Album Review – William Elliott Whitmore’s “Field Songs”
One way to describe William Elliott Whitmore’s music is to say that he has the soul of an old black woman. I know that analogy may not make sense to anyone but me, but it makes such perfect sense to me, I’m going to roll with it.
As the name implies, Field Songs evokes the rhythms and weary textures of labor. Instead of trying to charm you with witty one-liners like most engaged in singer/songwriter craft, William instead uses lyric to set a groove, like a good, slow blues song. He trances you into feeling the theme of the music by employing the chants, the rhythms men have hummed as they toiled away since the invention of work to ease the burden and boredom. That rhythm is what ties this album to an inherent, universal language of the human condition and prickles the soul.
Adding ambient nature sounds and lots of space between tracks is Whitmore’s way of encouraging the work to be taken in one breath instead of cherry picking tracks. This isn’t an album to blare when you’re pissed off at your boss, this is for when you’re weary and sore and want to relax and appreciate the fulfillment of toil, or when you need an uplift of the spirit, because despite Whitmore’s uncannily-aged, almost hoary voice and the droning nature of the songs, there is a lot of positivity here, similar to how the field songs of generations past were intended to uplift the spirit despite the sometimes desperate conditions that inspired the tunes.
My concern about this album is that it may not be the best way to represent what Whitmore does to people for the first time. Taken in the context of his live show and his previous works, it fits like a glove, but there is so much dead space on this album, many minutes of just strumming open chords, and with it’s inability to convey the energy of what Whitmore does live, I’m worried some will find it boring, and for justifiable reasons. Unlike other sparse, acoustic-based albums, like Gillian Welch’s recent The Harrow & The Harvest for example, there isn’t those heavy lines of lyric that help create body in a song when there’s a lack of instrumentation.
However Whitmore’s work is also aided by authenticity. Hailing from an Iowa horse farm on the banks of the Mississippi, William has no doubt experienced the inspiration for Field Songs first hand. The album also carries a universal theme, which always makes an album greater than the sum of its parts.
I would say this album is not for everyone, but one of the curiosities about Whitmore’s decade-plus run with music is the diversity of the following he’s garnered, ranging from punk kids, to the most exclusive of the NPR crowd that only consume the finest of wines. Field Songs may not be Whitmore’s best year, but it is certainly worth a tasting.
1 1/2 of 2 guns up.
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Martin Luther Presley
August 3, 2011 @ 3:08 pm
I love the album.
And I probably agree with most of your review, except that I rather think that it’s an album that actually everybody could relate to.
The Southern trilogy is such a great body of work that probably everthing WEW will do will stand in its shadow, but quality-wise neither Animals nor Field Songs are inferior to my ears. It’s amazing how consistently brilliant this man is.
ShadeGrown
August 3, 2011 @ 7:40 pm
I could not agree more – the Southern Trilogy casts an enormous shadow…
Carla
August 3, 2011 @ 5:00 pm
The opening chords reminded me of R. L. Burnside’s Goin’ Down South. Love that hypnotic ‘drone’ as you call it. Sounds like an album to add to my list. Thanks for once again, turning me onto an artist I’d not heard of prior.
Lunchbox
August 3, 2011 @ 8:06 pm
two beefs..1.not long enough 2. the itunes “deluxe” version. theres four bonus songs and i dont own ipod..music is brilliant as usual though.
ShadeGrown
August 6, 2011 @ 6:02 pm
I wasn’t hip to there being a deluxe version til reading your post… Just looked into it though and it be purchased on Amazon. You can just get the bonus songs you want too, none of that “Album Only” bullshit. Good stuff.
ShadeGrown
August 3, 2011 @ 8:19 pm
Despite the lofty expectations that Whitmore has created for himself I for one feel like he met them and exceeded his LAST album with “Field Songs”. I think that the best tracks from “Animals…” are slightly better than the best tracks from “Field Songs” but as a whole, and as a unit, “Field Songs” is a monster.
