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Review: "The Kershaw Sessions" | |
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Ted Hawkins lived the folkie's nightmare. He was born into poverty in Mississippi, was abused and illiterate, and was in reform school by the time he was 12. Inspired by a visit to the school by the legendary musician Professor Longhair, he began writing songs and lived in hope of being a respected musician; but often running afoul of the law, he usually couldn't pay rent. Busking for years on Venice Beach, he was casually ignored by passers-by and toiled in obscurity, cranking out songs, drifting from place to place, and once in a while scraping out a record or a venue show. It was twenty years into this, in 1986, that he released his second record, Happy Hour, which made him a hero in soul-loving England. He moved over. In 1994, he had just released his third album, through a US major, when he died of a stroke.
It is fitting, then, that this collection of BBC-recorded songs should be released as a retrospective on his career, by one of Canada's oldest and greatest folk labels. Hawkins is pure folk and pure soul embodied and immortalized on plastic. Charming, honest, unadorned and unvarnished, he sits on his favorite milk crate with battered guitar in hand, and simply sings his songs for you; of betrayal, love, cynicism, and pity. If his idol Sam Cooke had been a blues man, the results would likely be quite similar - if not predictable-
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as blues is the background, but soul is the vocal sound, and country the ethic.
This adds a ring of authenticity on a number of levels: knowing about Hawkins' life, one not only understands the origin of his songs, but empathizes with and respects him for never taking the easy way out.
The music is that of a stubborn minimalist, and a great talent never fully realized. Hawkins' choice of the one-guitar-one-voice formula places attention directly upon the voice of the singer. In this case, he tells stories and evokes images recognizable to the working poor, all the while dryly clearly observing and enjoying the response. "So, this is Happy Hour… two drinks for the price of one… people dancing and having fun… what a good place to be!" The irony is as bittersweet and palpable as beer breath, as is the music.
By Kevan Corbett, CanEHdian.com 2001
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