Roots Song of the Week: Joseph Lemay- Crazy Woman

Joseph Lemay has become one of my favourite new performers. When listening to his debut album Seventeen Acres I hear a world of influence, many of them likely imagined: Mumford & Sons, Bon Iver (with whom Lemay shares a penchant of secluded recording situations), Tom Petty, and ’80s Dylan.

The album starts with the languid isolation of the title track, a lo-fi raison d’etre for a couple of “old teenagers” justifying a broken down experiment in coupledom. Later, “Nothing You Can Do” raises the mark a touch higher with Lemay crooning, “You make me want to sing.”

The assembled house band- playing  banjo, lap steel, drums, cello, violin, et al- brings a cohesive mood to the album, despite several songs- such as “You Still Do It”- moving toward fully-enveloped  roots rock while others- including the engaging “Red Wing”- appear to be little more than demo sketches.

Today, I’m nominating “Crazy Woman” as my Roots Song of the Week. With a southern soul foundation brightened by a rhythmic boogie percolating over the top, “Crazy Woman” is an ideal song for a Friday afternoon drive in the sun. Steve Frobert fronting Creedence Clearwater Revisited, perhaps.

Scroll down at http://josephlemaymusic.com/ and you can stream the entire album, one song at a time. I trust you’ll find Joseph Lemay as appealing as I have.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit Fervor Coulee. Donald