Album tracks premiered by Bluegrass Today, M Music & Musicians Magazine, The Bluegrass Situation, The Hollywood Times, Americana Highways, Center Stage Magazine, The Music Universe, My Kind of Country, and Nashville.com
McEuen Adds Music To Stories With Each Composition On His New Album, Which Contains Poetry Spanning Over 200 Years
The legendary country and bluegrass musician, John McEuen takes to the spoken word through his latest album The Newsman: A Man of Record in his stentorian voice and weaves musical stories through songs. The album is a riveting collection of ten spoken word tracks, written by various artists going back 200 years, followed by a closing instrumental piece.
The opening track in the album weaves the story of a newspaperman from the ’60s who left a deep impression on him through his resilience, dedication, and admiration from society. The artist shares the idea of simplicity as the best form of perfection while doing a monotonous job. The second track “Fly Trouble” puts you in the dancing mood through beautiful rhythm and foot-tapping music. In his haunting voice, McGee narrates the tale of Sam McGee, a Yukon prospector who lost his life in the deep frost and the daunting journey the poet took to cremate Sam McGee as he wistfully recalls an adage “A promise made is a debt unpaid”.
Further in the album, through his tracks “Old Rivers” and “ Pineapple John”, McEuen pays an alluring musical ode to his friends who left a deep impression on him through their interesting lives. The track “Nui Ba Den — tells the horrific story of the Vietnam War — narrated through the eyes of country boys and war rookies sadly left with the post-war trauma and fear.
Through his soulful track “Red Clay”, McEuen teaches us the importance of kindness and love amid hatred and discrimination based on caste, creed, and color. Through musicality, he implores the listeners to let go of their deep-seated prejudices in the name of love, acceptance, and tolerance. In his track “ I’ll be glad when they run out of gas’ ‘, the singer manages to tickle the funny bone in his listeners through his amusing tale of his good-for-nothing car.
The closing spoken word track —Stephen Vincent Benét’s poem “The Mountain Whippoorwill”— is a vibrant and rhythmic narrative that captures the essence of a young boy’s experience in a fiddling contest in the Appalachian Mountains. The poem, rich in imagery and musicality, portrays the boy’s deep connection with nature and his passionate performance, which channels the wild, untamed spirit of the whippoorwill. Through its lively verse and evocative descriptions coupled with the musicality of John’s voice, the track celebrates the power of music and the timeless tradition of folk culture.
Listening to the baritone voice of John McEuen’s voice takes the listeners on a deep resonating harmonious trip accompanied by his vivid storytelling. The intonation and the mellifluous rhythm in his voice take the listeners on a musical journey. The last track in the album leaves you with an unquenchable thirst to listen more. John resurrects the beauty of 200-year-old songs with music, an effort that deserves our deepest commendation.
A must for lovers of music and gorgeous storytelling. An album accentuating the art of spoken word with timeless country music.–Megha Sood, Poet, Editor, Author, Literary Activist, and Author of the award-winning “My Body Lives Like a Threat”
To listen/download The Newsman: A Man Of Record, visit found.ee/newsman
Megha's World 
Awesome review! Thanks for sharing! ❤
LikeLike