Jeff Trippe: The Big Woods;  great original songwriting, good, ol' time Americana!

At left:  The acoustic trio, "The Mutineers"; from right, Jeff Trippe, Stuart MacDonald, Rod Pervier;

Jeff Trippe has put together a nice disc of his foot-tapping, old-timey / Americana style original tunes, with a few traditional fiddle tunes thrown in.   Jeff knows how to write a lyrical hook, and his songs are full of sharp images and thoughtful observations, and a deeply personal point of view.

Jeff is an important part of the popular acoustic trio, The Mutineers, and his guitar, fiddle, and mandolin work with that group is well known in Maine and beyond.  He has been playing in bluegrass, celtic, and rock bands for thirty years, and is originally from the southeast US.

I’m reminded of Willie Nelson and John Denver, as well as local folk songwriter and performer Doug Kolmar, when I hear Jeff’s steady, pliable vocals on some of these songs.  His guitar, mandolin, and especially his fiddle work on this disk are very good, even if the timing and mix on the tracks, at times, does not put the music’s bestfoot forward.  That foot is always tapping happily away, though!

The CD leads with the optimistic and hopeful tune “You Will”.  Jeff blows a wistful harmonica backup, and strums an insistent, consistent acoustic guitar lick that drives the song through a pleasant harmonic structure.  Rusty Wiltjer’s percussion add a nice touch, and I wish I knew who sang the backing vocal, it’s very good.  The lyrics are, all at once, full of regret, reminiscence, resolve, and promise;  there is much lost time to make up for in this song.

“Night Train to Montgomery” is my favorite tune on this CD, from a songwriting point of view.  As Jeff writes in his liner notes, the song is “my contribution to the canon of American train songs”.   The story is a set of vignettes from an anxious but eventful trip on a train tearing through the southland.  The beat is classic railroad tempo, the melody draws you into the song with its simplicity and familiarity.  Several interesting and problematic characters are encountered, including Sister Sally, “talking fast and moving slow”, with "eyes like burnin' sulfer, hips just made to bump and grind!"

Alan Bean plays a nicely-interpreted dobro here, adding to the railroad feel.  Overall, though, the mix is a little confused.  With the application of a more finely-tuned ear for production, this could be a killer track.

The other song that I enjoyed a lot from this CD was “21 Dollars”.  Very nice old-time vocal harmonies, great mandolin work, and a solid presence on banjo by Rick Wile.  This is probably one of the best tracks on the record in terms of the mix and production.  The narrator in this song finds himself wondering how he got into his present fix, and he sums it up in the fact that he’s a little low on cash.

I don’t know just how we stumbled

And I don’t know just who should wear the blame

All I know is I got me a pocket full of trouble

And I got 21 dollars to my name

I got 21 dollars to my name

This record is a great example of a talented local songwriter and musician drawing on his network of equally talented friends, and putting out a fine CD of his current work.   I totally enjoyed the songwriting and the enthusiasm of the performances.  Jeff is a great musician, and that comes through the mix loudly and clearly.  I’m looking forward to Jeff’s next project, and you should too.