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Matt Andersen: Coal Mining Blues

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Busted Flat Records
Released: 2011
Time:
 53:31
Category: Blues / Blues Rock
Producer(s): Colin Linden
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.stubbyfingers.ca
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2014
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] I Don't Wanna Give In (M.Andersen/C.Linden) - 3:06
[2] Fired Up (M.Andersen) - 3:46
[3] Coal Mining Blues (M.Andersen/C.Linden) - 5:15
[4] Lay It On The Line (M.Andersen/C.Linden) - 3:19
[5] Baby I'll Be (M.Andersen/C.Bellamy) - 4:03
[6] Make You Stay (M.Andersen) - 5:28
[7] Home Sweet Home (M.Andersen/C.Linden) - 4:11
[8] Heartbreaker (M.Andersen/C.Linden) - 5:11
[9] She Comes Down (M.Andersen) - 6:34
[10] Willie's Diamond Joe (W.P.Bennett) - 4:01
[11] I Work Hard For The Luxury (M.Andersen/C.Lindley/G.Nicholson) - 4:48
[12] Feel Like Going Home (Ch.Rich) - 3:58

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Matt Andersen - Vocals, Acoustic & Lead Guitar

John Sheard - Keyboards on [1,11], Organ on [2,4,5,8], Piano on [3,9,12]
Geoff Arsenault - Drums on [1-6,8,9,11]
Dennis Pendrith - Bass on [1-5,8,9,11]
Colin Linden - Producer, Mixing, Electric Guitar on [1,3-5,8,9,11], Resonator Guitar on [2,7], Mandolin & Harmony Vocals on [10]
John Whynot - Engineer, Organ on [3,4,9]
Jim Horn - Saxophone on [3], Snakes on [8]
Quinten Ware - Trumpet on [3,8]
Garth Hudson - Accordian on [7]

Some Headsome Fellers - Backing Vocals on [11]
The McCrary Sisters - Backing Vocals on [5]
Amy Helm - Backing Vocals on [1,4,9]
Jonell Mosser - Backing Vocals on [7]

Greg Calbi - Mastering
Justin Guip - Assistant Engineer
Brendan McDonough - Assistant Engineer
Stephanie Bell - Album Design, Photography
Bernie Arsenault - Recording Session Photography
Jamie Mackay - Illustration

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2011 CD Busted Flat Records - BUSTED051

Produced at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY, and mixed in Nashville by Canadian producer Colin Linden. Helm's daughter, Amy, sings on the album and (former keyboard player in The Band) Garth Hudson performs as well.



I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a coal mine. Not the scorched earth looking strip mines that blighted our landscape in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. I’m talking about deep mining, hard coal mining. Mines run by hard working men who penetrated the earth to extract the finer and cleaner burning anthracite coal, the so-called hard coal that is so much in demand for industry and, in the older days, homes.

I took a cable car ride backwards down into a closed mine, several hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth. It was cold and damp, dark and closed. Odd, since I’d spent 20 years of my life serving in a steel tube under the sea. But this was different. Instead of being surrounded by a high tech machine operated by a highly capable crew, I was standing is a hole in the ground (that filled with water in some seasons if you went deep enough); one where the heat and dust from extracting coal from the earth killed many of the men who worked in them. Some who died went quickly, crushed by the occasional accident or collapse of tons of earth and rock. Most died slowly, their lungs filled with the black dust that turned their lungs a dark grey color and robbed them of their breath and their lives.

My family worked in the coal mining industry, both here in the US in North Eastern Pennsylvania and almost two centuries ago and earlier in Wales. If you think picking cotton in 110 degree heat can give you the blues, well, just think about how blue working in a mine would make you. Writing blues songs about mining is quite appropriate, and IBC winner Matt Andersen is a good one to do so. He is a giant of a man, a Nova Scotian who now lives in the mining community of Cape Breton and he is a blue collar sort of guy himself. His acoustic guitar playing and immense voice match the physical persona and he relates to the plight of the common man. In 1873, there were eight coal companies operating in Cape Breton. The miners were paid from 80 cents to $1.50 per day and boys were paid 65 cents and they are the men and boys Andersen commemorates in this CD.

The title track is a slow folk blues with nice accompaniment on piano, organ and horns and Matt’s guitar picks its’ way through quite nicely. The lyrics of song tell the lament filled story of the coal miners. It is a touching song. The CD opener is bouncy “Don’t Wanna Give In” where he sings and Amy Helm backs him up. His guitar and Collin Linden’s electric guitar blend well and John Sheard’s keyboards adds some nice solo and backup. Andersen sings of not giving in to a mundane life and political correctness. In “Fired Up” he takes a more country blues approach and Linden’s resonator with Andersen on electric guitar give this one a nice groove. “Lay It On The Line” gives us Andersen’s take on taking your shot when you get your chance. These first four songs open the CD and already I was sold on the strong songwriting and great musicianship.

“Baby I’ll Be” offers up a church like tome where Matt sings that he will be anything his baby will need. There is a thoughtful electric guitar solo that is restrained yet very impressive. He picks up the pace on “Make You Stay”, an acoustic number where it’s just he with the drummer keeping his beat. It’s a forceful cut where he sings of his passion and love for his baby; he really lets loose on vocals! “Home Sweet Home” slows it down again, where he takes us to church in a way. He sings that houses are only bricks and stones and a body only flesh and bones; the accordion backing him and Jonell Mosser (who back Matt vocally on this one) gives the track a sorrowful and traditional sound. Then on “Heartbreaker” Andersen lets his boogie out a bit as he sings about the women who broke his heart.

