Steve Dawson
Rattlesnake Cage
Release Date: Feb 18, 2014
Produced By: Steve Dawson
Recorded In: Nashville, TN
Listen:
Sometimes it’s best to just put up a microphone in a room, sit down and play your guitar…
This is the record that Steve Dawson’s growing number of fans have been waiting for.
Rattlesnake Cage finally gives them the opportunity to hear Steve interact with his guitar in a way that has never been captured on record before. Until now, hearing the sweet melodies and deep soul of Steve playing solo guitar has been a treat reserved for live audiences in intimate settings. These new simple and unadorned recordings hearken back to the ‘American Primitive’ sound that John Fahey and other artists such as Peter Lang and Leo Kottke recorded on Fahey’s iconic Takoma record label in the sixties – instrumental music informed by the deep traditions of blues, ragtime, jazz and even Hawaiian music, but taking those influences in unexpected directions. The opening track, ‘Blind Thomas at the Crime Scene’ which takes its title from Fahey’s earliest nom de plume is the recording that most clearly communicates Dawson’s respect for the American Primitive aesthetic, and gives the listener the clearest indication of what’s to come.
Recorded with a single vintage tube microphone that had recently been rescued from decades of hanging from the ceiling rafters of an old theatre in Detroit, you can hear every detail and nuance of each note. The effect of hearing a recording this open and pure is quite astounding.
After countless successes in the industry both as a performer and producer in his native Canada (including 7 Juno Awards as an artist and producer), Steve has relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to begin a new chapter in his career. Rattlesnake Cage reflects all of the places Dawson has been and everything he’s heard, resulting in some of the loveliest melodies of his career as a recording artist. As much as these songs can be unobtrusive and listened to in the background at low volume, if a solo instrument is going to hold its own like this in the spotlight, the music being played on it has to have very good bones, and be able to stand up to some pretty intense scrutiny. For all their simplicity and deceptive moments of tranquility, the closer you listen to songs like ‘Lighthouse Avenue’ or ‘The Flagpole Skater Laughs From Above’, the sooner you’ll realize that this is music with fire in its belly. Fans of Reverend Gary Davis will recognize the musical references in ‘Altar at the Center Raven’ that evokes an imaginary scene at the pulpit where he preached. In the same way, ‘The Medicine Show comes to Avalon’ bounces along a razor’s edge between antique and future sounds with its heartfelt homage to the music of Mississippi John Hurt. Yet, for all of the influences Dawson tips his hat to, the sound that emerges on these recordings reflects a confluence of a lifetime’s listening to and collecting vintage songs that fuses with Dawson’s contemporary sensibilities and mastery of modern recording techniques.
In the same way you can recognize that it’s Bert Jansch, Ry Cooder, or Mississippi John Hurt playing guitar after hearing just a few notes, Steve Dawson has established a voice for his instrument that is as distinct as any of theirs to become one of the most identifiable sounds in modern roots music. The 11 songs on Rattlesnake Cage represent our first chance on record to hear Dawson explore the infinite possibilities offered by his pallet of acoustic guitars – both 6 and 12-string acoustics, a National tricone guitar, and a Weissenborn Hawaiian guitar - without any effects, or even a human voice to separate him from his audience. It’s rare to experience such direct communication in any kind of music these days, but the songs on the record remind us that the sound of a single instrument creating patterns out of the silence is as old as music itself.
The fluidity of Steve’s playing makes what he does sound so effortless that it’s easy to forget that it takes years of disciplined practice to achieve such an apparent simplicity. There are lots of guitar virtuosos out there who can reel off a dizzying array of notes at lightning speed, and Dawson can certainly do that, but at a certain point, great players like him realize that sometimes less is more. Nothing on this record is superfluous. This is music that doesn’t show off or needlessly strut its stuff. Like a perfectly aged single malt, these compositions come to us fully seasoned and mature.
Reviews
"The guy, as you already know if you're familiar with his catalogue, is an extraordinary fingerpicker, and Rattlesnake Cage brings the old Takoma label's early days screaming right up to the present."
"His approach to fingerstyle guitar intentionally references parts of roots music history, pioneers like Mississippi John Hurt, and others."
