Ballad Singer Bonnie Dobson
Looking Back a New CD
By: David Wilson - May 07, 2010
Bonnie Dobson
Looking Back
Biber Records 76831
In 1962 Bonnie Dobson was by far the best known and most popular Canadian folk artist in this area. Her appearances at Club 47 in Cambridge, The Ballad and Banjo in Hyannis, and a number of college campus events quickly built her a fan base that put her in the front rank of female folksingers of that time.
Her clear soprano voice, sensitive treatment of traditional ballads and use of that sensitivity in the writing of songs such as "Morning Dew" set a high bar that only a few of her sister singers could meet.
In an early interview when asked what was her musical ambition, she answered that she wanted to sing the lead in Tosca. When she left the Americas in the '70s to set down roots in the UK many of us thought that was what she intended to pursue. Instead she followed an interest in philosophy, ended up in academic administration and raised a family. Her last live concert on this continent was in Chicago during a return trip in 1989. In 2007, she participated in a program, "Lost Ladies of Folk" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall where 38 years before she had made her UK debut.
Bonnie never gave up singing. This album consists of 13 tracks, 8 re-mastered from recordings of a 1983 live performance and 5 studio recordings, 4 of which were recorded in 2009. Bonnie was born in 1940. I will leave the math to you.
The four tracks recorded in 2009, "Land Of The Silver Birch", "Un Canadien Errant", "Thyme" and "Again and Again" demonstrate that passage of time has not in any way diminished her talent. Her voice remains clear and true. Given how easy it is for the pitch of singers in the higher registers to waffle, I am pleased to report that Bonnie’s control never wavers nor does her empathy for the material. With restraint and simplicity she conveys the emotional content of each song with ease.
The recording quality of the live tracks does not live up to the studio recordings, not surprising, but the engineer and guitarist, Friedemann Witecka, who tinkered and toiled over the quarter inch stereo tapes did a remarkable job. Although I suspect the compromises required some sacrifice of Bonnie’s emotive coloration, I would rather have these otherwise unavailable renditions than not. In part her collaboration on these performances with Annie Baker Graham, Gerry Hale and Richard Lee make this a valuable collector’s item.
"Morning Dew" leads off the album but is only the first of the five Dobson compositions included. "Day of Reckoning" also focuses on our disdain for the environment in the quest for profit. "Stay With Me Tonight", "The Woman You Call Your Wife" and "The Door Is Open" provide us with more personal observations, an aspect of Bonnie we have not often experienced before.
For those of us who remember her from the halcyon days this album serves to remind us of why we loved her so. For those of you who have yet to be introduced, this is as good a place to begin as any.
Looking Back will be released for sale on June 8th.
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