Edentown

by Mary Ann Rossoni

Release Concert at:

Stone Soup Coffeehouse

February 22, 2014, 8 pm

Better All the Time

Mary Ann Rossoni is back.

This time with the benefit of experience.

It’s always a treat when our beloved acoustic music icon Mary Ann Rossoni returns with a collection of songs. Edentown, her newest and eighth work shows us an artist that has come full circle, from acoustic music and back again. Only this time, Mary Ann’s songwriting shows the benefit of passing time, of experience, of wisdom, of age.The new album is Rossoni laid bare: a collection of songs shorn of any elaborate arrangement or instrumentation—just words, delicately strummed guitars, and her voice.

Best known for composing melodic ballads focused on the challenges, perils and accomplishments of working class heroes, Mary Ann follows that formula, and her strength, with Edentown. The songs here reflect a pensive depth, her songs address the darkness and difficulties that so often afflict her heavy hearted narrators, all of us. Many of the tunes on Edentown talk of loss, recovery and sacrifice. “After the deaths of my nephew and a close friend, my writing took a ‘why-are-we-here?’ turn,” she says. “The songs on Edentown speak of loss and recovery, young love and gratitude for the simple things that life has to offer.”

“Beside My Memory of You” is a haunting waltz for a friend that passed suddenly. “The Passion” sings beautifully of the ultimate sacrifice. Years of disagreement end in understanding in “More and More the Same.” The title cut is a missive from a friend on the other side.

Writing and recording since 1988, when she met and performed extensively with singer/songwriter John Fuzek, Mary Ann in a sense returns to those simpler days, only this time with more complex feelings, more mature reflections, and a more truly meaningful body of work.

Rossoni will be performing these newer songs at Stone Soup Coffeehouse on February 22 with  longtime band mate Paul Dube (harp/accordion); his son Matt Dube (percussion) and fellow board members of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame Medrick Bellaire (mando/acoustic guitar) and Jeff Keithline (stand-up bass).

Mike Laureanno, longtime friend, fellow RISA member, and the recording engineer behind Edentown, opens the show.

“I’ve really missed playing small folk rooms, getting out there in front of people and feeling that connection,” she admits. “That’s why I feel it’s good to take these songs on the road.”

Changing producers can make a big difference for a recording artist. Just ask Mary Ann Rossoni, whose second solo album, Downcity, is a bit of a departure from her first solo outing, Half Slips & Garters. Rossoni is still a folk-oriented singer/songwriter, and she is still an impressive storyteller whose influences range from Christine McVie and Grace Slick to Joni Mitchell and Suzanne Vega. But this time, Rossoni’s songs (which combine folk, rock, and pop) tend to have more bite and more of an edge. Under producers Tim Rochon and Joe Sanders, Rossoni often goes for a somewhat tougher, grittier approach. While producer John Paul Gauthier went for a subtle, acoustic-oriented ambiance on Half Slips & Garters, Rochon and Sanders make Downcity more amplified. “Drama Queen” and “Conversations,” in fact, are especially rockin’ and have a lot of Americana appeal. But those who valued the sensitivity of Half Slips & Garters need not worry about Rossoni turning into a hard rock vixen; when Rossoni rocks, she is closer to Melissa Etheridge or Joan Osborne than Lita Ford, Courtney Love or Joan Jett. Rossoni would still fit right in on a Lillith Fair stage, and she brings plenty of sensitivity to reflective originals like “Rain Fall,” “Dead Limb,” and “Mother of the Heart.” For Rossoni, being more amplified doesn’t mean sacrificing sensitivity or nuance. Downcity is a fine sophomore effort, and it is every bit as appealing as Half Slips & Garters in its own way.

A key part of being an effective folk or folk-pop singer is being an effective storyteller, and Mary Ann Rossoni demonstrated that her storytelling skills were excellent with her first solo album, Half Slips & Garters. The Rhode Island native is far from an aggressive singer; subtlety is the rule for Rossoni, whose phrasing could be described as an appealing combination of Christine McVie, Grace Slick, and Joni Mitchell. At times, there are traces of Suzanne Vega in Rossoni‘s vocals, though she lacks Vega‘s waifishness. But for all her softness, Rossoni has no problems getting her points across. Just how impressive a storyteller she can be is evident on originals ranging from “One in the Jury,” sung from the perspective of a juror who has helped send a man to prison for the rest of his life, to “Run of the Mill,” which describes a factory worker’s family. But the most memorable offering of all is “In America,” a haunting gem reflecting on the adjustments immigrants have made after coming to the U.S. This fine CD indicated that Rossoni deserved to be much better known nationally.

by Alex Henderson