From Kim Ruehl,
Your Guide to Folk Music.
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Tim O'Brien's last release was in the form of two separate albums: Fiddler's Green and Cornbread Nation were two remarkable albums paying tribute to traditional music via various collaborations and full-band arrangements of traditional Celtic and southern songs, respectively. Now he's back with a killer solo songwriter record full of country- and blues-inspired original folk songs.

'Chameleon' Instrumental and Songwriting Skills

Tim O'Brien's career has been built on the sheer fact that the man can seemingly do anything musically. Navel-gazing folk songs, check. High-powered bluegrass fiddle tunes, check. Meandering mandolin noodling, check. Toe-tapping blues tunes, check. Classic old timey Celtic and American gospel songs, check. Bazouki, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, vocals...get the point?

In our recent interview with Tim O'Brien, he said that it was just time to get back to doing a songwriter record. That "songwriter record" would be this year's Chameleon. Here are a slew of love songs ("Where's Love Come From") and songs about the search for self and meaning ("The Garden," the title track). There are also a couple of protest songs and observations about how the world is changing.

Highlights

Only O'Brien could turn "phantom phone syndome" into an old timey-sounding fiddle tune. "The mobile phone is a threat to the human race," he sings before snarkily adding: "Up by your ear it's bad for your brain / down in your pocket it's a sperm count drain."

He tackles the same type of theme as Chris Smither's "No Love Today," echoing the song of a produce caller. Having heard Smither's unbeatable tribute to the old produce callers, it's hard to not compare O'Brien's tune "Megna's" (download from Amazon)

Then, there's "The Only Way to Never Hurt" (download from Amazon)—the Willie Nelson-ish classic style country heartbreak song. The melody is so haunting and soaring, it's impossible not to fall in love with this song that's sure to break your heart. "Get Out There and Dance" (download from Amazon) is a fun little mandolin tune that stands out as one of the most fun songs on the disc, if not any recent release.

"The World Was Made For Everyone" is a clever tongue-in-cheek commentary tackling current issues of empiricism and its ties to religion and ego. O'Brien told me he was aiming for a more sarcastic, humorous bent on his political songs, and he simply nailed it on this tune.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that Tim O'Brien is a stellar songwriter, a stellar instrumentalist, and an intuitive producer. All those elements come together swimmingly on this, his 14th solo record. In fact, Chameleon is, dare I say, will surely prove to be one of the best folk and roots releases this year.