Bottomland
Co-produced by Dobb and Blair Calibaba at Vancouver's Mushroom Studios, Bottomland features a host of Canada's finest musicians (drummer Pat Steward, bassist Rob Becker, Luke Doucet on electric guitar and pedal steel, organist Dave Kershaw, Jesse Zubot on mandolin, and harmony vocals by Robyn Carrigan), to produce a muscular, powerful soundscape reminiscent of Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen's most compelling work.
Finely-drawn characters like "Della the two-step queen" and "that ole hayseed Jimmy Roy…the hippest cat in Hollywood" populate Dobb's lyrical narratives, but the most fully realized writing are the descriptions of the vivid landscapes that frame the songs on Bottomland. Dobb takes the listener deep into those varied worlds, from the dusty Sonora desert, to the Canadian prairie's "big wide open", to the title track's broken and littered shadows.
It's an exquisite song cycle, fueled by a rich and varied life and a poet's eye for detail. The songs feel lived in and real. Roots music never sounded better.
Released: 2002
Label: Skipping Stone Music / Pacific Music
Producers: Blair Calibaba / Allen Dobb
| Bottomland |
| This Day |
| Rocks to Pick |
| Beer Bottle Chandelier |
| Big Wide Open |
| Jimmy Roy |
| Like an Angel |
|
The Ballad of Willie Holmes |
| Road Song for a Sailor |
| Bellingham Rain |
See Bottomland Video
