Artist: Dennis Roger Reed
Album: Before It Was Before
Label: Plasticmeltdown Records
Release Date: 09.14.2018
Before It Was Before is a compilation from singer/multi-instrumentalist Dennis Rogers Reed, with the album documenting 30 years of recording for label/studio Plasticmeltdown. The previously unreleased tracks rely heavily on covers and include lots of Americana staples, from country to bluegrass to folk to blues.
At 21 tracks, the album clocks in at over an hour. Reed considers it a double album but for some genres, this would be almost a triple one. The performances are all impressive. Reed, here frequently collaborating with his brother Don, has a tight band that does a great job of supporting his pleasant voice. Reed comes out of a coffeehouse musical culture and the album reflects that. The music is low-key and even-keeled. Reed isn’t trying to mine the depths of his psyche, he’s trying to create and re-create enjoyable moments.
There are many successful such moments on the album. On the classic “Jesus on the Mainline,” Reed and his brother re-work the song as an expansive, beautiful bluegrass near-instrumental with waves of accordion and mandolin. The song fades out as suddenly as it begins, making you wonder if you actually heard it.
Reed also takes on the Rolling Stones’ “It’s All Over Now,” taking a British band that flirted with American country music straight into country, almost like an alternate reality where the Stones were born in the South.
Reed gives the listener a lot to hear, but at a certain point, it’s overwhelming. There’s a lot of solid music on the album, but it doesn’t feel particularly organized. A tighter sequencing around originating artist or genre—or perhaps both—might have made things feel more cohesive. Before It Was Before has some nice performances, but it also feels more random than planned.
—Steven Ovadia
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