[FM] A CD Review

[SteveKey@aol.com]

"From Where I Stand: A Personal Tribute"
Kathy Chiavola (My Label, PO Box 90629, Nashville TN 37209)
Reviewed by Steve Key, no copyright (steal this review)

One of my favorite CDs of 1999 was Cindy Bullens' "Somewhere Between Heaven 
and Earth", a cycle of rock anthems and stirring ballads powered by a 
mother's grief over the death of her child.  Likewise, bluegrass singer Kathy 
Chiavola takes on the themes of loss and survival,  working through the grief 
of losing two of her bandmates to cancer.

In the CD booklet notes, Chiavola says she left out the bass and fiddle on 
most of the recordings, so that listeners could imagine the playing of Randy 
Howard and Roy Husky, Jr.  Husky's thumping upright bass is heard on one 
track, "Cajun Blues," which celebrates the Cajun beat in the same spirit of 
Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Down at the Twist and Shout".

Most of the tribute goes to Randy Howard, who died in 1999 at the age of 38.  
His long battle with cancer allowed Howard to participate in his own tribute, 
which not only showcases his brilliant musicianship but also his wry humor.  
The CD opens with Kathy and Randy dueting on the country classic "Goin' Away 
Party"; the Cindy Walker lyric assures us: "Don't worry it won't be a loud 
party / Dreams don't make noise when they die..."  Kathy follows a subdued 
reading of Kate Wolf's "Across the Great Divide" with the hilarious "Last 
Words," by Mark Graham, author of the folk classics "I've Seen Your Aura and 
It's Ugly" and "Their Brains Were Small and They Died."

Producers, take note of a master accompanist in his prime.  Listen to track 
11, Bill Caswell's "Stop Me", as Randy's violin follows Kathy's vocal, rising 
and swaying to match her, like Ginger Rogers dancing backwards on high heels. 
 Listen to Randy's mandolin on "Hills of Alabam", trilling and flitting like 
a hummingbird, you barely notice him, and then catch a glimpse of the grace 
and beauty in his work.

Randy Howard's fiddle, mandolin and harmony vocal all support of the title 
track, bringing new depth to Thom Schuyler and Jennifer Kimball's lyric "I 
hope you're never far from where I stand."  And I wish the CD had ended there 
with the 13th track, but unfortunately there is track 14, which opens with 
programmed keyboards swelling as Kathy sings: "Now the time has come for 
letting go / I must face the day..."  I turned the boombox off at that point, 
fearing a melodramatic coda.

This is Kathy Chiavola's third CD, strengthening her claim as a song stylist 
at the level of Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea and Claire Lynch.  Bluegrass 
greats David Grier and John Cowan add support, along with Chiavola bandmate 
Brent Truitt on mandolin.  I don't write CD reviews very often, so I hope you 
understand how much I recommend this one.  And I paid $17 to get it!