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Gearan has a 'Remedy' for roots-rock fans

By Steve Morse, The Boston Globe  |  February 15, 2008

You can't call it a best-kept secret anymore because the place is packed every week. Tim Gearan has had a Monday residency at Toad in Cambridge for 10 years now - and it's the busiest, flagship night for this roots-rock emporium.

Gearan also lives right up the street, but it's clear that his musical reach is much broader. On his new album, "No Remedy," he runs the gamut from rock and funk and gospel inspired by the Staple Singers and Blind Willie Johnson, to the country dynamism of Steve Earle and the piquant, off-beat satire of Gearan's idol, Randy Newman. "Randy is my man," says Gearan, who celebrates the new release tomorrow night at the Lizard Lounge.

"No Remedy," which is Gearan's fourth album, comes closest to capturing the high-energy, full-throttle spirit of his Toad soirees. The kickoff is the Springsteen-like "City of Refuge," featuring Gearan's biting slide guitar (he used to back Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi) and smoldering horn bursts from local stalwarts Paul Ahlstrand and Scott Aruda, who typically back him on Mondays.

The bluesy "Turpentine" sounds like Newman crossed with Levon Helm of the Band with its wry vocal that "the devil may care, but I tend to doubt it/ And the other guy is never at home." Local mandolinist Sean Staples adds some great filigree.

Gearan is equally inspired on the scorching rave-up "Fickle Betty" (with Andy Plaisted wailing on drums) and the sudden solo-acoustic turn of "Cubby Oil Man," a reference to a Somerville oil company employee. With self-deprecating humor, Gearan sings to his lady, "I would get a job if I only knew how . . . I swear I'll understand if you run off with the Cubby Oil Man."

Gearan has a deep, drawling voice that quickly wins you over. His ragtime cover of "Sittin' on Top of the World" and James Taylor's "Lo and Behold" are further highlights, though most of his tunes are original and testify to his hard-gigging talent. He also plays Fridays at Atwood's Tavern in Cambridge in a more stripped-down setting. He is all over town, frankly, and often sits in with Session Americana as well. And he just performed on a bill in Scotland with fellow locals Alastair Moock, Rose Polenzani, and Kris Delmhorst.

But he really turns it loose with this new disc, which features area all-stars such as lap-steel guitarist Steve Sadler and bassist Lou Ulrich (formerly of Groovasaurus). They're the Boston equivalent of a roots-music dream team. In the liner notes, Gearan also thanks "the Monday night creatures at Toad." But you don't have to be a Monday creature to appreciate this new disc. Just hop on the bandwagon and enjoy.

A NYC singer-songwriter moves to Boston and lands himself 10 year residency at a famed club. And he packs it out every week. Good fortune or deserved recognition?

Being a singer-songwriter with a penchant for soulful, thought-invoking roosty rock there is inevitably a warm welcome awaiting you in Boston, that Mecca of likeminded souls. Given that Gearan is currently into a ten year residency at a club in Cambridge Massachusetts it is fair to say they have embraced him as one of their own. A style that casually rambles between Randy Newman and J J Cale, a kind of laid back Stephen Fearing if you like, Gearan is from a breed of songwriter that has perfected the art of making their subjects or characters as real to you as they are to them. Delving into the homes and minds of blue collar America with a passion and understanding of how these people live and breath without ever sounding excessively earnest is a skill that only great storytellers can pull off. Yup, you can file Gearan in that drawer for sure. “What Went Wrong,” a little bit Dylan a little bit Waites, takes a sideswipe at losing oneself from the scene of a crime whilst “Moving Day” is an almost perfect reflection on what it means to leave home and all those things you have taken for granted over the years. You can practically smell the brown overalls and feel the dust off the dustsheets. In the same way that the aforementioned Stephen Fearing manages to hold your attention to the songs by practically grabbing you by the arm and dragging you into the story, Gearan is perhaps a little more subtle yet still leaves the door ajar for you to enter. It makes for a utterly compelling experience and earmarks this New York songwriter out as one to keep an eye on. You kind of get the impression that something special could be in the offing at some point. In the meantime this is a cracking record and will more than bridge the gap until the masterpiece arrives. No pressure then.

Review from the UK site Americana-uk.com.

