It can be a tricky business when a singer/songwriter decides he or she needs to be produced and teams up with other musicians. Sometimes hot players, brought in as ringers, can overshadow both songwriter and song. Then there are cases when added instrumentation simply gets in the way. Regardless, the question that must always be asked is, “Is all this extra stuff necessary and in service to the song?” Fortunately, blues guitarist/songwriter Ernest Troost, who has no problem filling up a stage all by his lonesome, incorporates the best of all worlds into his latest release.
With “Old Screen Door,” Troost opens with an affecting guitar lick and vocal that could easily carry the entire piece on its own. In less than a minute, however, the song is propelled by electric guitars and a driving rhythm section that would make Dave Alvin proud. “Pray Real Hard,” with a feel for Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain,” follows and takes a completely different track, incorporating acoustic guitars, mandolin and light drums and percussion. But it is the title song that best exemplifies what Troost has so successfully accomplished. Again, after singing the first verse as a solo, the mood quickly changes with the addition of a folk-driven rhythm section giving the song a bright new feel. This is also where we are treated to the first of many stellar harmony vocals by Nicole Gordon, who not only has a feel for these tunes but for singing with Troost as well.
Part storyteller, part bluesman, Troost has given us a work that not only has variety, but also 13 stirring song portraits, each one artfully crafted in a way that is always in service to the song.
This article appears in Mar 6-12, 2014.
Ernest Troost is one of my all-time favorite singer/songwriters, but he is so much more than that. He won the prestigious Kerrville New Folk competition in 2009, and he is an Emmy-award-winning (and multiple Emmy-nominated) composer of more than 100 orchestral scores for Hollywood films and television. Beyond that, he is one of the kindest human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and his live performances are mesmerizing. Thanks for telling us about “O Love”. I can’t wait to hear it. I’m sure it will quickly become on of my favorites as the other Ernest Troost CD’s have.
Bonnie Vining
Performing Arts Theatre Director
Vail Theatre of the Arts (VTOTA)
http://www.vtota.org
Had the chance to meet him a while back when he was in Tucson . We talked guitars , tuning, favorite players and songwriting. I was surprised at what a quiet person he was. He lets his music do the talking and he does that very well.
What a guitar picker/player !!