Dom Flemons - American Songster
Dom Flemons is a true virtuoso. A musician that is equally adept at singing, playing, and the craft of songwriting, Flemons enjoys testing his skills on a variety of musical instruments in a variety of musical genres. As a member of acclaimed North Carolina trio The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons carries on the stringband tradition of fiddle and banjo music so closely tied to that region of the U.S.
Flemons’ 2009 release on Music Maker Records is American Songster, a term Flemons exemplifies in the flesh. There are 15 songs, the majority of which are under the three minute mark, making for a disc just under 43 minutes in length. Being a man who carries on the old, acoustic traditions, Flemons packs a lot of covers in on American Songster, providing only two originals, one of which is the playful, 43 second “Quills,” which features Flemons hooting and playing an instrument of the same name, which is a traditional African American pan flute.
Dom Flemons includes three tunes by his hero, Henry Thomas (“Arkansas,” “John Henry,” and “Coda: Liza Jane.”) “Arkansas” is a strictly acapela song, the only “instrumentation” in the tune being Flemons’ foot tapping and an occasional hand clap.
Flemons handles all of the musical duties on American Songster, with credits listed for vocals, guitar, 4, 5, and 6 string banjo, harp, bones, quills, fife, and bass drum. It’s that fife and drum track, Flemon’s take on he Mississippi Sheiks’ “That’s It,” that became an instant favorite of mine on this record. I had heard about the fife and drum style, and had even heard one track in that style before, but that’s about the extent of my education to it, and I was thrilled to have an opportunity to hear a new recording utilizing the fife and drum style.
His version of Ma Rainey’s “Yonder Comes the Blues” is, in my opinion, Dom Flemons’ strongest vocal effort on the disc, shouting the angst of a Blues filled life. That’s followed on the album with Leadbelly’s “I’m Sorry Mama.” Flemons continues the Leadbelly homage in a medley of “Po’ Black Sheep/Gwine Dig A Hole,” with the former being a Nathan Frazier number. More of Flemons’ excellent work with the quills here, as well as some stellar banjo.
Flemons turns in another great vocal performance on the disc’s opener, “Bye Bye Policeman,” a song that Dom describes in the liner notes as “old time hip-hop.” He gets wild on a pair of instrumentals, “Run Them Shoes Down, Sally” on the four string banjo, and the rollicking “There’s A Brownskin Girl Down the Road Somewhere” on harmonica.
American Songster’s longest track, “The Highwayman” is a cover of a song by Folk artist Phil Ochs, which is based on an Alfred Noyes poem. The story song clocks in near six-and-a-half minutes, easily outlasting all of the other songs in length, and filled with beautiful guitar work.
American Songster ends with “Coda: Liza Jane,” which is described in a great story in the disc’s liner notes. I will tell you that the track is a demo recorded on the roof of Flemons’ New York City apartment. You’ll have to get your hands on a copy of the disc to learn the passing 13-year-old-girl’s reaction to the tune.
American Songster is a great journey into the past with an unlikely tour guide. Unlikely, in that, one wouldn’t typically expect someone so young to have such a firm grasp on forms of music that have all but faded from the American landscape.
Standout Tracks: All of Them, Especially “That’s It,” “Yonder Comes the Blues,” “There’s A Brownskin Girl Down the Road Somewhere,” and “Coda: Liza Jane”
Source: Full Time Blues
