Review of Greg Trooper’s “Make It Through This World”Reviewer: Steve HugEmcee, Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MAI have a feeling Greg Trooper was going for broke when he approached this record. Apparently hitting the half-century chronological mark pushed him to try to bring in the finest players, chase down the right producer, write the most fitting songs, and sing the best he could.So he snagged legendary soul producer Dan Penn, who wrote classic tunes like “Dark End of the Street” and “Cry Like A Baby.” He assembled a band featuring guys who played with John Hiatt, Sonny Landreth, John Prine and Commander Cody. And, most important to Trooper’s “Make It Through This World” CD, he brought in Kevin McKendree, who’s worked with Delbert McClinton, on piano, Hammond B3 organ, etc. There are soulful, gospel keyboards all over this record.As for the songs and performance—first of all, it should be noted that I saw Greg give Americana performer extraordinaire Tim O’Brien a run for his money when Trooper opened for O’Brien at my haunts, the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts. Who is this guy? the Narrows’ regulars thought.So Trooper went into this recording with the requisite personal abilities. And it takes but one listen to know that he used them effectively.The opening track “Dream Away The Blues” reminds me of Randy Newman’s work, although the listener can understand Trooper’s lyrics at first listen (unlike Newman, whose New Orleans accent is charming yet sometimes a bit thick for my ears). “I just need some time, to shake off half a century,” he sings, reminding us that he may be relatively unknown but he’s been around. The instruments around his vocals create a churchy feel that sets the mood for the record, and is particularly strong in the next track “This I Do,” which should be recorded by Delbert McClinton, and the last one “Lonesome For You Now.” Most of the songs are about relationships, but “No Higher Ground” references a terrible flood in Galveston that happened “in this brand new century.” As a longtime Northerner, I was wondering, had I missed a big news story? Was the news from Texas being reported in the land of the Red Sox? So, of course, I googled “Galveston, flood” and came up with this link that I believe explains things.Congratulations to Greg Trooper—a half century old but going strong–and his crew on what will probably be viewed as one of the more outstanding releases of 2005. By the way, he’s touring, playing a bunch of dates in Texas, and eventually winding his way up to the Narrows Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 11. The CD is hot, hot, hot on the Americana music charts. WUMB radio in Boston, Massachusetts, seems to be particularly playing “Don’t Let It Go To Waste,” “Lonesome For You Now,” “When I Think of You My Friends,” and “Dream Away The Blues.”{mosimage}Click Here To Purchase This CDWebsite: www.gregtrooper.com
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