Tim Grimm and the Family Band - A Stranger in This Time

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 8 / 5 / 2017

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Indiana based Tim Grimm has already made his mark as one of the best of the storyteller singer/songwriters of any generation. 2013’s ‘The Turning Point’ was the pinnacle of his music career (Grimm has also appeared in movies, TV series and films and in theatre), and that album featured a handful of songs that were instant classics. ‘Anne in Amsterdam’ was inspired by a visit to Anne Frank’s house, ‘The Canyon’ was a love lost song that drove Grimm to inject his already warm, welcoming vocal style with even more intensity, complete with lyrics that, when sung in that voice, could rip the listener apart: “I remember the table where we set the wine/I remember full glasses/I remember a kiss/I remember the things that I miss” then later “We were out in the ocean just treading the time/All the ships we set sailing were broken,” and you can feel the regret and longing in his voice. Then the chorus of ‘Anne In Amsterdam’ features the lines, “You’re smiling in your photograph/You’re wearing your white dress/Something in the distance hasn’t gotten to you yet” which is beautifully chilling. It wasn’t just ‘The Turning Point’ that displayed Grimm’s talent for setting stories to song; dip into any of his albums and there are little gems waiting to be discovered. As far back as 1999 the evidence was there on ‘Heart Land’ on songs such as ’80 Acres’ as Grimm discloses the backstory of the farm he has just bought. Grimm’s love of the land and the people around him was obvious; it shone through and informed many of his best songs. That’s some back catalogue to live up to and initially the eleven songs that make up ‘A Stranger in This Time’ seem to fall a little short of Grimm’s best work. It’s an album that doesn’t instantly throw up a Grimm classic but stay with it as the rewards may take a little longer to materialise but they will shine after a few plays. The world has changed since we last had an album from Grimm and not surprisingly some of these new songs touch on this. The opening ‘These Rollin’ Hills’ (from which the album's title is taken) could simply be taken as a cautionary notice of the approaching winter but one feels that Grimm is painting a wider picture albeit one that ends well and reinforces Grimm’s faith in the hills and people that surround him. This is the first album that has been promoted as being by Tim Grimm and the Family Band and having input from his family has moved Grimm’s music in a slightly different direction; not so far off course that ‘A Stranger in This Time’ doesn’t immediately register as a Grimm album but there’s an edge cutting through at times which hasn’t been so noticeable on his previous albums. Sons Connor and Jackson don’t only contribute by playing bass, guitars, banjo and mandolin but Jackson also had a hand in writing some of the songs. Grimm’s wife Jan Lucas also co-wrote three of the songs as well as providing vocals and harmonica making the album a real family affair. There’s a touch of Leonard Cohen about ‘Gonna Be Great’; it’s not only the almost spoken vocals that paint a dark picture here, the acoustic guitars and percussion all add to the bleakness: “He kept telling us all we were gonna be great/But the lies in his mouth were twisted with hate…A barrel full of monkeys walked out on a limb/Ran into the tower that was named after him” leaves the listener in little doubt how Grimm and co-writer Jackson feel about recent events. It’ll chill you to the bone. ‘Black Snake’ is another topical song, this one written by Jan Lucas and Jackson Grimm and again displaying the darker side of Tim Grimm’s music. ‘Finding Home’ is classic Tim Grimm. While the aforementioned songs do take a few plays before they really register the almost delicate reading of this story hits home on first listen. It’s difficult to believe that Tim Grimm didn’t have a part in writing this song; it’s another Jan Lucas and Jackson Grimm co-write. Either both have been totally inspired by Tim or there’s an unfair amount of talent there for just one family! A gentle melody coupled with Tim’s intimate delivery results in one of the most yearning songs on the album. Jan’s haunting vocals are simply beautiful and a perfect match for Tim’s; the title says all you need to know about the song. ‘Thirteen Years’ is also classic Tim Grimm, telling the story of how a tree fell in a storm on his grandfather’s farm thirteen years before Grimm was born and how years later Tim was given two of the boards that his father had cut from the tree which he had made into a guitar. It’s a brilliant piece of storytelling, up to the high standard that we’ve by now come to expect from Grimm. ‘Over the Waves’ is another song that features a more adventurous backing than those offered on previous Grimm albums. Maybe having input from those who know him best has eased Grimm into pushing his boundaries even further than before; while this commands a little more time from the listener to be spent on the album the rewards are worth it. The album ends with a gorgeous lullaby, ‘Over Hill and Dale’, when Jan Lucas joins in on the second verse and sings with Grimm “don’t worry now my little one/Worries take up time, go to sleep and dream again and in the morning all is fine” the hardest of hearts will melt. It’s too early to tell where ‘A Stranger in This Time’ will take its place in Tim Grimm’s recorded output; it’s certainly not his most instantly accessible album but right now it already sounds like one of his most accomplished and one that will shine brightly for years to come.

Track Listing:-

1 These Rollin' Hills
2 Gonna Be Great
3 So Strong
4 Thirteen Years
5 Black Snake
6 Finding Home
7 Hard Road
8 The Hungry Grass
9 Darlin' Cory
10 Over the Waves
11 Over Hill and Dale

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/timgrimmmusic/
http://www.timgrimm.com/

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