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Local Artists Keep Americana Thriving

Boston is a hotbed of rootsy Americana music for reasons that are elusive, but that doesn't make the quality of the product any less compelling. Three area artists have released captivating new albums sure to entice any fan of basic rock 'n' roll, country, blues or bluegrass. The fact that you can see these folks for low dough is just one more reason to consider yourself lucky to live here. TROUBLE WHEELS by Tim Gearan (Guernica Recordings; www.timgearan.com) Most area fans probably know Tim Gearan as a blues player from his long stint as a member of Toni Lynn Washington's backing band. But this 11-song CD, recorded with multi-instrumentalist and sometime-Swinging Steak Steve Sadler, marks him as an outstanding singer and songwriter. Gearan's work is not precisely folk nor country, but a rootsy acoustic rock. The biggest surprise here is his burnished baritone vocals, a talent heretofore kept well hidden in his blues forays, but notable for its ease of control and resemblance to folk star John Gorka's rugged emotive power. If there is a poster child band for Americana music it would be The Band, and Gearan's "Green" evokes the best of that group's work, with an apocryphal tale of bygone days, set against a charming mandolin/guitar/banjo backdrop. There's a strutting Jeremy Berlin piano line weaving through the tune, and Gearan's vocals as omniscient narrator are warm and just ragged enough for credibility. Comparisons to Gorka are inevitable with the story-song "Long Cold Winter," where Gearan's gruff vocal carries waves of emotion as he sings of turning the page on past mistakes. The Dylanesque vignette "Milk and Honey Daze" boasts a jaunty Jim Fitting harmonica line and memorable lyrics like with one hand on the Maypole, and one foot out the door."John Hiatt's brand of acerbic-yet-affectionate songwriting comes to the fore in "Just Like Diamonds," a superbly melodic ballad with a killer chorus. The title cut is a loping, bluesy ballad centered on Sadler's peerless mandolin work.

Written by JAY N. MILLER for The Patriot Ledger

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Review of Trouble Wheels Guernica Recordings

Gearan has long been a roots-guitar MVP in the Boston area, but he’s also a talented songwriter and singer. The latter is no surprise to the folks who’ve been packing his Monday-night residency at Toad for years. This album, his second, brings his lyric, composing, and vocal skills to the fore, framing them in arrangements dominated by his acoustic guitar and dobro. The playing is spare and exquisite, Gearan supported by fellow journeymen including Steve Sadler on guitars, banjo, mandolin, and accordion, Sean Staples on mandolin, and Jim Fitting (the Coots, Treat Her Right) on harmonica. His “Just like Diamonds” and “Flicker” gleam with the hope of joy and aspiration, and the title track is about finding comfort in love. “Sweet Dreams Marlene,” on which Fitting trades sweet lines with Gearan’s vocal phrases, has a quirky sensibility that could appeal to fans of early Tom Waits. There’s just enough of dusty Southern back roads — and references to down-home pleasures like greens and cornbread — in Gearan’s voice and writing to give everything here the flavor of rural authenticity.

Written by Ted Drozdowski

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Review of Trouble Wheels Guernica Recordings

If you heard the opening track, “Flicker,” on the radio you might mistake it for a Randy Newman gem you’d previously missed. Here’s a subtle picture painted in hues garnered from some of the more precious moments he has experienced in the male/female relationship struggle. Gearan has that same warm, sandy vocal quality too. You instantly warm to its easy-to-take tone. His 2002-issued “BACK HOME” (Guernica Records GR0001) is a great album and should have made more of an impact, especially in Europe. It seems at least he has Scandinavia switched on so the rest of us will hopefully now start to play catch up. On the song-writing front, he’s on a roll. If anything, this latest collection is even better than the last. Much of the material is richly character-based and his subjects are loveable and colourful. Given the right amount of exposure, “Green” with the kind of vibe that made The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp a hit for OC Smith, could become a standard. The beautifully atmospheric “Long Cold Winter,” finds him balancing the vocal delivery somewhere between the velvety realms of Richard Buckner and more raspy edge of Ritchie Havens when he’s in no-time-for-messin-around mode. It’s no secret that Gearan (like many of his contemporaries) is a fan of Chris Smither and “Ease Me Down,” which might have come from Fleetwood Mac, circa ’69, is so solid, it threatens to out-stomp the great man he so admires. Some of the songs have imagery so sharp they transport you to the very heart of the place. The pickings are particularly satisfying by the time we reach “Lonesome Willow Creek,” which skillfully evokes just the right picture and is dripping so gloriously with good stuff that it matches Dr John or Little Feat. “Trouble Wheels,” with just the right dusting of dobro and mandolin and subtle barrelhouse piano tucked away in the background as if it might have been played in the room next door, is just loaded with good energy and so mature it is in the Brook Benton/Fats Domino league. This is not alt-anything. This is as strong a collection of songs as you might be privileged to hear for many a long while, sung and played by someone with a down-home warmth that is cut-above. Another 24-carat name - Guy Clark - was brought to mind with the infectious “Just Like Diamonds.” Gearan sparkles alright; with polished facets brighter than most. He’s reputed to be hotter than hell ‘live’ too. If you want to check that out, drop into legendary Massachusetts bar, Toad in Porter Square, Cambridge, where right now, he has a Monday night residency with his band.

