Search - David Massengill :: My Home Must Be a Special Place

Family, Friends, Home

03/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No one can tell, or sing, a story like David Massengill. He's funny, full of surprises, and deeply affecting. In the small moments between people, the little transactions of life, he finds his material. Both poignant and puckish, like the paintings of Norman Rockwell, these songs take us back to an innocent time. We witness the delicate negotiation of a marriage proposal. A pretty second-grader gets surprised by a kiss while Teacher isn't looking. Three men, trying to recapture childhood, are lost in the woods; their rescue is as comic as it is dramatic. In a small Civil War skirmish, the South takes the high ground. One buttoned-up Latin teacher proves no match for a couple of young men with more on their minds than grammar. And there's much more, all warmly wrapped in Massengill's buckskin voice.These story songs come from the artist's own recollections or those of his family in East Tennessee. The characters are real; we see their faces in old photographs reproduced for the CD insert. The recording features David's father's voice, along with some inventive audio verite. So the stories are also memories-a loving tribute to family, friends, and home.This collection can be enjoyed for its abundant wit, charm, and capacity to tug the heart. But if you want to look further, you will find more. Within these modest songs is a wealth of skillful songwriting. Massengill's music and lyrics frequently take on the flavor of bygone times. Memory itself enters the picture, as present perspectives play off the past. Subtle choices of words, sounds, instrumentation and allusions create a variety of effects. There are some zinger lines guaranteed to make you laugh and shake you up just a bit. Parable-like, many of the songs raise open-ended questions about values, society, and how people regard one another. But Massengill never preaches or presumes. Here are portraits of the simple man who rides his bicycle everywhere; the neighborhood child who had something all the other children wanted; and the music teacher who hoped to impart culture by inflicting pain. When the boy Massengill observes a cousin doing yardwork for their grandmother, we may ponder the notion of compassionate commerce. The title song gives a child's-eye view of the parents' marriage. No army of sociologists or psychologists, with all their fine studies, could be so compelling as this little song. The entire project resounds with a generosity of spirit that will inspire listeners to revisit their own special stories, to look at the people around them with new eyes, and to remember, when all is said and done, what they hold most dear."

David Massengill Delights

RebeccaPea | 04/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really exciting time to get turned onto David Massengill. He has been active in the folk community for many years but it seems with this album he really begins to get his sea legs under him and finds a very unique artistic voice. There are many great songs on this album. Album highlights for me are "Seamus Rides," "My Home Must Be A Special Place," "Cousin Jackie and Mamaw's Hedges," "Mrs. Credle Was My First Love," "Aunt Fannie and the Yankees," and "Where Did Miss Nancy Sterrett Go?" With a naivete and nostalgia that is at once familiar and endearing, the album transports us to a simpler time and place, an Anytown, USA of small town life where family and community are often intertwined. The songs present a picture of life in this town through a somewhat romantic lense told through characters and stories that entertain and amuse, reminding us that "there is no place like home." There is an innocence and sweetness in the way the songs are sung, preserving the unspoiled nature of small town life in pristine memory. Yet, the perspective the stories often offer reflects insight gained from worldly experience and this contrast adds substantially to the richness of the album: it is in looking back to simpler times that we are redeemed.



Two songs from his later album "We Will Be Together" I wish he'd been able to include on this album as it would have rounded it out nicely and made for a 5 Star Plus rating. These are "Killer Keller's Last Stand" and "Penley At the Wheel." As it stands, this album is the highest possible four and a must have for anyone who enjoys modern or traditional folk music."