Big Dave McLean
Faded But Not Gone
Release Date: April 11, 2014
Produced By: Steve Dawson
Recorded In: Nashville, TN
Listen:
Mention the blues and chances are that you’ll think of the Mississippi delta and imagine the sound of an acoustic guitar drifting through the hot night breeze over the cotton fields. Or, you might picture a harp player stomping his feet and wailing for all he’s worth over an electric guitar in a sweaty Chicago nightclub. But, you probably wouldn’t think of Winnipeg, Manitoba – right smack in the middle of the Canadian prairies – as a hot bed of blues music. Big Dave McLean, the heart and soul of the Winnipeg music scene, has been singing the blues better than anyone for decades now.
It’s a journey that’s taken him hooting, hollering and testifying through every juke joint and dance hall across the country more times than he can remember. If there’s a blues club in Canada worth its salt, he’s played there. After all, how many other singers had their first guitar lesson from John Hammond and got to open up for Muddy Waters?
If you’re an old fan, there’s no better place to catch up with Big Dave than with ‘Faded But Not Gone’, the seventh and – just maybe – best album of this Juno and Western Canadian Music Award-winner’s long career. Recorded while he was still trying to absorb the deaths of his mother and brother, ‘Faded But Not Gone’ is a vital, deeply heartfelt expression of loss and recovery and McLean’s most personal album to date.
Standing at a personal crossroads with a new set of songs he was burning to record, Big Dave was ready to do something special and stretch out to explore areas he’d never ventured into before. So, the timing couldn't have been better when Steve Dawson, the award-winning roots music producer, called and invited him to head down to Nashville to record at his newly relocated Henhouse Studio. ‘Everything about this project blew my mind – especially Steve Dawson. Spending a week down in Nashville with his family was an amazing experience. I visited an old slave plantation, went to the Grand Ol’ Opry and sat in on Colin Linden’s regular jam session. Later, Colin came by the studio and laid a beautiful slide down on ‘I best Choose to Sing the Blues.’ Everything about that week went into the album and Steve took me out of my comfort zone a few times to get there. I have always been into Delta blues and early Chicago blues, but it was nice to have to step it up and play in a more of a country blues style on songs like ‘Devil in the Jukebox’ and ‘One More Day. Heck, we played a Tampa Red song, ‘Dead Cats on the Line’ and my old friend Colin James came in and played a beautiful mandolin solo. The whole experience touched me deeply.”
As with any Black Hen production, some of the best players in roots music chipped in to create the sound. Big Dave’s gravelly voice, wailing harp and guitar are front and centre, with Dawson supporting on guitar, banjo and pedal steel. The incredible Kevin Mckendree contributes some very tasty organ and piano riffs while the rock solid rhythm section of Gary Craig (drums) and John Dymond (bass) keep things on an even keel. To ensure the highest level of spontaneity, Big Dave met the musicians at the studio for the first time for a day of rehearsals before diving right into the recording process. Magic was clearly in the air as the ensemble took on six original songs and seven carefully selected covers that showcase Big Dave’s approach to blues music.
‘Faded But Not Gone’ is one of those rare albums where the cover tunes complement the original tracks perfectly. Whether it’s a nuanced take of Tom Waits’ ‘Mr. Seigal’ driven by Dawson’s banjo, or a tasty version of Skip James’ ‘Devil got my Woman’, Big Dave puts heart and soul into each performance to make every song his own. Two of Dave’s original compositions deserve special mention; ‘Shades of Grace’ is a lovely and poignant tribute to Big Dave’s mother who used to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ to him when he was a child. It’s a heartbreaking track that’s made even more beautiful with backup vocals from the amazing Mcrary sisters that’ll send chills up and down your spine. With bare, honest lyrics and stripped down arrangements that leave the singer with nowhere to hide. And “Fallen” is truly the performance of a lifetime. Written as an elegy to his brother who passed away the week before the song was recorded, ‘Fallen’ is truly the work of a master at the very top of his form.
With songs that are true from beginning to end, right down to the bone, ‘Faded But Not Gone’ communicates the essence of the blues. When Big Dave McLean sings, no matter how down and dirty things get, everything’s going to work out right. You’ll have to look long and hard to hear music this real anywhere in 2014.
Reviews
"There's nothing faded about Faded But Not Gone, the new (seventh) album from veteran Big Dave McLean."
"The performance is a measure of Big Dave’s importance to our community that such a grouping of our best players turns out for a new Big Dave album. Faded but not gone indeed!"
