Susan Cattaneo - The Hammer and The Heart

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 2 / 10 / 2017

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There has been slight criticism that Boston singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo’s fifth album, the double ‘The Hammer & The Heart’, would have made an excellent single album, and that due to the running times of each CD they could have fitted onto one disc anyway. While it’s possible that both albums could have fitted onto one disc, the feeling the listener gets that each album does end too soon is simply because the songs and performance are so good you just don’t want the album to end. Also splitting the songs over two discs (one titled ‘The Hammer’ and the other the more acoustic ‘The Heart’ obviously) makes perfect sense. Mixing the two sets of songs over one album just wouldn’t have worked so well. Both discs kick-off with the same song, ‘Work Hard, Love Harder’ but in two entirely different arrangements. Cattaneo has had more than a little help creating this album; around forty friends have helped Cattaneo produce what surely must be a career-high. The songwriter has a hand in the credits of all the songs bar four. Six are co-writes, some with names that will be familiar like Mark Erelli (and here it’s unavoidable not to give a plug to this talented musician and to point any serious music lover in the direction of his ‘Milltowns’ album of Bill Morrissey songs) and Bill Kirchen; but all the original songs ooze class. Of the four covers the most surprising is Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’, a straightforward reading without the quirky electronics where Cattaneo is joined by Amy Fairchild and Todd Thibaud. It works surprisingly well but with voices as pure and irresistible as these maybe it would have been difficult not to impress. The Bowie cover closes the second disc. The other cover on the ‘The Heart’ is Mose Allison’s ‘Everybody Cryin’ Mercy’ which unsurprisingly shows a jazzier side to Cattaneo that hasn’t really been explored so deeply by any other cut on these albums. The blues inflections that also inform this performance are apparent on some of the other tracks here. The two covers on ‘The Hammer’ are Julie and Buddy Miller’s ‘Does My Ring Burn Your Finger?’, probably best known from the Lee Ann Womack version on her ‘I Hope You Dance’ album, but Cattaneo furthers the swamp-blues of the composers’ own take featured on Buddy’s ‘Cruel Moon’ album. Again, like the Bowie cover, Cattaneo doesn’t make any radical changes to the original song but leaves her own stamp on the song which is not just due to her exceptional vocals but to the subtle changes she makes to the songs she has chosen to cover here which make her versions so interesting. Bonnie and Kevin Hayes' ‘Back Door Slam’ completes the non-originals, maybe best known by The Robert Cray Band's version. Cattaneo’s chugging, bluesy cut features searing lead guitar work from Davy Knowles. But as good as those covers are it’s the songs that Cattaneo has had a hand in creating that shine the brightest. ‘Work Hard, Love Harder’ on ‘The Hammer’ disc, which features the Bottle Rockets, recalls Mary Chapin Carpenter at her rockiest. Throw in a few Byrdsian touches courtesy of Brian Henneman’s twelve string and it’s the perfect introduction to this particular ‘side’. In contrast the same song which opens ‘The Heart’ disc, with back-up this time from the Boxcar Lilies, sounds even more heartfelt in this acoustic setting with more attention being given to the vocals. The way that Cattaneo’s voice blends with the vocals provided by Stephanie Marshall and Jenny Goodspeed is spine-chillingly beautiful. Going back to ‘The Hammer’, ‘The River Always Wins’, the Erelli co-write, which features Erelli on background vocals and lap steel is a blues-tinged cautionary tale of how it’s fruitless to fight the power of Mother Nature. ‘In the Grooves’, one of the Bill Kirchen co-writes that also features Kirchen on guitar, name checks both the King and James Brown while reminiscing about the days when a 7” slab of vinyl ruled. It’s a fine rockabilly tribute to days gone by. Cattaneo sticks with Kirchen on the next song, ‘When Love Goes Right’, who also shares vocals duties on this touching ballad celebrating a lasting love. It recalls the classic country duets that once came our way from Jones and Wynette and showcases both artist songwriting skills perfectly. That Cattaneo is a songwriter of some worth is confirmed by ‘Dry’, a song that she had no outside help in writing. With Dennis Brennan lending his vocal skills and an atmospheric backing from just two musicians, Marco Giovino on drums and Kevin Barry providing all the other sounds including some excellent lap steel, it’s a highlight on an album which doesn’t contain any filler anyway. Of the songs on ‘The Heart’ it’s impossible to single out just one. But mention must be made of ‘Ordinary Magic’. Again Kevin Barry provides all the instrumentation. There’s a haunting quality to the songs he’s involved with here and it suits this love song brilliantly. This ballad just drips emotion and it might just be the best vocal performance from Cattaneo over these eighteen songs. But then Cattaneo follows that song with ‘Carried’; “some things can’t be fixed, they can only be carried” and melts your heart all over again. With background vocals from Jenee Halstead and Tom West’s warm keyboard sounds making their presence felt and not for the first time, it’s another track that demands repeated listening. There’s little to choose between the two discs; the time of day (or night) will determine which one is played. There are times when the songwriting on ‘The Heart’ might just have the advantage but it’s a close run thing. With lines like “I go through these empty days, out of tune, out of place/Since we’ve gone our separate ways I hold another’s heart”, ‘Fade To Blue’, which features vocals from co-writer Nancy Beaudette, is another haunting song that can’t fail to touch the listener and maybe makes the acoustic side just a little more appealing. But really both discs need your attention. ‘The Hammer & The Heart’ is beautifully presented and works on so many levels. The set is mainly self-produced by Cattaneo. The playing, as expected from so many talented people, is faultless and the songwriting is first class. It was brave but ultimately the right move by Cattaneo to split the songs over two albums; this has got to rank as one of the best albums of 2017 so far

Track Listing:-

1 Work Hard Love Harder
2 The River Always Wins
3 In The Grooves
4 When Love Goes Right
5 Lonely Be My Lover
6 Dry
7 Does My Ring Burn Your Finger
8 Ten Kinds Of Trouble
9 Back Door Slam
10 Work Hard Love Harder
11 Ordinary Magic
12 Carried
13 Bitter Moon
14 Smoke
15 Field Of Stone
16 Fade To Blue
17 Everybody Cryin' Mercy
18 Space Oddity

Band Links:-

https://susancattaneo.bandcamp.com/album/the-hammer-the-heart
http://susancattaneo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/skcattaneo
https://twitter.com/susancattaneo
https://www.youtube.com/user/JerseyGirlMusic1

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