Written by Loudon Temple for Maverick Magazine (UK)

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The Boston Phoenix says about Troulble Wheels - "Exquisite."


Review of Trouble Wheels
The Metronome by Sarah Bayle

For nine years, every Monday night, Tim Gearan, accompanied by musicians as dedicated as he, has played for us. Slap your table, move around the room, clap, laugh with him or even at him. In the tightly packed quarters of Toad, some form of call and respond exists.
Like these live performances, Trouble Wheels captures listeners from the platform of Americana- a blues, country, roots album, that true to is genre, plays like an oral history book, textured with culture and geography, building relationships between then and now. The artful arrangement of instruments, the excellence in execution of melody and above all, the narrative splendor, ensure that Trouble Wheels will be greeted with a warm welcome.
Although Tim Gearan’s vocals and guitar guide Trouble Wheels, he never dictates. Steve Sadler’s mastery of guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion, drones and tambourine, and Sean Staple’s skill on the mandolin can’t be overstated. The same goes for Lou Ulrich’s natural touch on bass. Mike Piehl’s drums are as willing to create the beat as to add to it, while Jimmy Fitting’s harmonica and Jeremy Berlin’s keyboard work crackle with personality. Nolan McKelvey’s contribution to bass on “Green” is terrific.
Adding to the synergistic sound that characterizes Trouble Wheels are Anita Suhanin’s and Sean Staple’s vocals.
On “Milk and Honey Daze,” one of the strongest testaments to Gearan’s skill as a narrator, is the insertion of Suhanin’s blissfully light and smooth voice in the last clause of the hook. It briefly adds the feeling of a first person narrative: “She said my, my, oh my, see it my way.”
Backed by a soothing melody and the lyrical choice to recount rather than render judgement, the track evokes fondness, not pity: “Dog-eyed Mary Margaret in her childhood silhouette/A shadow of a doubt had found its way in to her net/She was widowed long ago/She knew her rights and kept along/ A long and lonely avenue/ So sturdy and so strong.”
Picking up the tempo to locomotive on “Ease Me Down,” Sean Staples deftly harmonizes the music into a lower register at key intervals when joining Tim Gearan on vocals: “Ain’t no salvation, no patient smile/Ain’t no elevation/No bright light mile/ Ain’t no redemption, no lost or found/Well have some mercy, ease me down.”
The bluesy title track “Trouble Wheels” has a strolling tempo, healthy dose of ivory and mandolin showing up at all the right times. Shaking your head, you find the corners of your mouth turning up in what develops into a grin: “Go ahead and weep, go ahead and moan/Moan and weep and weep and moan, but go back home to your baby/She’ll make it right/She’ll take your trouble wheels and roll ‘em clean out of site.”
Tim Gearan’s charisma explodes through Trouble Wheels in a way that usually escapes recording. His warm rasp is as intuitively well- tuned in every utterance as the push and pull of each string on his skillfully played guitar. It’s your next purchase.

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Review of Back Home:

This comes from the unknown (to me) artist I was impressed with; off the "A Beanpot of Blues" CD I reviewed in issue 11 of "Blues Matters" magazine. So I dug into what I digged and Tim sent me his current album; with a promise to send me the album he's working on at present. "Back Home" is full of surprise, firstly Tim's track off the Boston Blues Festival CD I mentioned above was a Texas styled electric blues. "Back Home" is stripped down acoustic singer/songwriter fare, of Americana. As with this type of music it's has very personal & artistic inherent quality. The production has a warm fat feel that relieves the listener from those stark & harsh back to basics albums, which are hard on the ear.

"Billy & Ruby" sets off with mandolin giving out a touch of "O Sole Mio", and quickly becomes as Elvis Costello, as anything Elvis himself has come up with. "The Sound of Your Voice" sits in a midway point between John Hammond & Steve Miller, and has an infectious propulsive chugging shuffle. "Shade of Blue" has Tim in hill country, hogs, whiskey stills and square dancing swell over your consciousness. Tim's voice is full of character, timbre and distinctiveness that one's attention never wanders. This album evokes so many memory jerkers for me, such as the storytelling "Wind of Fate" with its Eagles/Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "Journey of the Sorcerer" banjo. A Tex/mex tune adds variety, and is admirably presented. "Broken" also has a strong Costello structure, while the closer could have well come from either Paul Geremia or Randy Newman. For me Tim Gearan is a remarkable find not just for his song writing & versatility, but for the high quality of his music.

- Written by Billy Hutchinson - Blues Matters Magazine UK



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