Grey Line
self-produced 2001
www.DebraCowan.com

Debra's strong, rich alto is the shining star of this Celtic album with undeniably American style and accent. We Americans seem not to be able to or even want to shake the wide open spaces and the collective expansive genetic memory. On this album, Debra has her feet comfortably wet on each side of this Atlantic.

The Long Grey Line opens with the prettiest song, a slow Irish immigration romance called "Edward Boyle," followed by the up tempo American-Irish song," McGinnis Gets A Job" (you can hear similar versions from Dan Berggren and Sara Grey as well). Though most of the songs are traditional, a few are not. The title track (The Long Grey Line) itself, another stand-out, was written by Scottish songwriter Alan Hunter...the song is about tinkers who follow the Grey Line of the road ahead. ("The road man! The road!") Further diversity is fetched by a covered song about Finland slipping in de facto as a song about Ireland ("Across the Water"), and "Darlin' Corey" with blues performer Jeff Bartley on National Style-O Resonator.

There isn't much accompaniment here, Debra plays guitar but offers no wild tricks. A really nice version of Bay of Biscay-O and The Dreadful Ghost, both rather eerie items, are sung a capella. Conversely a few tracks are backed by fiddle, concertina, mandolin...but except for a cute concertina tour de force on "The Old Favorite," "backed" is indeed the word. Unlike some albums with sparse arrangements, however, the subtle guitar and the aloof warmth of Debra's voice prevent Long Grey Line from being felt as stark or abstract.

cowan at gorge dot net

The Columbia Gypsy