For the latest songs, albums, videos, playlists, and artist news, bite into our music blog Crossfade.
David Norris
- Avg user rating:
Out of 17 votes - Similar Artists: Chris Smither, John Fahey
Playlist
Out of 17 votes
Folk artists you may also like
- Location: St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States
- Genre: Folk » Folk Singer-Songwriter
Editor's review
Many bluegrass artists write songs that are more speed-picking contests than heartfelt tunes. Maryland's Norris isn't among them. His mellow, crackling ditties have all the pace and timbre of folk, but are spun with bluegrass's backwoods scales. They're new songs that sound like campfire classics.
Biography
"Dave is an award winning songwriter based in St. Mary's County in Southern Maryland near where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay. I heard him locally and was stunned at the quality of his music. With his permission I have posted some of his many songs on this C/net.
This is an acoustical collection from one of his albums, "My Old River" which was first presented at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2004.
Each song stands on its own merit but the album taken in its entirety is an Americana music opera, almost autobiographical. Dave takes us through memories of life on the river farm, loving memories of the grandfather he never knew, remembering his brothers going off to war and coming home, reflections of the world as he saw on the river including the feeling of utter helplessness of watching his beloved river wipe out a seasons worth of labor on the farm, and his final realization that through it all the river has been the constant source of comfort in his life.
The suite ends with a remarkable tune, The Oracle, as Dave spins a final tale about life on the water.
An additional track, "Old Tom's Restless Bones", from Dave's latest album, "Autumn Gate" is included.
It will be worth the listen."
Chris Novack
