Spotlight Album Review: Vance Gilbert "Good Good Man"

Vance Gilbert is a bit of a chameleon. “I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” he says. What he has played for more than 25 years is contemporary folk, dipped in soul with a hint of jazz, powered by a rich, supple voice and a fluid guitar style. Nestled among the 13 albums in his catalogue are a couple of collections of covers which showcase his range, but his new album, Good, Good Man, his first in five years, may be his best in terms of songs and production.

The opening cut, “Pie and Whiskey,” whets the appetite with its music and message (we know Vance loves food). Under a subtle string arrangement by keyboard player Brad Hatfield, it establishes a gentle, natural groove with a tasty guitar by Tommy Malone of the Subdudes and a bass part by Craig Akin. The title track, “Good, Good Man,” has a soulful vibe a la Van Morrison, once again abetted by Hadfield, Malone, and Akin and a trio of background singers.

A couple of other standouts are the toe-tappers “Zombie Pattycake” (with Abbie’s dad, Herb Gardner, on trombone) and “Another Great Day Above Ground” (again with Gardner on trombone, plus Chris Smither on guitar). Some of the strongest tracks have the simplest production: “Flyby” (just Vance on guitar and vocals with harmonies by Mike Posner), “When I Cross Over” (Vance with Herb Gardner on piano), “Brunswick County” (with a Celtic feel supplied by Aine Minogue’s harp), and “Wildflower” (not the Tom Petty tune, but a breathtaking cover of a 1972 song by Skylark). The album concludes with the spoken word Halloween reminiscence, “The Day Before November,” which has been a staple of Vance’s live performances.

There is an intimacy to many of the songs and a maturity to the lyrics, whether in a backward glance at his childhood or a look over the horizon at his mortality. Vance pulls it all together here and delivers a good, good album.  

Photo by Jeff Fasano