Some of the more interesting music in recent years has had a retro quality, music that blends influences from past decades with a contemporary approach. Gillian Welch and David Rawling epitomize that with their folk influenced music that evokes old-time country, but with a decidedly more contemporary sensibility. Graduates of the Berklee College of Music, where they they were some of the few students going for country music, Welch and Rawlings have been recording together since 1996, with original music that sounded as if it came from deep in the Appalachians in the early 20^th Century. Their song, under Ms. Welch’s name, Orphan Girl became a classic, covered by many artist over the years. Welch and Rawlings have continued that musical partnership over the years, picking up a Grammy Award along the way, and finding fans across the generations.

Since they began, most of their recorded output has appeared under just Gillian Welch’s name, the story being that they appeared when a number of female folk artists like Tracy Chapman and Susan Vega were having an impact, ands the record label wanted to highlight Ms. Welsh. But Welsh and Rawlings have been constant collaborators. And Rawlings has also released albums under his own name that include Ms. Welch. Now for the first time, they are releasing an album of original music under both their names. It’s called Woodland, named after the studio in Nashville they have been running, which has almost completely destroyed by a tornado in 2020. That same year, they released an album of covers, called All the Good Times (Are Past and Gone), under both their names with songs by Bob Dylan, John Prine, and the like, along with traditional music.

Woodland is their first new album of original music since 2011, but as mentioned, their first of original songs in which they received co-billing. Part of that interval was the time they have spent rebuilding their studio, which coincided with the pandemic. They managed to save almost all of their master tapes, instruments and the like, but the building was badly damaged, with the roof torn off. That sense of loss and trying to recover, forms a backdrop, though a subtle one, to some of the album’s songs. There also is the group’s typical poetic ambiguity, which has marked their work.

One significant change on this album is its more produced sound. Revival their first album was just the Ms. Welch with some lead acoustic guitar work by Rawlings, now one of their trademarks. The new album goes to far as to include a string section on a couple of the tracks, and in a nod their Nashville residency, there is some steel guitar. The songs are all co-written by Welch and Rawlings, with Rawlings taking the lead vocal on a couple of tracks.

The album opens with Trainload of Sky with an image of a damaged rail car, presumably following a weather event. It features the classic sound of Ms. Welch’s vocals and Rawlings’ distinctive lead guitar and tight vocal harmonies, with the added bass, drums and pedal steel guitar. <<>>

The duo consider their relationship, at least allegorically, in the song What We Had which features Rawlings in a falsetto singing above Ms. Welsh’s part, which a string section gives it the sound of an an old pop ballad. <<>>

More acoustic in texture is Lawman a kind of story song about one’s loved one being killed by police. <<>>

One of the more interesting tunes on the album is Bells and the Birds, more like their early material, with the duo setting, which sounds as if its recorded live in the studio. It has an eerie sound. <<>>

David Rawlings sings the lead on a tune called Hashtag which is a kind of juxtaposition of folk music with lyrics centered on social media. The string section again makes its appearance. <<>>

Welch and Rawlings’ gift for superimposing the contemporary with old-time sounds peaks on The Mississippi Died with its lyrical references to the opoid crisis and climate change – the reference to the Mississippi River drying up – and the feeling that nothing can be done with so much political polarization. <<>>

Rawlings also does the lead vocal on Turf the Gambler a story song, done in the classic Welch-Rawlings acoustic duo format. <<>>

The album concludes with one of its highlights, Howdy Howdy, which is also reminiscent of Welch and Rawlings’ earlier work, with a melacholy sound, in a duo setting, including a banjo, allegorical lyrics and their distinctive vocals harmonies. <<>>

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been making music together now in a collaboration that is nearly 30 years old. Woodland is their first album of new music in 13 years, and the first of original music to be listed under both Welch and Rawling’s names. The arrangements can run from just the duo with acoustic instruments, up to a couple of tracks with a string section. But it’s all well done. The duo’s musical partnership is profound and even when they scale back to a bare-bones setting, their music remains highly personal.

Our grade for audio quality is an “A-minus” with decent clarity and the acoustic instruments treated well. But volume compression gives it a flat, rather bland sound with little dynamics.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ long-time collaboration has yielded some memorable music, which in turn has been the inspiration for others to emulate their distinctive blend of the timeless with the contemporary. Their new album of original music, after a long wait, ups the ante some, and the result is another outstanding recording.

(c) Copyright 2024 George D. Graham. All rights reserved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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