Courier Live

Personnel includes: Richard Shindell (vocals, guitar); Lucy Kaplansky (vocals); Greg Anderson (guitar, bouzouki, cittern); John Putnam (guitar); Lisa Gutkin, Larry Campbell (violin); Ray Lorcovic (accordion); Lincoln Schleifer (bass); Denny MacDermott (drums).
Principally recorded live at The Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck, New York on March 16 & 17, 2001.
Personnel: Richard Shindell (guitar); Lucy Kaplansky (vocals); John Putnam (electric guitar); Larry Campbell, Lisa Gutkin (violin); Rad Lorcovic (accordion); Lincoln Schleifer (bass instrument); Denny McDermott (drums).
Additional personnel: Greg Anderson (bouzouki).
Though he's never become a star, Richard Shindell has quietly made a name for himself over the years in the folk/singer-songwriter world. Coming out of the New York City songwriting school of hard knocks, Shindell crafted a sound that owes to Stan Rogers, John Gorka, and Leonard Cohen, without ever becoming imitative. On his first live album, backed by a small-but-powerful band, Shindell's songs come alive even more than on the studio albums from which they originated.
The title tune, inspired by Wilfrid Owen's WWI poetry, tells a grim tale of wartime tribulations with elegance and power. "The Kenworth of my Dreams" takes the country convention of a trucking song and twists it smartly by the ear. "Fishing" is one side of a conversation between an INS agent and an immigrant; there's no other song like it and it's uniqueness is only equalled by it's resonance. Besides Shindell's simple, effective melodies and poetic lyrics, the thread through THE COURIER is his sonorous baritone, which also enlivens covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and Little Feat's classic "Willin'."

Tracklist

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