The title cut of
Casey Neill
's
Brooklyn Bridge
has a lazy, romantic quality, highlighted by
Neill
's gruff vocal and the commingling of Wurlitzer (sounding like an electric piano) and steel guitar. He's joined briefly by
Erin McKeown
, who underpins his vocals here and there, and adds echoing asides to the chorus.
"Brooklyn Bridge"
has the same expansive quality as
Sandy Denny
's early-'70s work, and a similar ability to build effective arrangements. The follow-up,
"We Are the City,"
rocks harder, while
"The Holy Land"
captures an upbeat
Celtic
cadence buttressed by accordion and whistle. The production smoothes the kinks out of
's gruff vocals for
"Once Upon a Time,"
adding a quirky
pop
quality to the song's
folk
base. Thanks to these shifts between straight
,
folk-pop
, and
rock
never falls into dull routine, making it much more engaging than the run-of-the-mill
singer/songwriter
product.
is aided in his efforts by a long list of friends/musicians.
John Wesley Harding
adds his vocals to the easy
of
while
Nancy Hess
helps out on the gentle
"Beautiful Night."
ends much as it began, with
McKeown
joining
Neil
for the unhurried
"Colville Blues,"
an apt closer for a satisfying album. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.