Folk, story songs, songs that call a spade a spade, produced by J.P. Cormier and recorded in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

12 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Political



Details:
Penguin Eggs Issue # 23 Autumn 2004
by Roddy Campbell

Some reviews just write themselves - the aptly titled Color Came One Day among them. Affectionately produced by J.P. Cormier and recorded in his studio in Cape Breton, it emphasises in its entirety what a wonderful insighful storyteller Chuck Brodsky truly is. Nobody else comes close currently. Nobody. Color Came One Day includes some epic characters but no baseball songs. His marvelous compilation The Baseball Ballads took care of that topic for the time being. Instead, he offers Miracle in the Hills - a lovingly told tale of a doctor and his wife bringing comfort and education to the once remote mountain people of North Carolina. And then thereâs the epic The Goat Man - an extraordinary account of the ultimate survivor. The Room Over the Bar hilariously details a chamber from hell (actually, Ireland). An astute and wry political commentator, Brodskyâs Seven Miles Upwind and Trees Falling succeed in creating outrage because of the disarmingly gentle delivery. The absolute show-stoppers, though, include a peep behind the facade of a model suburb, Forest Hills Sub, and the deadpan, commentary on the ongoing undermining of Americaâs democratic and civil rights, Dangerous Times. A heroic and gloriously rewarding disc, this, from start to finish. Just buy it.

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Acoustic Guitar Magazine
September 2004, No. 141

By Mike Thomas
Chuck Brodsky can sing, fingerpick, and strum with the best of âem, but the Asheville, North Carolina, folkie is above all a storyteller, and a riveting one at that. Color Came One Day, produced and recorded in Nova Scotia by Canadian roots music maestro J.P. Cormier, rates as Brodskyâs finest batch of tightly spun tales since 1998âs Radio. (That albumâs title song introduced many listeners to the heartwarming true story depicted in the 2003 dramatic film of the same name.) At his best, Brodsky gives meaningful voice to the everyday characters, both ordinary and eccentric, who make their communities tick. For example, thereâs the empathetic small-town barkeep who pours âThe 9:30 Pintâ and the resourceful doctorâs wife who brings progress and prosperity to remote Appalachia in âMiracle in the Hills.â Even when a bristly Brodsky blows the whistle on corporate polluters (âSeven Miles Upwindâ) and the powers-that-be who trample on civil rights in the name of security (âDangerous Timesâ), an underlying tone of warmth and compassion runs through all his carefully observed narratives. Yes, he brings color to the commonplace but also a depth of understanding thatâs comfortable with subtle shades of gray. (Chuckbrodsky.com/Waterbug, www.chuckbrodsky.com)

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FolkWax Reviews

Chuck Brodsky's Color Came One Day

By Arthur Wood
July 14, 2004

FolkWax Rating: 10

Color Came One Day is one hell of a movie featuring a number of previously unsung American heroes, while elsewhere it focuses upon this life, the struggles we endure, the defeats we accept, as well as the victories that occur once in a blue moon. In the scheme of things, songwriters come and go, and after a handful of album releases, in terms of saying something new, they mostly plateau. Brodsky is a virtual exception to the latter contention. Darn if the kid who was raised in Philly doesn't keep on getting better and better, with each succeeding creation. As a reviewer for decades, Brodsky's ever burgeoning catalogue of songs (1991 - to date) has been a pleasingly wonderful reviewing experience, whether it involved shedding a tear (there have been a few), releasing a deep belly laugh (same there), or learning a lesson (there have been many).

It certainly isn't due to the lack of superb material that Brodsky has yet to regularly wow multitudinous audiences in cavernous concert halls, because this guy skillfully pens knockout songs with frightening regularity. It's merely down to that age-old conundrum that for some success arrives on a silver platter, while for others life proves to be a rather hard row to hoe. Chuck's message is simple, honest, and truly true, and his observations deserve your undivided attention. His name, once again, is Chuck Brodsky. He deserves your ear. Listen to him today, tomorrow, and every day after that...as I mentioned earlier, you'll come away "Rich from the journey."

Allow me to deliver one final compliment - here's to the rather splendid, Celtic-flavoured production of this masterful Brodsky song collection by, one of Nova Scotia's finest musicians, J. P. Cormier. I humbly assign this recording a FolkWax rating "10" out of "10," only because I can't award an "11."