Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Exploration
(New West Records, 2005)

http://www.sarahleeandjohnny.com/Exploration, the debut album by Sarah Lee Guthrie (yes, she’s the granddaughter of Woody and the daughter of Arlo) and Johnny Lee Irion (pronounced eye-ree-on) is what you’d call in the biz “a ringer.” In other words, the musical pedigree of the performer(s), the cast of supporting players (in this case, Jayhawks members Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, pedal steel whiz Eric Heywood, Son Volt alum Dave Boquist, Tift Merritt drummer Zeke Hutchins, and Pete Seeger’s grandson, Tao Rodriguez Seeger), the producers (Louris and Ed Ackerson), the mixers (Tom Rothrock of Beck and Elliot Smith fame), and, of course, the appropriately hip label (New West, home to Twin/Tone Records co-founder Peter Jesperson and a brilliant stable of artists ranging from Slobberbone to Billy Joe Shaver) should, by all rights, guarantee an insta-classic, loved by the masses and lauded by the critics.

Sometimes, a combo like this seems like the best idea in the world to those involved; a grand, karmic collaboration that just had to be preordained by the gods of rock. And sometimes, despite all of the necessary ingredients and the best of intentions, the whole thing ends up as an expensive, time-consuming, polished turd—to wit: Lisa Marie Presley’s debut album, anything by Julian Lennon and (sorry, gang) even a few of ol’ Arlo’s records over the years.

Thankfully, that’s not the case with this release. Every star is in alignment; the songs are instantly memorable, heart-stirring and timeless; the voices, instruments and production are fine tuned and tight without bearing the burden of overproduction; and the vibes are all undeniably, unquestioningly, unflinchingly RIGHT. Sarah Lee and Johnny (life partners with a young child—a great foundation for sympatico songwriting if there ever was one), who wrote every song on the record save a reworked cover of Pete Seeger’s “Dr. King,” have an inherent knack for pinpointing the most elusive and fragile of human emotions and weaving them into short aural portraits of authentic, universal life experiences.http://www.sarahleeandjohnny.com/ And those voices! They’re unique, yet warmly familiar, once recalling a George Jones/Tammy Wynette duet, next a Gram/Emmlou slink-a-thon, then a Gary Louris/Karen Grotberg honeyfest. Sublime.

Playing out like a perfectly-stocked pool-hall jukebox in a country/rock roadhouse somewhere deep in the Delta, Exploration rides a classic, rootsy groove through 12 cohesive, yet gleefully disparate tracks. Album opener “In Lieu Of Flowers” tells the tale of a woe-begotten lover who courts a potential mate with a simple, heartfelt song instead of the traditional practices. You’re immediately drawn in by the tune’s deceptively simple notes, and then those voices blend and you’re in the story with them—on a dew-soaked late-night lawn, heart pounding, crooning under a darkened bedroom window.

“Cease Fire” starts out as a foxy, slow-burning invitation from one partner to another to “... open up the wine, honey, let it breathe/Pour yourself a glass and ease on back with me/It’s a Friday night and we’re all alone ...” But then, out of the blue, this breathy, slightly horny exhortation to quit bickering and forget the outside world suddenly and subtly slips into a wonderfully lazy, rollicking train song: “... Cease fire/The whistle’s blowin’ baby... freight train whistle taught me how to cry ...” This is a great example of the massive songwriting talent here- and the fact that this is only the pair’s first album thrills me to no end. I want YEARS of this stuff!!

“Holdin’ Back,” the album’s most obvious single (although in the right “market” every song on here is strong enough to be released as a single somewhere in the world), is a melancholy, insanely catchy, up-tempo ballad, written and sung by Sarah Lee. It’s indescribably tasty—leaving the listener with permanent goose flesh and a wobbly belly, and that’s such a rarity these days I almost don’t want to play this song too much. It’s too special to burn out. The title track, penned by Johnny, opens with with sad piano and those brilliantly blended voice-boxes, the song’s protagonist reverently intoning a desire to just chuck it all and head for the cosmos: “As I look up at the stars/Exploration on Mars/There’s a lotta left here to do/People askin’ us for change/People sleepin’ in the streets/Politicians still don’t have a clue/Lookin’ out my door/At the downtrodden that’s for sure/But they ain’t in their neck of the woods ...,” then busts into a soaring, glorious country-space-jam: “... it’s gonna be a nice vacation for us ...”