"The fluidity of Steve’s playing makes what he does sound so effortless that it’s easy to forget that it takes years of disciplined practice to achieve such an apparent simplicity."
"Southern narratives are evoked with songs wuch as The Medicine Show Comes to Avalon, there's a taste of ragtime in J.R. Lockley's Dilemma and blues to found in The Altar at Centre Raven."
"Dexterous, of course, with a grounding in folk-blues, the record seems unfettered (the title notwithstanding) and relishes in the sound of a guitar for its own sake. It’s not lofty, in other words, but earthy and homespun."
"Some have even dubbed him the Canadian Ry Cooder, in reference to Cooder’s constant work as a roots revivalist. Not far off the mark when you consider Dawson’s acclaimed Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Project..."
"When country-folk contrarian Townes Van Zandt quipped that there are only two kinds of songs, the blues and zip-a-dee-doo-dah, he could have been talking about Rattlesnake Cage."
“Rattlesnake Cage is an album that refers to all the places where Dawson has been and to all genres of music he has heard. "
"Using a few different guitars and a single Neumann M49 microphone he works his way through various genres, bending them and twisting them out of shape and into his own personal sound."
I first discovered Dawson a few years back, he was one of the main forces behind the award winning Tribute to the Mississippi Sheiks project, and I have been very impressed by his talent. Rattlesnake Cage is one man, four guitars; a Jumbo Larivee, a Weissenborn, a National Tricone and a Taylor 12-string, an old microphone with some history, eleven original songs, and some fingers and slides. Steve includes a variety of instrumentals featuring intricate fingering, ringing tone and the impassioned and skillful playing of a master craftsman.
"The Canandian native gets into your head, into your aura. His musical stew offers a hint of blues for the soul, unerring tempo for the mind, ragtime for a historical bounce, and whimsy for the romantic in all of us."
"Dawson is easily a master guitarist who presents an instrumental CD with a level of expertise that has a certain satisfying flow."
"This is acoustic heaven, using every old school method as possible, Dawson takes the listener on a journey."
"Steve Dawson’s Rattlesnake Cage is a gift to the ears, and the soul as well. Stunning in it’s immediacy, and simplicity, this music awakens the spirit."
"The closemiked recording reveals in fine detail the timbre of these instruments as well as Dawson’s nimble finger work, and his playing on this all-original set persuasively combines delicacy with gutsiness and a deep sense of traditional roots music beneath which flows an undercurrent of American Primitivism."
"Steve Dawson, of Vancouver and (as of late) Nashville, is Canada's leading roots-music impresario, a man who wears -- literally and metaphorically -- several hats."
"...It all hangs together in fine style as glorious showcase for Dawson's superlative guitar playing."
"Rattlesnake Cage is a breathtaking album of original roots and blues music from Steve Dawson, and it is a must-have for lovers of the acoustic guitar.:
"Dawson only recently hangs his hat in Nashville, but sounds like he’s lived in the American south all of his days."
Steve Dawson had a formidable career as a performer and producer in his native Canada (including 7 Juno Awards as an artist and producer), before relocating to Nashville, Tennessee. He has a new recording "Rattlesnake Cage" (Black Hen Music) that consists of solo recordings that are informed by the deep traditions of blues ragtime, jaza and even Hawaiian music, but taking those influences in unexpected directions.
The standout acoustic blues disc of the year, Rattlesnake Cage (Black Hen), showcases Steve Dawson's brilliance. He wrote all of the songs, produced and mixed the disc, and plays gloriously on this all-instrumental collection. Dawson employs a number of guitars: a Jumbo Larrivee, a Weissenborn built by Michael Dunn, a National Tricone and a Taylor 12-string. He also notes that he used a Neumann M 49 microphone "that had been hanging from the rafters of a church in Detroit for 50 years."
"Dawson brings the unusual titles of his blues to life with artistry that paints sonic pictures encompassed in the sounds he elicits from the strings of his guitars."
"Eleven tunes in total to send almost every other acoustic player on earth back to their bedrooms as he showcases his astounding technique..."
