It's never too late! After Bill Fay, Rodriguez and Mark Fry, another singer-songwriter reemerges from oblivion. Author of two excellent albums between the 60s and 70s, Tucker Zimmerman was often at the center of David Bowie's attention, who never hid his admiration for the debut of the American musician produced by Tony Visconti (“Ten Songs ” 1969).
Having moved to Belgium in the late 1970s, the singer-songwriter has recently returned to the critical spotlight, also thanks to continuous quotes from Big Thief. And it is Adrianne Lenker's band that acts as support for this return in style of the Los Angeles musician, who had already reappeared on the scene in 2003 with the Nightshift Trio project and the album “Walking On The Edge Of The Blues”, the first of a series of records completely ignored by the public and critics.
Made for the prestigious 4AD label, “Dance Of Love” is a record full of genuine poetic impulses that drip with beauty and tenderness – the folk-blues of Nobody's Knows” – of touching and painful sweetness that creeps under the skin – “Don't Go Crazy (Go In Peace)” – but also pleasantly superfluous moments: “The Ram-a-lama-ding-dong Song”.
The result is intriguing, perhaps lacking the grit and fury of the beginnings that had enchanted Bowie, but the charm of these relaxed and mature compositions is only apparently soft. The folk song by Zimmerman are tremulous, sometimes decorated with graceful sounds of steel guitar and caressing bass touches (“Old Folks Of Farmerville”), more often similar to a poetic whisper (“Lorelei”).
The time-worn voice, the mastery of the writing and the skilful minimalism of the arrangements create an interesting temporal gap. Shining examples of this are the lovely single “Burial At Sea”, the epic pace of “The Season” and the charming uptempo of “The Idiot's Maze”.
Not without a moment of genuine magic (“Leave It On The Porch Outside” with his wife Marie-Claire as counterpoint), “Dance Of Love” perhaps doesn't have the same intensity as Bill Fay's return or the overwhelming energy of Bill Fay's albums. Rodriguez, but exudes qualities that are now obsolete, such as frankness, empathy and authenticity. It is by virtue of these peculiarities that Tucker Zimmerman's return manages to capture a transversal consensus. An atypical example of folk songwriting that we will probably find in many end-of-year charts.
10/19/2024
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
