Scene and Heard.ca

Banjo in hand, Old Man Luedecke stands on the front cover of his latest outing, Proof of Love. There’s a charm to the artwork, the man and the music.

Bluegrass country with a Maritime twang makes this CD both fun and emotional. The fast-paced finger picking and fun-loving vocals of ‘Ain’t Goin’ My Way’ sing not of happiness but of a rough moment in someone’s life. Chris Luedecke’s singing style belies the nature of some of the songs, which are quirky, dark, and sorrowful.

The songs keep your toes tapping; ‘Big Group Breakfast’ is a perfect example. ‘In the Beginning’ is another finger-moving love song, while ‘Little Bird’ is a more deep and thick track. There’s a great range of banjo-heavy, good country music, which keeps this release interesting from start to finish.

Proof of Love was recorded live-off-the-floor in a couple of days at the Factory Studio in Vancouver. To pull that off you need a solid producer (multi Juno winner Steve Dawson) and some fine musicians including Be Good Tanyas’ John Raham on drums and Mark Beaty on bass, Andrian Dolan on fiddle, and Steve Dawson on guitars. But most sweetly are the backing vocals of Alice Dawson, Rose Cousins, and the Sojourners.

‘Sad as a Forest’ grabs you with its old school blues thump-thump on the bass. The snare and bass drum hits accentuating each thump-thump. Luedecke’s voice is slightly imperfect, which adds to Proof of Love’s appeal. This is good stuff, people.

- Antoine Tedesco