"Dexterous, of course, with a grounding in folk-blues, the record seems unfettered (the title notwithstanding) and relishes in the sound of a guitar for its own sake..."
"...Steve’s picking on these cuts is exemplary, and reminiscent of the Sixties works of John Fahey and Ry Cooder, and also shows what a tremendous talent Steve has for the old-time feel of these tunes."
"Dawson has issued a CD of instrumental guitar tracks that simply must be heard. I got this disc in the mail last weekend, and I have played it at least once a day since then..."
"...Dawson’s virtuosity and imagination are front and centre, reminiscent of albums in the 1970s by John Fahey and Leo Kottke..."
"Beautifully and skillfully executed, Rattlesnake Cage should reward the listener with new insights each time it’s opened."
"...The Nashville-based Vancouverite’s first true solo release {is} a wonderful foray into what’s often called the American Primitive style of guitar music."
"It’s a tour de force performance and I can only imagine what the additional layer of seeing him “live” does to upping the artistry even higher."
"Dawson delivers eleven instrumentals, all self penned, that are minor masterpieces of the art of solo finger picking blues guitar with cascades of notes flowing from his fingers."
"Dawson weaves tapestries in song, intricate and beautiful, the sort of thing that could play nonstop and not get old."
"A solo excursion by Dawson, captured spontaneously and presented without overdubs or effects, it's an absolutely dazzling collection of acoustic explorations."
"Rattlesnake Cage not only shows that Dawson is an awesome talent, but presents a mix of folk and blues style Americana picking that is great to listen to."
"There aren’t many musicians brave or gifted enough to pull off a purely solo performance like this, which makes its appearance even more noteworthy."
"...Not since John Fahey or Bert Jansch in the 1960s have I been so mesmerized by one man playing one guitar with no rhythm section or even a voice in the mix."
"Ragtime, fingerstyle, slide, gospel, resophonic, country — all manner of old-time guitar is here, recorded and mastered oh so well for optimum enjoyment."
"...Dawson, who recently relocated to Nashville, simply makes use of his array of guitars (six- and 12-string, National tricone guitar, and a Weissenborn Hawaiian guitar) and his fingers to revisit the land of early Americana."
"Meditative at times, explosive at others, you can easily get lost in its winding path, wonder where an hour went, and wonder why you are suddenly uplifted."
"His playing on this all-original set persuasively combines delicacy with gutsiness and a deep sense of traditional roots music beneath which flows an undercurrent of American Primitivism."
"...Revels in that simplicity on his latest, an instrumental guitar album showcasing his various styles of fingerpicking and slide work without overdubs or effects."
"There’s ragtime (J.R. Lockely’s Dilemma), some jaunty blues (The Altar at Center Raven) and a whole lot of bewilderingly intricate fingerpicking that will have you doubting what you’re hearing."
"On his latest album, Dawson gives listeners an opportunity to hear a conversation between his imagination, fingers and guitars."
"Steve Dawson is a Canadian guitar player (playing solo acoustic here) of considerable ability, and a sensibility that clearly derives form concentrated listening both to the vintage greats of blues and country guitar, and - probably more so - to those later exponents who built on that heritage."
On his latest album, Dawson gives listeners an opportunity to hear a conversation between his imagination, fingers and guitars (including 6- and 12-strings, traditional wood bodies and a National tricone), unadorned by other instruments or even vocals.
"If you love acoustic guitar picking especially in the style of Kottke/Lang and John Hurt/Gary Davis, this is a treasure."
"Steve Dawson offers a double gift, giving listeners the album that have been waiting for somewhat patiently, and honoring the American Primitive tradition with his obvious respect for the genre."
"He provides hot licks from deep roots starting with "Blind Thomas At The Crime Scene" and doesn't stop 'til both you and he are satisfied."
"The moods ranges from "Flophouse Oratory," which stops, starts and weaves together like an old rural Southern storyline, to "The Medicine Show Comes to Avalon," Dawson's delightful tribute to Mississippi John Hurt."
"It is both a subtle and intricate album. The music lulls the listener as it slips into the background, which is due to Dawson making it look and feel so easy."