Iris DeMent doesn’t make too many records these days, but maybe this is about to change as her family grow up. We can always wait in hope she will be a little more willing and generous in sharing her amazing imagery, an aspect of her work which is undoubtedly gaining in visionary prowess as time progresses, and she eases into other areas of music.
The Trackless Woods (her sixth album in 23 years) is poems of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova (1989-1966) converted into song comes a matter of only three years after the critically acclaimed Song Of Delta. Could be the, Arkansas-born singer-songwriter is on a roll.DeMent’s ability to turn poems she only happened to come across on borrowing from a friend a book entitled An Anthology Of Russian Verse into such a stunning collection of work is something only she could have achieved. DeMent’s soulful whine it has been said can by a question of taste, but along with her studio band —a bunch of friends who for five days came to her home to gather round the piano playing Iris; producer Richard Bennett, gut string, electric guitar and guitarphone), Jon Graboff (pedal steel, mandolin), Dave Jacques (acoustic bass), Leo Kottke (12-string, electric guitar on “From An Airplane”) and Bryan Owings (percussion) a terrific inspirational force filled the air. Added to the above the listener has the pleasure of horns on sombre ode “Oh, How Good”, Jim Hoke (B-organ) on “Songs About Songs” (with poignant lyrics of ‘others will reap. I only sow. Of course! When the triumphant scythers lay the grain low) and Bo Ramsey add electric guitar to “Soul’s Of All My Dears”.
On a couple of occasions I mused the music wasn’t too far adrift from work from sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle. You only needed strains of accordion to make it complete, so beautiful the arrangements of Bennett and DeMent. DeMent’s best work include the all-fired up gospel-ish ”Not For Deserters”; complete with harmony vocals from husband singer-songwriter Greg Brown and his daughter, gifted recording act Pieta Brown it near lifts the roof. The dynamic “From An Airplane” and another stellar production in “Listening Singing” (fueled in driving mandolin) has Iris sounding as good if not better than she has ever done. As for ”Broad Gold” it oozes an abundance of class, and it in turn is closely followed by tender, effortless beautiful ode “From The Oriental Notebook”.
For those addicted to stripped down sound of piano and vocals you have excellent pieces in the head turning graceful gem “Lot’s Wife” and mellow “The Last Toast” plus one or two more that fit the bill perfectly. DeMent’s closing piece “Not With A Lover’s Lyre is coupled with Anna Akhmatova’s Recitation Of “The Muse” as the record bows out in a sombre mood. Though moving I would have liked her to have given us something a little more upbeat and cheerful or arguably the most striking and universal meaningful ballad on the record “Reject The Burden”. It could just as easily have been written in answer to the growing refugee situation surging through Europe right now. As for Akhmatova, she was persecuted for her writings as she lived through 30 years of Stalin, two world wars, and saw not only her friends imprisoned but her son too. Simply because he was her child. Iris has a daughter who comes from Siberia, and whom herself and her husband adopted in 2005 when she was six hence her interest in Russian poetry.
Maurice Hope