Lutes, Rob Middle Ground2002IndependentMMMM333

Lutes, Rob - Middle Ground - 2002 - Independent - MMMM333

Written by John Taylor

One of my favourite parts in the movie High Fidelity centred around how the clerks in John Cusak's record store continually and obsessively re-catalogued their music collections according to increasingly arcane criteria. I know people like that. Me, I file 'em roughly by genre. And you won't find Rob Lutes' sophomore effort, "Middle Ground," in with my blues discs.

So if it's not blues (according to my criteria, anyway), what's it doing here on CanadianBlues? For one thing, Lutes seems a bluesman at heart; he's a frequent performer at many blues festivals and appears at many venues known for blues booking policies, so it may well be that he does more blues-oriented material at his live shows (I've not yet had the pleasure).

It's always been my contention that blues fans love the music to a very large degree because of its honesty, its utter lack of pretence, and the direct and uncluttered means by which it unveils its emotional truths. And while Lutes' music may not conform to 12-bar convention, it certainly possesses the genre's best qualities. Yes, there's a little more to it than the basic blues structure - his songs are more layered, more melodic, dare we say more poetic, than a typical blues tune. But the feel, the emotional honesty, free of artifice and illusion, is very much the same.

Lutes sings in a voice that seems both wise and weary beyond his years. His own acoustic guitar work is augmented by that of Rob MacDonald, who also contributes restrained electric here and there; bassist Tony Cucco and drummer R. D. Harris make up the rhythm section, while Bob Stagg's moody, atmospheric organ (both B3 and Wurlitzer, and yes, there's a big difference!) and accordion work complete the soundscape. And soundscape is indeed the right word; there's an almost palpable sense of place to every composition, whether the effect is of wind-swept, wintery desolation or the sultry, dusty heat of an August afternoon.

Lutes' lyrics paint poignant pictures of loneliness and loss. His songs, truth be told, are almost invariably infused with sadness and regret; there's not much joy to be found here. But Lutes' ability to find the beauty in sadness is reminiscent of Van Morrison, at least when the irascible Irishman's singing straight from the heart. The prevailing mood may well be melancholic, but it's all achingly lovely, thoroughly clear-eyed and utterly unsentimental. If I've made it sound depressing, it's not; instead, call it reflective. Music, in short, for times when one's ready to contemplate the workings of the heart and the ways in which life so very often has its own ideas that aren't always in synch with our desires.

If one's looking for comparisons, I'd say there are hints here of Springsteen at his folkiest and John Hiatt at his bluesiest (circa his acoustic masterpiece, "Crossing Muddy Waters.") Fans of either will find much to like here, yet there's nothing at all derivative; Lutes' sound is unquestionably his own, and a huge part of "Middle Ground's" success lies in his unerring ability to find the perfect marriage between words and music.

So call it what you will, whether roots-rock or folk or blues (of a sort). File it however you see fit. But do yourself a favour and give Rob Lutes a listen. Middle Ground is a wonderful disc.

Purists beware, but this one gets my very highest recommendation!

Copyright 2003. Review by John Taylor.

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