All The Good Times

Album review

For some people, the name Gillian Welch doesn’t ring a bell. For others, it makes them think of Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby, featuring Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, and I’ll Fly Away, a duet with Krauss on the soundtrack of O’Brother, a Coen brothers’ film. But for a small minority, Gillian Welch is quite simply one of the most important singer/songwriters of contemporary folk and country music. The New Yorker established herself as a formidable talent through her writing, vocals and adherence to classicism in five studio albums (Revival in 1996, Hell Among the Yearlings in 1998, Time (The Revelator) in 2001, Soul Journey in 2003 and The Harrow & the Harvest in 2011). With instrumentation by her partner, guitarist David Rawlings, her music has an organic sound and her articulate vocals tell timeless stories of everyday life. Showcasing the old bluegrass style as well as early folk, country and the ultimate rural blues, Welch sings about the land we live on and covers themes such as nature, ordinary people, social outcasts, life and death. Of course, she is often known for covering other artist’s songs, and this is exactly what she and Rawlings do on All the Good Times, which was recorded at home on a vintage tape recorder mid-lockdown. The album features a mixture of traditional songs arranged by the couple (Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss, Poor Ellen Smith and All the Good Times Are Past and Gone) as well as covers of songs by Bob Dylan (Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) and Abandoned Love), John Prime (Hello in There), Elizabeth Cotton (Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie) and Norman Blake (Ginseng Sullivan), not forgetting their cover of the brilliant Jackson by Leiber and Wheeler that was popularised by Johnny Cash and June Carter. The folk tradition in Appalachian music has always inspired the work of the Welch/Rawlings couple and, once again, this tradition is reflected in the pared-down style of these tasteful acoustic covers. This enchanting album, both rustic and casual, ends on a humorous note as the pair perform Arlie Duff’s Y’all Come, a song that has been covered by artists such as Bing Crosby, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Patti Page and Bobby Vinton, all about neighbours coming together – so much for social distancing! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz