Johnstown - Oh Susanna

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

Oh Susanna is 31-year-old American singer-songwriter Suzie Ungerleider. She has spent a lot of time listening to early country, blues and mountain ballads and it shows through on this, her debut album. Once in a while an artist comes along and pushes the boundaries of their chosen genre and this is what Suzie has done with 'Johnstown'. 2,209 people died in a flood in May 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The stories surrounding the flood and the people who lived there inspired Suzie to write this album. That fact and the bleak cover of this album might make you feel you were in for a depressing time, but Suzie has a way with her words and melodies which draw the listener in and make the events and characters interesting. Imagine Iris DeMent singing the songs of Gillian Welch and you are half way there. Mix in a bit of Nick Cave circa 'Murder Ballads' and you come even closer. These country-blues songs have a real beauty to them and are given a sympathetic production by Peter Moore, who produced the two best albums the Cowboy Junkies ever made, 'The Trinity Sessions' and 'The Caution Horses'. The use of old, classic guitars have added to the depth of the sound here. The playing by the back-up musicians, which includes amongst their number Bob Egan (Wilco, Freakwater) and Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo), is nothing short of excellent. These aren't a group of session musos simply playing for their fee, they are playing with the feeling and conviction these songs deserve. Although the Americana / alt. country highway is littered with many talented girls with guitars, Suzie walks her own dusty road. Their music may be different but Suzie brings to mind Ani Difranco, both making music which is original and again on her own terms. The more I listen to this the more it brings to mind some of Nick Cave's work, although I doubt that he could shift from the 'Murder Ballad' sound of the title track to the fragile, beautiful sound of track three, 'Alabaster' with such ease, but the beauty in this and other tracks in the same vein such as 'The Bridge' is a kind of unsettling, eerie beauty. Even what appears to be a straight forward acoustic love song like 'Home Soon' takes an unexpected shift with the line "Despite all the joy to me you bring, my mind still worries that a love so bright could be my doom". We are going to hear a lot more of Oh Susanna in the future. A talent like this will not go unnoticed. The only problem I have with the album is that I have to keep hitting the play button on my player again when it is finished! A contender for my 'favourites of the year list' that's for sure !

Track Listing:-

1 Johnstown
2 You'll Always Be
3 Alabaster
4 Old Kate
5 The Bridge
6 Oh My Good Ol' Gal
7 Walking
8 Parallel Rail
9 Pueblo
10 Back Dirt Road
11 Home Soon (The Cherry Song)
12 Tangled and Wild