"Shy River" Runs Deep
Janet Seagrave | Las Vegas, NV USA | 11/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
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Singer/songwriter Tom Guard's late father Dave Guard was a very important figure in the history of folk music. He founded the Kingston Trio in 1957, opening the door for the likes of Dylan and even the Beatles. There are echoes of those folk-rock influences here, but Tom Guard's music also has a sound all his own.
You might put his CD on for great background noise, but don't be surprised if you find yourself singing along and wondering about the words. Luckily, Guard's interesting website has the lyrics and lots of liner notes - or maybe we should say "onliner" notes. Diving deeper into "Shy River" is absolutely worth the effort.
One of my favorites -- among many -- is "Crossing Over the Road," which wouldn't have sounded out of place on the first "Crosby, Stills and Nash" album. It was inspired by one of Tom Guard's pet movies (his liner notes tell us), the 1961 British movie "Whistle Down the Wind," starring a young Alan Bates as an escaped murderer mistaken for Jesus Christ by Hayley Mills and a group of children who try to help him. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a theatrical musical based on the same movie, inspired by a story by Hayley Mills's mother, novelist Mary Hayley Bell. The novel, movie, play and this song all ponder the true meaning of faith and good and evil in a complex modern world.
Family looms large on Guard's "Shy River." He sings here his father's never-recorded country song, "Above and Beyond." He wrote a fun song to his son Pascal and a beautiful one to daughter Tara, who join his sister Catherine in back-up singing on the album.
The title track is a great love song to his wife Karen. Three musical messages are to family members who have died, including an upbeat acoustic tribute to his grandmother ("Mama San"), who lived most of her 95 years in Hawaii. Accompanying himself on a gorgeous Martin guitar given to him by the only surviving Kingston Trio member Bob Shane, "Aloha Mr. Guard" is a farewell to his famous father, who died in 1991 of lymphoma. When his younger sister Sally died of the same cancer in 2001, Guard wrote "The Oasis," hoping for a joyful reunion with lost love ones high on a mountain, "where love flows in like coffee in the morning." Though these songs are deeply personal, they also speak to anyone who has loved their own family -- hopefully most people in the world!
"Between You and Me" was written to the weary world with a word of hope: "The future looks bright, still I'm keeping a candle lit./I don't know what's ahead but I think I can handle it./I breathe in the air and I look out on the ocean./There's a strong silent earth under all of that emotion."
Guard is also an outstanding artist who designed his album's creative artwork. His mother Gretchen Guard is a well-known Santa Fe artist.
I imagine Dave Guard would be very proud of his son's first CD.
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Track Listings (13) - Disc #1