Hello Reader,
Welcome back. Today we’ll be talking about a musician proficient on the following instruments: a Mule brand resonator guitar, a National brand resonator guitar, a fretless open-back banjo, and a twelve-string guitar, often played in the beautiful Piedmont blues style. A multi-instrumentalist that is a true troubadour within the genres of blues, bluegrass, folk and gospel.
Full disclosure: I’ve spent most of my life in the U.S. Midwest, so Minnesotan-based blues singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist Charlie Parr is someone that I’m well familiar with. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him perform live around a dozen times, sometimes with my SWT colleague Josh and other friends that love the music Parr plays. I also owned a handful of his albums on vinyl when my record collection was at its peak. In my opinion, Parr is one of the better live acts performing today, so please go see him if you’re able to. That being said, the review will be objective as they always are.
A traditional gospel song that Parr covered an album he released in 2010, still sticks in my mind in 2024. It’s a song Parr has often performed live and the passion and volume it is executed with are well captured in the recording to the song below, “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down”:
(All credits and rights to NDMOA, Parr and Claude Ely the attributed original songwriter)
Charlie has had a prolific outpouring of music. Mostly in the country blues, folk and bluegrass scene. He’s been on the road often for the past twenty years. His fourteen studio albums and one EP include: Criminals & Sinners (2002), 1922 (2002), Rooster (2005), Backslider (2006), Jubilee (2007), Roustabout (2008), When the Devil Goes Blind (2010), Keep Your Hands on the Plow (2011), King Earl (2014), Barnswallow (2014), Stumpjumper (2015), I Ain’t Dead Yet EP (2016), Dog (2017), Charlie Parr (2019), and Last of the Better Days Ahead (2021). Parr has also released many live recordings digitally and those Parr truly shines, to me. After you’re done reading the entire review, check those albums out on his Bandcamp site right here.
Parr’s first release in three years, Little Sun was released for your listening pleasure on March 22nd via the amazing Smithsonian Folkways Records. Yes, they’re best associated with that grouping of U.S. museums. The non-profit label has become an archivist and beacon for those seeking older Folk, Blues and Jazz genre recordings (think: Woody Guthrie, Dave Von Ronk, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Lead Belly, Memphis Slim, Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, among many excellent artists you’ll be even less familiar with) and continues to be an outlet for living artists including but not limited to: Dom Flemons, early Lucinda Williams, Los Texmaniacs and Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla. All of whom are women of color that are insanely talented and all play banjo, in addition to other instruments). After reading this review, please go and head over to their essential site for a wonderful comprehensive collection of music, not limited to United States specific sounds. And to your local record store. They’ll have at least a few Folkways label albums.
- Charlie Parr is songwriter, lead vocalist, and plays banjo and guitar
- Marisa Anderson plays electric guitar
- Victor Krummenacher plays electric bass, upright bass, and bass VI guitar
- Andrew Borger plays drums and percussion
- Asher Fulero plays piano, Hammond organ, and keys
- Anna Tivel – backing vocals
- Mary DuShane – plays fiddle on “Ten Watt”
- Liz Draper – plays bass on “Ten Watt”
- Mikkel Beckman – plays percussion on “Ten Watt”
- Tucker Martine (best known for working with The Decemberists, case/lang/veirs, My Morning Jacket) recorded, mixed and engineered. Tucker Martine’s the first producer on a Parr album.
And now for some hype for your ears!
The search for Annie, on “Portland Avenue”:
(All credits and rights to Charlie Parr and Smithsonian Folkways)
The exuberant sound on “Boombox”:
(All credits and rights to Charlie Parr and Smithsonian Folkways)
The humanity within “Stray”:
Overall Little Sun is Parr’s fullest sounding album so far. Usually, he’s solo or at most with limited backing vocals. I could see some being frustrated with this new approach. I’m not one of those folks. It’s still a Parr album enhanced with more musicianship than normal. The musicianship of Anderson, Borger, Fulero, Krummenacher and Tivel join Parr to create an excellent sound. They are skilled and add a lot to the melody and overall sound.
The opening song “Portland Ave” features reflective lyrics about the passage of time specifically in reference to a human named Annie. The backing vocals from Tival combine well with Parr’s lead vocals. The melody is guitar and drum driven and has keys as well. This melody introduces us to a full band sound the listener will hear throughout the remainder of the album.
On “Little Sun” the lyrics tell of old melodies surrounding music and the desire to be with another listening to those old melodies. The melody within this song itself is well composed with organ, guitars, drums and harmonica.
The third song, “Bear Head Lake” is a melodic departure from the previous two songs. This song features a slow build of a melody almost as if you’re watching a timelapse video over a body of water such as a lake. The prominent instrumentation in the melody is a well picked banjo, some percussion, and organ. The lyrics tell of a memory at the titular lake that was accompanied by some frustrating moments. The song has a fade out before the next tune of “Boombox” begins.
“Boombox” begins with a jubilant melody that is sustained throughout the song. The lyrics tell of how music makes one feel within their being, their soul. Does it make them dance, with others, or even when they are alone? The duel between the guitar and piano creates a beautiful melody will make you dance yourself.
The next song, “Pale Fire” has a much slower melody than the previous song. It is a song that pairs a bluesy guitar with Parr’s lead and Tivel’s backing vocals. The lyrics start with a story but become an allegory about perseverance despite loss.
“Ten Watt” the lyrics tell of Parr’s reclusive nature and what it took to get him outside with lyrics that are an analogy to energy. The melody features fantastic strings via fiddle, bass, and organ.
The lyrics within “Stray” tell of a well-worn character, browbeaten over the years. Themes of religion empathy and sympathy are included over a melody of banjo picking and guitar. Tivel’s backing vocals again are wonderfully sung and pair exquisitely with Parr’s, further driving the lyrics home.
The final song, “Sloth” has lyrics that tell of a narrator that is content with where they are at and their current pace in life. The lyrics are also self-aware and reflective. Tivel joins on backing vocals during the chorus and the difference in her tonal delivery compared to Parr’s is a nice touch. The instruments that stand out to me in the melody are percussion and organ.
Little Sun gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. It’s a very good album. For me, this album would fit within Parr’s discography in probably the upper third. The album is definitely above the mid-point. And relatively to all 2024 album releases, Little Sun will probably end up in the upper part of the 4 Scum Drop range (which is 72nd-83rd percentile). Top notch recording and sonic quality. Excellent musicianship and composition. Choosing which musicians to play when and which instrument was orchestrated. The song songwriting and vocals were splendid. Little Sun is an album worth adding to your collection on any format. Though with the bluesy sound at times, I’d suggest at minimum to owning a copy on vinyl.
Little Sun Track listing (song length)
- Portland Ave (4:29)
- Little Sun (3:57)
- Bear Head Lake (7:20)
- Boombox (3:55)
- Pale Fire (7:31)
- Ten Watt (5:30)
- Stray (4:40)
- Sloth (3:39)
Total run time: 41:01
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. This process is usually an hour or less from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, the songs that are highlighted in green font above are my favorite songs on this album.
Charlie’s site with tour info, merch and more about the gear he performs with can be found here.
And here’s the link to the Smithsonian Folkways site, check it out! Enjoy the delve!
Thanks for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
