Spotlight Album Review: Dar Williams "I’ll Meet You Here"
There are no dramatic departures in Dar Williams’ 13th album, I’ll Meet You Here. It’s simply filled with the kind of superbly crafted songs you’d expect, enhanced by the tasteful production of Stewart Lerman, known for his work with The Roches, Elvis Costello, Neko Case, and countless others. After a six-year hiatus from recording (save the limited release of a superb live Cry Cry Cry album), this is a welcome comeback.
Ironically, the opening track, “Time, Be My Friend,” is the exception to the production. Recorded in Woodstock with the virtuoso guitarist/producer Larry Campbell, it also features the formidable Gail Ann Dorsey (who toured years ago with Dar) on bass and vocals and sets the thematic theme of the album, which seems to be about moving forward. “I have not been so kind to you,” she tells Time, but she vows, “I’ll make it up you this time/And I’ll go walking down that wide country road/And I will be your brave companion.”
Bravery is also present in “Let the Wind Blow,” which with Dar’s fondness for mythology, conjures the spirit of Odysseus: “O the stories we could tell, my adventurous friend/And the perils we faced on our journey homeward.” “You Give It All Away,” one the bigger productions but one of the most poetic songs, seems to address an artist searching for inspiration:
I know how it feels when the day will give you nothing,
Then you see the golden spark that’s floating on the wind
The line becomes the verse becomes
The golden trees, the golden birds
And oh, you’re gonna give it all away
What does it take for the muse to arrive? “Magical Thinking” suggests living through a dry spell (“the rock bed is dry”) but she remains confident that “the creek will run/And I’ll be waiting for the train to come.” Or is that metaphor more about rekindling personal relationships? The exquisite “Little Town” (featuring Bryn Roberts on piano and Dave Eggar on cello) cautions about a relationship going too fast, but in the context of a community (“Everybody knows who was born and raised here/The mayor is my friend, I’ve known him all my life”). Dar, who was raised in suburban Chappaqua and lives in the Hudson River town of Cold Spring, certainly knows and cares a lot about community.
A more alien community is visited in “Berkeley,” which is reminiscent of “Iowa” (“Our souls and their secrets/Promised to keep us/Out of all time there, in a place out of time there”). On the other hand, “Sullivan Lane,” written by Dar’s neighbor Joziah Longo (of the Slambovian Circus of Dreams), calls out to “sisters and brothers” who “slipped from the pain/Right into the other world.” Recorded years ago by the Slambovians, it’s a catchy waltz which features Ben Butler and Steuart Smith (of The Eagles) on guitars and The Sweet Remains on vocals.
An ardent environmentalist, Dar addresses climate change in “Today and Every Day” (for which, incidentally, Antje Duvekot created a delightful video). She remains hopeful: “We got to say, ‘We can save the world today and every day.’” There’s hope for romance, too. “I never knew love could ask what I was waiting for,” she sings on “I Never Knew.” Another example of moving forward.
And yet, even while moving forward, Dar closes the album by revisiting “You’re Aging Well,” the classic from her 1993 album, The Honesty Room. When Joan Baez invited Dar to duet with her on her 1995 Ring Them Bells sessions at the Bottom Line, it helped put her on the map. It was the meeting of two generations. Dar is now exactly the same age Joan was then and can inhabit the wisdom of the last few lines:
“I’m so glad that you finally made it here,
With the things you know that only time could tell,
Looking back, seeing far, landing right where you are,
And oh, you’re aging, oh, and I am aging, and oh, aren’t we all aging well!”
Yes, you are, Dar, yes you are.
Photo by Ebru Yildiz