I remember seeing W.E.W. in Moscow Idaho when he was just a roadie for Ten Grand. They used to let him play a few songs to open shows, if time allowed. Whitmore had a couple of cds available that he’d recorded on a four track. He was such a pleasant surprise… A few years later he was playing 1500 seat venues opening for Clutch. I recall him being self depracating of his voice way back then. By the time “Ashes to Dust” came out he had completely embraced it and in that albums opener sang, “Well the bluebird can sing, but the crow’s got the soul…”.
NO ONE has more soul than William Elliott Whitmore. It bleeds from every song.
Thank you Triggerman for reviewing this album. I know that this isn’t a traditional country release, but I do think it has without question more of a “rural” vibe than anything out of Nashville in a very long time. My personal favorite of 2011, so far. I think your review is probably spot on and for a newcomer I’d recommend any of the Southern albums. But for those who have heard and seen him – and believe me, to see him live, well it gets no better – I think that this album is a must have. It lacks alot of the darkness that his early stuff featured but it is a cohesive work of brilliance none-the-less.
Denise
August 4, 2011 @ 12:10 pm
Very nice 🙂
I Don’t Need It inspired a little chair dance. Thank you.
Misfit Radio
August 4, 2011 @ 8:19 pm
The intro is fantastic!
Misfit Radio
August 4, 2011 @ 8:19 pm
I admit.. I am a little disappointed this is all you had to say about this album. This is one of the best releases this year especially considerring some of the stuff that receives accolades but hey whatever.. to each his own I suppose.. I dont know.. There is just so much more to say about this album but then again im not a writer.. But, What do I know?
The Triggerman
August 4, 2011 @ 9:04 pm
Ha! For once I am too short as opposed to too long. I knew this day would come.
Honestly, I totally agree with you. I was and am very frustrated that this is all I had to say about this album as well. I really struggled writing this review. I won’t say it was the hardest all year, but it certainly was one of the hardest to write. And even though it is short (for me at least) I probably spent just as much, if not more time with it as any review, and I spent a lot of time listening to this album, trying to hear the review, which I never did clearly. That is why this review is late. But I wanted to get a review out nonetheless, because I think it deserved it, and I was worried if I did not write a review now, I wouldn’t. It would get buried in all the big releases about to come out.
ShadeGrown
August 6, 2011 @ 8:20 am
I am really grateful that you reviewed this album. I think you hit it on the head when you said it is an album to listen to “when you’re weary and sore and want to relax and appreciate the fulfillment of toil.” I haven’t taken it out of my stereo yet. It is a great album to listen to early in the morning on the way to work and late in the day after breaking your back to pay the bills. I have also been spinning it while working in my shop on weekends. I really feel like “Not Feeling Any Pain” is the best song I’ve heard all year. Only downer of it is you can’t just put it on repeat because it’s only a 3min 30 sec song but it it lasts for more than 6 min…
In the end I have to agree with Misfit Radio, in that I wish you had gone on and on about how much you loved it but you did score it basically a 7.5 and I would rate it between an 8 and 9, so it’s not far off. A little dissapointing that Eric Church’s latest got the same score from you though… Again I am really happy that you reviewed it at all because I think fans of country might know the least about Whitmore’s talents due to his extensive touring with rock and metal bands. “Song Of The Blackbird” was actually mentioned in both Decibel and Terrorizer magazines the year it was released, with the one writer for the latter giving it honorable mention for album of the year. Hopefully those who read your review atleast are enticed to check out his music. Thanks again!
The Triggerman
August 6, 2011 @ 3:30 pm
The guns up/down system is admittedly imperfect, and I like to keep it that way. Don’t think that it didn’t enter my mind that I was grading this similar with EC, but just like I said in the review of that album, it is a remarkable project simply from where it originated from. Many factors go into grading an album, and grading certain albums the same doesn’t mean they are on the exact same footing.
The only other thing I know to say to clarify my review is to once again reiterate that when I listened to this album, it became very apparent to me that it would appeal heavily to people who already knew WEW, but with only 9 songs, and a ton of empty space between and during those songs, make this album a little too sleepy for most. That is my opinion.
Will
August 5, 2011 @ 8:09 pm
Fantastic! Never heard of him before your review. Thanks. Now I have all those old ones to listen to as well. Love your site