Big Dave McLean expands his sound on new album
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This article was published 17/10/2016 (3597 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Big Dave McLean is breaking blues cliches and stepping out of his comfort zone on his latest record.
The Fort Rouge based, Juno-nominated blues musician will release his eighth studio album, Better the Devil You Know, on Oct. 27 at the West End Cultural Centre.
The 13-track, Steve Dawson (Jim Byrnes, Old Man Luedecke, The Deep Dark Woods) produced record holds true to McLean’s traditional blues background while also exploring his propensity for country, roots and “old school southern gospel.”
“It’s got a lot of variety — this album has several different styles of music on it but the continuity is still there,” McLean, 64, said. “I’m very proud of it already.”
After the success of McLean’s Faded but Not Gone (2014), nominated for a Juno and Western Canadian Music Award, McLean said Dawson called him up, itching to get to work on another record.
Joining McLean in Nashville’s Henhouse Studio for this project was Jon Dymond and Gary Craig (rhythm), Kevin McKendree (piano/organ ), Fats Kaplin (fiddle/mandolin) and Ann and Regina McCrary (vocals).
According to McLean, the artists in the studio helped a bluesman make heads and tails of the country and gospel sound. He’s the first to admit he’ll be practising steadily before his album release.
“It was fun working with these guys because I’ve always done traditional blues albums, but Steve didn’t want to do just another traditional blues album, he wanted to take me outside my comfort zone,” McLean said. “He gathered up some of the best American players — I was so thrilled… I tell people it’s a good thing it’s my record or I wouldn’t have made the cut,” he said.
This time around, it wasn’t enough for the veteran musician to switch up his sound. McLean was also set on moving past the tropes that so often characterize blues music. In writing the tracks that made it onto Better the Devil You Know, McLean said he was tired of singing about partners treating him poorly, his car troubles, or dog dying.
“It’s been done to death,” he said. “We’re not just trying to sell CDs. We’re trying to get the message out.”
Of the messages he’s hoping to share, tributes to lost loved ones and lessons of peace recur on Better the Devil You Know. Swinging on Heaven’s Gate pays homage to his late father and a good friend, and Talk About a Revelation, a reaction to the mass shooting in Paris, yearns for a time of harmony.
“That upset me and I wrote this tune. Each song has a message behind it and each song was picked because that message is personal to me and I want to share it with everyone else,” McLean said.
Narratives characterize this record, and as McLean says, it’s “not just another bar album,” but a collection to listen to.
“Every song on it tells a story and every song on it has a reason for being there, you know,” he said. “You have to hear the lyrics.”
Tickets to Big Dave McLean’s album release party are $25 in advance and are available through the West End Cultural Centre, Into The Music, Music Trader and Ticketfly. Doors open at 7:15 and the show gets going at 8 p.m.