"Nothing has faded about McLean’s music. In fact, the album’s sonic warmth only adds greater colour as the bluesman brings to the fore his gritty vocals, taste for delta and country blues and early Chicago styles."
"Channeling John Lee Hooker, McLean really lays it on the line especially for those who miss the pure bred Delta sound."
"This record goes really well with a rocking chair, a glass of whiskey, and an afternoon of nothing else to do."
"Using a shopworn yet effective singing voice and confident bending of guitar strings, the sixty-something bluesman serves up substantial original songs (to mention one, "Shades Of Grace," which poignantly takes a gospel path) and stamps his own sly accent on well-chosen songs belonging to contemporaries Tom Waits and Ray LaMontagne as well as influences Tampa Red and Skip James."
"It's always great when somebody lives it, and Big Dave lives it. He's all about the blues, the road, it's pure commitment."
"If you have not heard McLean before, I urge you to buy this and guarantee you will not be disappointed."
"I just received the newest release (March 3, 2015), Faded but Not Gone, by Big Dave McLean and it's gritty and solid."
“Faded but not Gone” is a snapshot of a man at an emotional crossroads and the album succeeds in perfectly portraying McLean’s journey on his road to healing."
"Big Dave McLean set out initially to make a great record, and, coupled with his own immense talents as well as those of his sidemen, “Faded But Not Gone” has accomplished this goal!"
"This album has a timeless quality and will most definitely make my list of the top albums of the year. Dawson and company have done it again, and Big Dave McLean may have just released his best work to date."
"Standouts are a superb ‘Dead Cat On The Line’ given a knock down, drag out hokum treatment, driven along by Colin James’ rippling mandolin playing."
"His ragged but right guitar work, harmonica, and gruff vocals are perfectly suited for old school, down-home blues."
Winnipeg, Manitoba's Big Dave McLean returns with a full platter of tunes courtesy of Vancouver's Black Hen Music label and talented veteran producer, Steve Dawson. Faded But Not Gone offers 12 songs, mostly original but with a few well-chosen covers thrown in for good measure that showcase why McLean is such a celebrated stalwart among our northern cousins.
"The songs, one good one after another, are a mix of McLean's impressive originals, as often blues-inflected as straight-ahead blues, and covers from the likes of Tampa Red (an inspired reworking of "Dead Cat on the Line"), Tom Waits ("Mr. Siegal"), Ray LaMontagne ("Devil's in the Jukebox") and more."
"Surrounded by first call players such as Kevin McKendree on keyboards, Colin Linden and Steve Dawson on guitars, Colin James on mandolin and the McCrary Sisters on vocals, guitarist and singer Big Dave McClean, has crafted a disc of straight shooting blues that are aimed more at getting through another day than lighting up the next party."
"It was a brilliant idea for Winnipeg, Canada’s acclaimed blues singer and guitar picker Big Dave McLean to go cuttin’ down in Nashville with the equally revered producer and master guitarist, Steve Dawson."
"The seductive opening notes of the classic "Tough Times" resplendent with a vintage tube vibrato will slide down your ear canal, through your ear drum and surround your brain before it blossoms into a snarly, ragged, gritty Delta-infused blues romp replete with a quintessential gravelly voice urging your body to sway and your toes to tap like only true-blue blues can."
"This is my kind of blueser. Out of Canada, Big Dave McLeanhas a gritty, world travelled voice and delivers a tune like he’s sitting next to you in his truck after having picked you up hitch-hiking."
"This CD is a fine set of Delta and country blues. It goes back to the past, and brings in some younger new songs too. If you like this type of blues, run and grab this CD."
"This latest release should make U.S. blues fans sit up and take notice to his powerful voice, songwriting skills and prowess with a National steel guitar."
"Winnipeg, Canada’s blues legend Big Dave McLean visits Nashville to record with master multi-instrumentalist and producer, Steve Dawson, for Faded But Not Gone."
"Nothing has faded about McLean’s music. In fact, the album’s sonic warmth only adds greater colour as the bluesman brings to the fore his gritty vocals, taste for delta and country blues and early Chicago styles."
"A Juno and Western Canadian Music Award-winner, McLean channeled the recent loss of his mother and brother into a vital, deeply heartfelt expression of loss and recovery on the songs from Faded but Not Gone, making it his most personal album to date."
"Big Dave McLean has crafted a disc of straight shooting blues that are aimed more at getting through another day than lighting up the next party."
"This is a great album by a Canadian bluesman who is long overdue to make some major inroads into the American blues scene."