Spotlight Album Review: David Bromberg "Big Road"

When David Bromberg asked Larry Campbell to produce his 2013 album, Only Slightly Mad, it was clear they had a special chemistry. They’re both top-flight musicians, adept on many instruments and steeped in multiple genres. (Listen to my WFUV studio session for proof.) Now with their third consecutive collaboration, Big Road, an artistic trifecta, Larry once again brings out the best in David.

The core players on the album are the quintet that tours with David, augmented by Dan Walker on keyboards and Larry’s own contributions on pedal steel and mandolin. The opening title track, “Big Road,” is a Delta blues by a little-known musician, Tommy Johnson. David recorded a solo acoustic version on his 2007 album, Try Me One More Time; here he does a full-tilt electric version, with a big horn arrangement by Larry.

As expected, from there the album covers the musical landscape. There are a couple of classic folk songs (Pat and Victoria Garvey’s “Lovin’ of the Game” and Gordon Bok’s “The Hills of Isle Au Haut”); an acapella gospel tune (“Standing in the Need of Prayer”); an original by David paying tribute to country vocalists (“George, Merle & Conway”); a fiddle medley showcasing the young virtuoso Nate Grower; an acoustic Leadbelly tune done bluegrass-style (“Take This Hammer’), and a Charlie Rich song with a big band blues arrangement (“Who Will the Next Fool Be?”).

The centerpiece of Big Road (which also includes a DVD documenting the record) is a nearly 11-minute take on “Diamond Lil,” a Bromberg favorite that dates from his 1972 album, Demon in Disguise. It contains the classic line, “A man should never gamble more than he can stand to lose.” Over the years David’s turned it into a tour de force for the band onstage, and now there’s a recording that does it justice, with stunning guitar solos by David and Mark Cosgrove.  

The album closes with “Roll On John,” a midtempo bluegrass standard recorded by John Herald and the Greenbriar Boys in the early ‘60s. “Take your time,” the song goes, and that’s a fitting credo as David approaches his 75th birthday in September. He’s only going to play songs that speak to him, with some of the best vocals of his life, with musicians he can trust, under the auspices of a producer he truly understands him. That’s a gift to all of us.