'11 - Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Bright Examples Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Bright Examples
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Fighting the injustices of lossy audio I bring you another installment of lossless audio.
Artist.................: Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Album................: Bright Examples
Genre................: Folk
Source...............: CD
Year...................: 2011
Ripper................: NMR
Codec.................: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
Version...............: FLAC 1.2.1 20070917
Quality................: Lossless, (avg. bitrate: 804kb/s)
Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit
Tags...................: VorbisComment
Included..............: EAC Rip w/ Log, Cue, M3U, Audiochecker
Covers................: Front
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Each of the 12 songs included on this collection seems intentionally drawn to
tell some side of the story of the creative, spiritual life from the eyes of
children and the child-like to the heart of the listener. There is an early
Lennon/McCartney innocence to these songs, however, they come from the
authentic place within the lives of the artists. The opening and dreamy
“Ahead of Myself” takes the listener through a hazy twilight awareness, a
slow awakening into a California dawn. This quiet beginning finds full
wakefulness in the second song, “Never Far From My Heart,” which updates
a Carter Family feel into a familiar Felice and Boudleaux Bryant pop harmonic
romp. The songs reveal, as the dominant writer on the album, Johnny has
found his own songwriting pulse in the sometimes sadly neglected American
songwriting legacy previously championed by everyone one from Stephen
Foster to Townes Van Zandt. And there is the feeling that even on the
songs written solo by Johnny, Sarah Lee’s inspiration is never far away.
The themes of the songs move along two streams; the movement of a busy
life and the quiet revelation of those still times in-between when even small
events take on great meaning. Sarah Lee’s song of surrender and
compassion “Seven Sisters,” was inspired by a conversion with the late, great
Odetta. “Speed Of Light” and “Hurry Up” illustrate the busy movement of the
creative life. They also underscore the joy found in a life devoted to family,
spirit and music. But the depth and perhaps the energy for their restless
journey is found in contemplative songs like Sarah Lee’s “Butterflies” which
smilingly lead us to the original innocence available to us all in the ordinary
magic of everyday living.
But it’s the closing title song, “Bright Examples”, which brings the two themes
together in Johnny’s story of a chance meeting with a stranger on the
Appalachian Trail who simply borrows his phone for an unsuccessful call and
then hitches a ride down to the toll road. As the opening track, “Ahead Of
Myself,” began quietly with a dream-like feel to it, this story-song is built
around a diminished sounding crashing minor chord that finds its way into a
psychedelic gospel realization as the song progresses. Like the best stories,
it creates a world where nothing much seems to happen, until, as the
listener, you realize just in the experience of the song, a simple moment of
humanity emerges, much like Johnny’s famous grand-uncle John Steinbeck
once wrote about in American literature, the title song subtly shows how
enlightenment is really only a simple good deed away for any of us. It’s the
coming together of action and reflection, compassion and empathy.
This album also allows the listener to fall in love with the stories and visions
they have created and, if listened to close enough, we may find our way to
the same ordinary miracles and inspiration in our own lives.
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It has been five years and lots of road miles since married couple Sarah Lee
Guthrie and Johnny Irion released their previous duo album, but both have
been busy with other projects. From the opening track it's clear that the
twosome have decided to explore a lush, dreamy, and classic pop and
country style than the more traditionally folksy approach that informed their
previous work. Perhaps that was a reaction to being influenced by the music
of alternative roots band Vetiver. Irion not only invited frontman Andy Cabic
to contribute backing instrumentation, but he co-produced the sessions along
with Vetiver's producer Thom Monahan. The rest of that band also
contributes to the music, so similarities to its Tight Knit release are inevitable.
Longtime friend Gary Louris and his Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson also
appear and help move the sound away from a strictly strummy approach.
Most of the songs were recorded with the band and vocalists playing
together with minimal overdubs. The result is a sublime, wistful set made
even more intimate by Guthrie and Irion's delicate voices. Most of the album
focuses on tuneful, rootsy folk pop that, like "Hurry Up and Wait," connects
with hummable melodies that sink in after a single spin. The tunes often build
up from a skeletal beginning to full accompaniment as they progress.
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1. (00:03:11) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Ahead of Myself
2. (00:03:00) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Never Far from My Heart
3. (00:02:49) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Speed of Light
4. (00:03:05) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Seven Sisters
5. (00:03:30) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Target on Your Heart
6. (00:04:17) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Hurry Up and Wait
7. (00:03:01) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Dupont Circle
8. (00:03:55) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Butterflies
9. (00:02:58) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - First Snow
10. (00:03:19) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Cry Quieter
11. (00:03:09) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Company I'm Keepin
12. (00:04:29) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Bright Examples
Playing Time.........: 00:40:42
Total Size...........: 234.00 MB
Dynamic Range (DR)
Analyzed: Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion / Bright Examples
Number of tracks: 12
Codec: FLAC
Official DR value: DR9
