Cosmic Dreamer
True North, 2022
9/10
The platinum selling and Juno Award winning artist Barney Bentall has enjoyed an lengthy and esteemed career spanning many decades, and here along with Adrian Dolan (piano, keyboards, accordion, mandolin, mandola, fiddle), Kirby Barber (bass, vocals), Geoff Hicks (drums, percussion) plus many guests, he brings us 9 originals and 2 covers of his timeless folk and Americana formula.
The album leads with the graceful keys of the title track, where Bentall’s cozy pipes suit the warm climate superbly, and “Whiskey Jack” follows with some grit in the vocals, but also with glowing harmonies in attendance amid the stirring fiddle and emotive pedal steel.
Elsewhere, “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” offers spirited harmonica alongside poetic storytelling as folk ideas are front and center on the Bob Dylan original, while “Not Standing Up To You” brings so much intimacy to the gorgeous version of Americana.
Approaching the end, “No Time To Go” offers an eloquent duet packed with Eric Reed’s atmospheric guitar, and “Cody Road” exits the listen with John Raham’s percussion, Rob Becker’s bass, Paul Pigat and Scott Smith’s electric guitars and Daryl Havers’ keyboards illuminating the sincere and heartfelt song craft.
The songs here are heavy with themes of loss, love, hope and longing, and Bentall brings 20 albums of experience (7 of which are solo) to a body of work that is nothing short of stunning.
Travels well with: Bruce Cockburn- Greatest Hits (1970-2020); Murray McLauchlan- Hourglass