CARRIE NEWCOMER
The Beautiful Not Yet
Available Light Music
03
★★★★★
It seems silly to call this Carrie Newcomer release—her 16th—a
"mature" release given that she's never made an immature one.
Nonetheless, this one is filled with such wisdom, grace, beauty, and hope that
it has come to occupy a special place in my heart. It's not just my best
release for September, it's so good that I cannot imagine I will hear anything
else as good this calendar year.
It is relentlessly optimistic in ways that humble and move me to tears. Newcomer
doesn't just sing about hopeful things–though titles such as "The Season
of Mercy," "When the Light Comes Down," and "You Can Do
This Hard Thing" are pretty much their own statements–she practices what
she preaches. I write these words in the midst of still another nasty political
campaign and, like a lot of folks, I wonder where all the good people have
gone. Ms. Newcomer reminds me. Check out her Wikipedia bio and you'll see what I mean. Even better, buy this
stunning CD.
Newcomer grabs us from the get-go. The opening track,
"Lean in Toward the Light" begins with guitar, strings from Natalie
Haas (cello) and Sumaia Jackson (fiddle), a splash of mando from Jordan Tice
and banjo from Jayme Stone, and cuts to a gospel-like choir with Newcomer leading
all in vocal prayer. Her voice—deep, emotive, and with husky undertones–is one
for the ages, the alto equivalent of Judy Collins' soprano. Speaking of prayer,
her "A Shovel is a Prayer" reminds us of the utter holiness of life's
small and private moments. That same ethos carries over to "Cedar Rapids
10 AM," a fragile song of love, yearning, and road weariness. Newcomer
takes a straightforward lyric and makes it transformative. Read these words: You've always been a cup of coffee/You've
always been the cream/You've always believed I was better/Than I could ever
dream. Now listen to them in musical context. Magic, right? I expect Mary
Chapin Carpenter to come calling on this one any day.
The entire album is like this—so much so that one wonders
how she accesses these parts of her mind and soul. The title track pays homage
to quickenings, those moments of becoming that have just begun to unfold; her
"Sanctuary" is the meaning we find in other people; and "Help in
Hard Times" references "lunar spirituality" and is appropriately
mysterious, slightly dark, and a tad languid. It's always tricky and perhaps
disingenuous to presume the intentions of an artist, but to my ear the two
songs that best capture Ms. Newcomer's outlook are "Three Feet or So"
and "The Slender Thread." The first is catchy musically, but also a
plea to be grateful for what we have whenever we get caught up in wants and
desires; the second a reminder that we're "holding on to a slender
thread" as we go through life, one that connects to those whom we love.
This is, in short, a beautiful album in both song and
spirit. Cynics beware! Listening to Carrie Newcomer might just make you start
volunteering at your local food bank. At the very least, you'll be overwhelmed
by a desire to hold someone tightly– a slender thread, but maybe one made of
steel.
Rob Weir
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