Sometimes, it’s just one line in a song that morphs it—at least in your own music fan soul—from a regular, by-the-note country waltz (“It’s just another day/Tryin’ to get back to you ...”) into a classic ballad you’ll cherish forever. Such is the case with “Kindness.” The song sort of washed over me (in a nice, comfy way) at first, until I kenned the line: “... like a raspberry seed in my wisdom tooth/I sometimes wish I’d never met you/But it’s all the same, when you’re tryin’ to get back to blue ...” Brilliant! I bet there’s more than a few flailing folks in faux Nashville who wish they’d written this song; or any of the nuggets inhabiting Exploration, for that matter.

The album’s centerpiece, Johnny’s adaptation of Pete Seeger’s “Dr. King,” is a half-spooky, all-inspirational call to spiritual arms, augmented by shiver-inducing fiddle shrieks (courtesy of either Dave Boquist or one of the Ungars), perfect harmonies and barrel-house piano. http://www.sarahleeandjohnny.com/It’s the real deal, folks, and by all rights should be on the air right now, tucked between Steve Earle’s “The Revolution Starts Now,” The Creekdippers’ “Portrait Of A Sick America,” and Woody’s “This Land Is Our Land.” “Mornin’s Over” is a soft, come-hither Sarah song, evoking images of a dusty, dying love and the promise of a lonely life to come.

But where, you ask, do you really begin to feel the Gary Louris/Jayhawks influence on this album? Well, frankly, every good thing about this record I’ve described positively permeates EVERY Jayhawks album, if’n you ask me, but that’s just one man’s opinion. A sign of a great producer—especially one who’s an accomplished musician/recording artist in their own right-—over just a good one, is when he/she can separate their own style and sound from that of the artists they’re working for and assist them in achieving their own vision. Great examples? Rick Rubin. Daniel Lanois. Frank Zappa. Ed Ackerson. Bingo! Mission accomplished.

Gary and Ed did a smashing job producing this collection of songs, allowing Sarah Lee and Johnny to impose their own individual styles and imprints on the work. It’s only when the grand, rousing chords, martial beats and screeching harmonicas of “Gervais,” a blistering, scathing indictment of segregation (and pretty much everything else that’s wrong in the world today), come ripping outta the speakers that you realize that Gary’s been waiting in the wings all along, ready to take up his axe and help slam another ‘Hawks-ish classic-to-be home. And boy, do they knock this one outta the ball park, kids. Put it this way: If this record really was playing on a Delta juke, the local rednecks would start gettin’ mighty warm under the collar as the story unfolds and the guitars slash and burn—“Was a battle flag, was a battle flag, was a battle flag ... we can put it away ...”

I can’t repeat it enough—this is a fucking amazing album—nary a stinker on it—and any music lover who gives a damn about decent, honest songwriting, excellent playin’, pickin’ and grinnin’, gorgeous harmonies, and simple, powerful production should drop their iPods and run willy-nilly to their nearest record shop. Exploration, by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. If they don’t have it, tell ‘em to order it and file it under “American Classics.” Too good for this world.
- Pulse of the Twin Cities CD Reviews

Sarah Lee Guthrie Johnny Irion
(Viper Room, West Hollywood; 250 capacity; $12)
Presented inhouse. Reviewed Feb. 17, 2005.
Band: Guthrie, Irion, Marc Perlman, Don Heffington, Eric Heywood.

What can I do to make you smile?" Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion asked as the curtains parted for their all-too-short Viper Room appearance. It's an odd lyrical choice to kick off a set of heartbreak ballads and thorny rock songs, but one that makes sense: Guthrie and Irion make music that bristles with unresolved contradictions. Their New West debut, "Exploration," is built around the juxtaposition of Guthrie's (the daughter of Arlo and granddaughter of Woody) piercing country voice, which can be as brassy as Loretta Lynn's or as muted as Emmylou Harris', with Irion's more subdued, urbane vocals. When the couple join in close harmony, as on the opener, "In Lieu of Flowers," the result is akin to the Louvin Bros. At other times, such as on the updated train song "Cease Fire," they approach the honey and vinegar tension of Richard and Linda Thompson.A similar push-and-pull operates in their songs: The album's title track opens with a gently mournful meditation contrasting the mission to Mars with social problems on Earth, then veers into a driving midperiod Beatles chorus whose refrain, "Going to be a nice vacation," seems to mock the verse's sentiment, finally ending in a dreamy coda as Irion's slide guitar tangles with Eric Heywood's pedal steel.The band, boasting members of the Jayhawks and Son Volt, came together especially for the West Hollywood show, but even with scant rehearsal time settled comfortably into the tunes, with Don Heffington's drumming providing an assured, easy swing. They were most impressive on the simmering arrangement of Pete Seeger's "Dr. King" and the high, lonesome country of "Georgia Pines."At the center, Guthrie and Iron were sweetly charming, switching midsong between guitar and piano, passing a tambourine back and forth. In answer to the question they posed at the start of their show, all they needed to do to bring a smile to your face was play.They will play Joe's Pub in New York on April 27.
- STEVEN MIRKIN