He reverts back to a slow tempo approach on “She Comes Down” where he sings of a relationship in separation and then reunion. Helm backs him here again and they are quite spiritual together and John Whynot’s organ blends in well with them. “Willie’s Diamond Joe” is stripped down, with Andersen on acoustic guitar and Linden on mandolin and harmonies. Another mournful song, Andersen really can write and perform with great emotion. They get back into a groove on “I Work Hard For the Luxury” where he sings that he works hard for his love and to touch his money’s heart. All of that is far more important than worldly goods and treasures. He closes with “Feel Like Going Home” where he sings in a gravelly tone about going home. Again a minimal approach is taken; it is just Sheard on piano and Matt singing on this one.

Others on the CD along with Matt that I have not yet mentioned include Geoff Arsenault on drums, Dennis Pendrith on bass, Quentin Ware and Jim Horn as the horn section, the McCreary Sisters and Some Handsome Fellers on backing vocals. A great group of musicians who make a great noise together!

I was really impressed with this CD. I’d known Andersen was highly regarded from winning the International Blues Challenge in 2010; I appreciate this opportunity to hear his work, understand where he comes from and appreciate his craft. The dozen tracks here (including 10 originals) are truly outstanding stuff. Folk and country blues done up in a moving manner, in both a bare bones and fully backed up mode. I highly recommend this CD to everyone who wants to hear a great man who is at the top of his game- the accolades he won in Memphis are quite well deserved!!!

Steve Jones
Secretary of the Crossroads Blues Society
Blues Blast Magazine 2010



It's been a busy year for Cape Breton singer/guitarist Matt Andersen that started when he became the first Canadian to win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in early 2010. That quickly led to an offer to open a string of dates for Old Crow Medicine Show, and now the 30-year-old is poised for even bigger things with the release of his new album, Coal Mining Blues, released Tuesday (September 20) on Kitchener, ON-based Busted Flat Records.

Production was handled by Colin Linden -- one-third of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings -- who brought Andersen to his familiar stomping grounds of Woodstock, NY, and specifically, Levon Helm's studio. Guests on the album include Helm's former Band-mate Garth Hudson, as well as Helm's daughter Amy on backing vocals.

Andersen recently told Exclaim!, "I've been getting to do a lot of stuff that I've dreamed of doing, like a national tour and recording with Colin at Levon's studio. Having Colin produce this one was great, because I got to spend some time hanging out with him at his home in Nashville, which prepared me really well for the actual recording sessions."

A tireless road warrior who up until now has averaged over 200 shows a year on his own, Andersen agrees that the album's blue-collar theme is a reflection of his own work ethic.

"I grew up in a small town and both of my folks are self-employed. But the song 'Coal Mining Blues' came out of living in Cape Breton for the past year and a half, even though most of the guys who worked in the mines here have had to take on different roles in the community. That hard-working East Coast vibe is just something that was bred into me."

Jason Schneider - Sep 19, 2011
Exclaim.ca



Matt Andersen's skillful and melodic guitar work underpins much of the verve of his new album Coal Mining Blues. The Canadian - from Perth-Andover in New Brunswick - can be funky (on I Work Hard For The Luxury); or gritty, as on I Don't Wanna Give In, where his singing is like a young, bluesy Tom Jones. The album was recorded in New York and produced by Colin Linden - who plays guitar and mandolin - and includes a good cover version of Feel Like Going Home by Charlie Rich. But it's Andersen's own songs that provide the highlights, especially the mordant ballad Coal Mining Blues, which includes the touching lyrics:
   I've got the roar of a lion,
   and the breath of a mouse.
Andersen, who is on tour in Britain in February and March, can also sing soul well as he demonstrates on the love song Baby I'll Be.

Martin Chilton - 14 Feb 2012
Culture Editor online
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015



Matt Andersen is ready to release his anxiously awaited new album, produced at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY, and mixed in Nashville by Canadian producer Colin Linden. Helm's daughter, Amy, sings on the album and (former keyboard player in The Band) Garth Hudson performs as well. As the only Canadian to with the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Matt has spent the last year building a huge fan base across North America, selling out shows across the country, including a very successful run opening for Old Crow Medicine Show !

Amazon.com



Matt Andersen is not well known in the USA at this time, although there might be a few people who have somehow encountered this giant of a man; that however should change with this new release. He is on a major cross-Canadian tour and he has released a new disc recorded at Levon Helm's Studio in Woodstock, NY. This new CD is produced by Colin Linden (another Canadian who now resides in Nashville) and features special contributions at various times by Amy Helm on vocals, The McCrary Sisters on vocals, Garth Hudson on accordion, Jonell Mosser on vocals, and Jim Horn on the saxes.

The real feature here is Andersen's voice and phrasing. The well known names make a valuable contribution to the disc, however he can hold his own vocally with any of his friends. He has a voice that can stop you in your tracks, listen to the title song and you can feel the flow of tragic emotion and then listen to constrained rocker I Work Hard For The Luxury, it is an empathy that draws from a deep soul. The voice is larger and cleaner than you would ever imagine, as large as that endless blue sky that Montana brags about, a true blessing.

This disc should put his name into much bigger lights in the US and bring him some well-deserved recognition. This singer songwriter, wrote or co-wrote ten of the twelve songs on this disc, add that to Colin Linden producing and this very strong cast of players supporting him. The title track, Coal Mining Blues, tells the story of life that is never far from the dangers of the job, and the risk that effect life long after the work has ended. Yet he does this with a grace and beauty that both belies the struggles, the strife and potential disaster and at the same time displays the beauty of who work so hard for the small luxuries in life.

This is a disc that will open your ears and let you into the songs that flow from our brethren north of a line that separates our two countries.

Bob Gottlieb
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
 

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