Scott Cook - One More Time Around

by Malcolm Carter

published: 2 / 9 / 2013

Label: Groove Records
Format: CD

Irresistible combination of folk, country and Americana on superbly packaged fourth album from lyrical Canadian singer-songwriter, Scott Cook

Review

It’s all about the music of course but mention has to be made about the cover and booklet of ‘One More Time Around’, Canadian Scott Cook’s fourth collection of songs released under his own name. The cover painting by Cook; wispy clouds floating around a blue sky, birds taking flight over a river, mountains in the background also reflects the warm, thoughtful music it envelops. The 36-page booklet is something else. For an independent release this is almost unheard of. It shows Cook’s commitment to detail and getting his message across in the most effective way, and if anyone has a message to get across it is Cook. The first ten pages of the booklet are essential reading; Cook explaining why he hasn’t copyrighted his albums is thought provoking and that’s just part of it. What follows along with the lyrics to the songs are the relevant guitar chords for the songs with a few lines prefacing each set of lyrics listing the instruments each musician plays. The booklet is worth the price of admission alone. When it comes to the actual music, Scott Cook is firmly in the singer/songwriter bracket; folk, country and Americana are all touched upon through the course of the nine original songs and one cover. Vocally Cook has a warm, lived-in voice, one that while impossible to ignore doesn’t really set him apart from many of his contemporaries. It’s pleasant and inviting, the type you’d never tire of listening too but not outstanding. What does set Cook apart from the crowd is his ability to set his story-songs to irresistible melodies. Lyrically Cook really shines. It is hardly surprising. Over the last six years Cook has been travelling the roads of Asia, the United States, Europe and, of course Canada living some of the time, apparently, in his van, which has given him the ideal opportunity to capture what was happening around him and to turn his experiences into songs. Cook’s outlook is neatly summed up in the opening song, ‘Pass It Along’. Cook starts the song, which was inspired by a conversation he had about how a guitar is just borrowed before it’s passed on to the next guy, but by the end of the song Cook has made the point that everything is borrowed for a short time, even this Earth. It’s an intelligent piece of writing that brings to mind some of Chuck Brodsky’s work. There are quotes from people like Walt Whitman littered through the booklet. One from Gabriel Garcia Marquez prefaces the lyrics to ‘Among the Trees’, a nostalgic look at the more innocent times of childhood, which perfectly matches Cook’s sentiments in the song. As a loss of innocence song it is hard to beat. ‘Mama Always Said’ is another song where Cook looks back, and one that the reckless teenager in all of us that will never depart fully will identify with. You’ll be singing along with it before the song ends, and no doubt be wiping away that mist that’s by now clouding your eyes. A cover of Greg Brown’s ‘The Poet Game’ works surprisingly well. This two-decade-old song has been given new life by Cook’s reading. When a song is so familiar, it is difficult to imagine what Cook could possibly add to it but his warm delivery actually makes the song more appealing than the original. It’s telling that the song actually flows well with the mood and themes of ‘One More Time Around’, so much so that if someone unfamiliar with Greg Brown’s work heard this song in the context of Cook’s album there would be no reason to doubt that it came from the same source as the rest of the album. ‘One More Time Around’ is an accomplished set of songs by an artist who deserves your attention. Cook has a lot to say, and knows how to say it to get his message across. If you’re looking for a singer/songwriter with a little more substance than most, then check out ‘One More Time Around’. You won’t be disappointed.

Track Listing:-

1 Pass It Along
2 Among the Trees
3 Mama Always Said
4 When We're Back Around
5 You Don't Find Out in the End
6 Use Your Imagination
7 Broke, and So Far from Home
8 New Grist
9 The Poet Game (by Greg Brown)
10 One More Time Around