THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In early 2022,” says Stephen Fearing, “as the pandemic’s lockdown grip was loosening, I got a phone call from Ken Coomer, who’d heard my version of Gordon Lightfoot’s Early Morning Rain and asked if I wanted to record with him. Not recognizing the name, I dug in and discovered that Coomer was in Uncle Tupelo and a founding member of Wilco, playing on their first four albums, and now is a producer/drummer who’s worked with everybody from Al Green to Steve Earle to Sheryl Crow to Emmylou Harris, and many more.”
This is how Fearing came to record The Empathist at Coomer’s studio, Cartoon Moon Recording in Nashville, alongside producer Coomer, doubling on drums; Fearing’s Blackie And The Rodeo Kings bandmate John Dymond on bass; and masterful multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke on almost everything else. They also wrangled accomplished guest performers Colin Linden, Sue Foley, Dala and Kelly Prescott. Inspired by such creative colleagues, Fearing recorded stellar versions of songs written at the peak of his storytelling skills.
“Being called a storyteller is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received,” he says. “I love telling stories, but it wasn’t until I realized that my story is just a small part of ‘The Story’ that I found my true voice as a songwriter. Writing songs means opening to the emotions and experiences of others, as well as my own. That’s what inspired the album title — these songs are my stories, written through the lens of all the truths I’ve seen and felt around me.”
And great songs they are. Bring This Song is an anthemic, majestic tribute to the healing power of music, and its ability to serve as a spark of inspiration. Riding a bright, strong horn section, and featuring a richly compelling piano solo from Hoke — with Fearing singing as if his life depended on it — Bring This Song is an unstoppable wave of positive energy.
Inspired by a conversation with Cree singer-songwriter and far North resident Adrian Sutherland, Far From The Middle is a hard-charging blues-rocker with a wicked groove, and elements that recall the twang of the James Bond theme, and the swaggering horn lines of the Peter Gunn main title. The song finds Fearing in a rage against the machine that holds Indigenous people down; he’s aided and abetted by Hoke’s thick, rich sax, and the hardcore Texas-blues swagger of Foley’s stinging telecaster.
Above The Water is a soaring ballad, with beautiful, Beatlesque harmonies in the chorus, that captures both the passage of time, and the passing of Fearing’s father. It’s a song about the arc of time from the classroom to adulthood and how essential it is to hold on tight to our dreams as we grow older. The Empathist is a subtle, finger-picked folk song about a close, longtime personal friendship — though one that never quite crosses over into romance. Layered with nuanced shades of meaning, it plumbs memories of life from an elder’s perspective, and deftly captures how vain musicians can be, and how put-upon women are.
That rare combination of soft form and hard-as-nails content, Marie is a protest song – with a soothing lilt, and a magnificent accordion — about the rise of fascism across the globe. Set as a conversation between two people, the songs looks at the chaos and division around us and the way we are divided by our own rage and violence. A barrelhouse piano stomp, Best Road I’ve Known is a country-blues song with some fine dobro accents. This tribute to the saving graces of ‘family’ sounds unhinged enough to have been a live first take, gloriously loose and ragged, in all the right ways.
Cowboy Guitar is a cinematic lullabye to the past, the power of time and memory, as Fearing’s character sees “the kid you used to be.” Using imagery from the bygone era of the silver screen, the song captures the complicated, bittersweet feelings of aging, friendship, and the arc of a life. Inspired by the classic Irish tea-towel blessing/toast, May You Get To Heaven is a blues-rocker that showcases a compelling Cajun accordion, a blistering electric slide guitar solo, and ragged group vocals on the chorus: “May you get to heaven ‘fore the Devil knows you’re dead.” It’s a humorous take on redemption and forgiveness.
Moody, atmospheric, swirling, and meditative, Where Will I Be is everything a Daniel Lanois song should be. It first appeared on Lanois’ 2008 album Here Is What Is, and was also recorded by his musical friend Harris. One of the better songs ever written about shuffling off this mortal coil, beautifully delivered here by Fearing. A tender acoustic ballad, Valentine’s Day was written during the pandemic and gently celebrates friendship and the love of close friends and community. The combination of a gorgeous melody, delicate fingerpicking, a small string section of cellos and violin, and smoldering vocals is as beautiful as it is captivating.
All told, The Empathist is quite the result, for an unexpected, unsolicited phone call that came straight out of nowhere. “At first I thought it was a version of the old ‘I am a Nigerian prince’ scam,” says Fearing, with a smile. “I’ve never been so glad to be so wrong.”
