Sunday Morning Coffee:: Michael Tarbox

Normally, I use this Sunday morning post for a local artist, but I've been enjoying a record sent my way by Chris from The Deep Blues Festival, and although he's not Canadian, his killer festival brings down some of our best swampy blues acts (and according the guys from The Schomberg Fair, he's a host with a generous spirit beyond compare) and any support we can give the artist his loves or the festival itself is well deserved.

The record he sent over was the solo effort from Michael Tarbox of The Tarbox Ramblers. My Primitive Joy is a nice slice of singer / songwriter Americana, but the title track has resonated loudly this week. I wanted to write something about the passing of my favorite author - J.D. Salinger - but everything seemed as hollow and unfitting as the casual mention in the status bar of a facebook profile or limited emotion allotted by the 140 characters twitter allows. Instead I found the simple message of this song, dressed to go out with long bended pedal steel and deeply plucked stand up bass, saying everything I need to get off my chest.

Salinger wasn't the best writer, but the best songs usually aren't crafted by the best musicians, and his ability to write a story that summed up the alienation we all feel shouldn't be diluted by the cliche of those clinging to his greatest novel like a badge of honour. When Tarbox paints a picture of rural beauty for the first minute of this song, void of frills and superfluous descriptors or turned phrases, I can't help but smile (knowing that the reclusive author is probably happy to unsaddle the baggage his fame brought with it and escape deeper from the public eye and finally feel at peace), thinking about how much joy each one of Salinger's books brought me and how, if only for a moment, this song does the same.

MP3:: Michael Tarbox - My Primitive Joy
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/michaeltarbox

Labels: michael tarbox, Music, Sunday Morning