"I'm a-goin' where they don't grow no cotton..."
Love headed to Nashville for this record, where she hooked up with bluegrass super-instrumentalist and producer Tim O'Brien, who leant his voice and instruments to several tracks. She also called up the expertise of Jeff Autry, Alice Vestal, Rob Ickes, and others. Among the tracks where their work is most pronounced are the scathing anthem "Angry Days," the sharecropper's narrative protest "Saskatchewan," and the classic folk song "This Train."Love's best moments have always come from marrying traditional adapted American folk songs with her impeccable skills as a vocalist and songwriter. Her version of "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" from an earlier record is one of the loneliest, most heart-wrenching versions of the tune I've ever heard. So it makes sense that NeGrass is so eye-openingly beautiful a collection of songs. Indeed, there's no way to not make as great a record when you're driven by the spirits of your great-grandparents.
Songs of Love, Labor, and Protest
From the opening tune, "Saskatchewan"—a story of slaves learning about the Emancipation Proclamation—to "John Hardy" and "This Train"—classic tunes of labor struggle and gospel—NeGrass sings through every nook and cranny of the post-Civil War African-American experience. Love's high and lonely voice is perfect for the bluegrass genre, and the instrumentalists she chose are perfect for backing up."Savin'" just wreaks of humid heat and dark nights full of longing, as the lyrics sing about fleeing slavery, while "Shady Grove" builds so slow and incrementally that, by the time all the instruments go for their shakedown, the song echoes like a well-worn highway.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is that Negro spirituals and contemporary bluegrass marry quite well, as a matter of fact. Likely, though, it's just Love's seamless command of each genre that results in the record making so much sense sonically. There's not one song that doesn't belong in Love's NeGrass narrative, and the album ends up feeling like as much of a learning experience as a great casual listening experience.
