Gove Scrivenor - Shine On (1998)

Mixing original tunes with illuminating new versions of classics by Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and others, Gove Scrivenorreclaims his position as one of folk music's most powerful performers. Featuring performances by: John Prine, Nanci Griffith, and Lari White!

Perhaps inspired by the reissue of his two classic 1970s recordings (found on Flying Fish's Solid Gove), the revered folkie puts out his first new solo work in 20 years. It's unreasonable to expect Scrivenor to equal his high-water marks, and Shine On rarely does. Still, Scrivenor's warm, inviting voice has only ripened with age and he benefits from the vocal assistance of Nanci Griffith, Lari White, John Prine, and LeAnn Etheridge. He contributes six solid originals (including the delicate autoharp showcase "Maybelle's Dance") to accompany covers of Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Jimmy Cliff, and Guy Clark. Unfortunately, many of the songs drop the blues and country influences from his signature country-folk- blues hybrid, replacing those roots with milder, new age-influenced concerns. When Scrivenor does play the rootsier angles---on Dylan's "Girl from the North Country," Jack Clement's "I've Got a Thing About Trains," and the jazzy "Balloon Song" for example---he recaptures the old magic that made him revered in the first place. --Marc Greilsamer