Drew Nelson
and at times
Michael Lambright,
Margie Wienk,
Corrie Beth Hogg,
Micah Blue Smaldone,
Chris Teret,
Greg Weeks,
Mary Lattimore,
Meg Baird,
Chris Freeland,
Influences
Bert Jansch,
Richard Thompson,
Dando Shaft,
Shirley Collins,
Jean Ritchie,
D.H. Lawrence,
Micah Blue Smaldone,
Robin Williamson,
Steeleye Span,
Neil Young,
Thomas Hardy,
Margaret Barry,
Townes Van Zandt
The low-key duo that makes up the Big Huge -- its name a reference to obvious partial forebears the Incredible String Band -- lets the music speak for itself on A Woven Page of Silver Light, and does so with gentle panache. Recorded by kindred soul Micah Blue Smaldone, vocalist/guitarist Drew Nelson and Michael Lambright (nearly everything else, including glockenspiel) aim for a feeling of reflective rural calm, helped by such song titles as "Weep Not Wandering Willow" and "A Crickets Call Come One and All." (The best title, though, would have to be "A Subtle Tune," which definitely has the quietest performance, right down to a midsong pause.) Right from the ambling start of "Will I Follow You to the Sea," played on dulcimer by Nelson, the feeling is of where it was literally recorded at -- a house, with Nelson's voice caught in that specific ambience so perfectly it's like he wasn't so much in a speaker system as standing next to it, something maintained throughout the disc. Lambright's various contributions are often perfect small touches to the overall performances, filling out the arrangements with a touch of depth rather than swamping anything (his accordion performances are especially delightful, and on "The Ballad of North Haywood" they add a feeling at once celebratory and sad). Some songs are at almost Wire-length, barely a minute and a half long, but instead of feeling fragmentary they seem to be exactly right: quick, delicate performances that suit the often lovely titles (consider the guitar/ukulele/vocal combination of "Wrapped in the Cloths of Heaven" as one example). Short at just under 20 minutes, A Woven Page of Silver Light is a striking miniature that deserves wider attention.
~Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
i hope you are doing good my friend. it has only been almos 9 year sice i saw you. be good my friend. i am caught in the past recently....goddamnd turntables and old hardcore records! love you man....