April 15, 2005

Husband-and-wife folk-rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion are learning firsthand what it means to juggle family and career.
"If we could do this [interview] in 10 minutes, that would be amazing. Is that OK?," Irion asks politely and a bit harriedly, calling from the couple's home base of Columbia, S.C. "We're just now leaving the Whole Foods store and I'm putting a Popsicle in [daughter] Olivia's mouth."
Instead, Irion and Guthrie call back, each taking a turn on the phone while the other covers the parental duties with their 2 1/2 year old. Their schedule is getting busier every day. Guthrie and Irion--who both have separate music careers as well--recently released their first collaboration, "Exploration" (New West), a strong folk-country-rock effort that combines homespun harmonies and a swirl of American roots-music influences. The songs--all written or co-written by Guthrie and Irion, except for the Pete Seeger-penned "Dr. King"--move from the jangly folk-rocker "Holdin' Back" to the snarling Neil Young & Crazy Horse feel of "Gervais."
"Exploration" combines a warm, living room ambience with a loose and lively sound that also gives a nod towards the Band's seminal early releases. Guthrie and Irion, backed by the Kevin Kinney Band, will share a bill with John Doe at FitzGerald's on Saturday.
"There are a lot of influences," Irion says of the new record. "We are hugely influenced by the Band . . . but we also love Bessie Smith, Lightnin' Hopkins, all the old blues stuff."
Irion, 35, previously logged stints in several bands, including the South Carolina-based Dillon Fence. For her part, Guthrie, 25, brings a weighty legacy to the table. The daughter of 1960s folkie Arlo Guthrie, she is also granddaughter of the towering American folk music icon Woody Guthrie. Despite her lineage--and despite the fact that at the age of 2 she sang on Arlo's 1981 record "Power of Love"--Guthrie says she never seriously entertained the idea of a music career during her formative years.
True to her dad's hippie roots, Guthrie spent her early years growing up on an isolated farm in Massachusetts, then attended school at a Florida ashram from the ages of 12 to 18. It was a place where she went to class in "bare feet and pajamas" and was active in community projects that helped abused children and people with AIDS. She credits the socially and spiritually aware lifestyle at the ashram--and the guru she studied under--for giving her a solid foundation in life.
"I definitely got a lot of life experience, and funny enough, it's really come full circle," she says. "All this stuff nowadays I read about my grandfather that I had no knowledge of back then--just his openness and compassion and all the things he'd written that are still relevant today--it's really what I learned from my guru. Just about being kind, being human."
At 18 she began delving deeper into her grandfather's music, and came to understand the enormity of his legacy. "That's when I really got a good picture of what an impact he had on everybody, our society, our world. It's still occurring to me. I think Woody's spirit is growing more and more, and it's growing on me as well."
After high school, Guthrie moved to L.A., where she met Irion in 1997. The two began dating, and soon that personal partnership blossomed into a musical one as well. Guthrie had always written poetry. One night Irion started putting that poetry to his own music, then handed her a guitar. "[She took to it] like a fish to water," he says.
"I took lessons as a kid, piano and stuff, but I never really started playing until I met Johnny," Guthrie says. "We sat down, and he convinced me to put my poetry to songs, and 15 minutes later I had a guitar in my hand. A week later, I was on the road with my dad."
While many parents might have discouraged a child from pursuing music professionally, Guthrie's father Arlo and mother Jackie were all for the idea when their daughter decided to take up the family trade.
"They were psyched when I decided to play music," she says. "It was never expected of me, but when I picked it up, [my mother] talked me out of going to college to go on the road with Dad. It didn't take too much to convince me."


- By Chrissie Dickinson Special to the Tribune