Kevin Welch is an alt-country icon who worked in Nashville for several years as a songwriter and working musician, got a big record contract, and later went indie when the Music City gig lost steam. He co-founded his own label -- Dead Reckoning -- and has released a number of independent albums. Here's a quick look at his work...
Kevin Welch "Kevin Welch" (Reprise Records, 1990)
(Produced by Paul Worley & Ed Seay)
Kevin Welch "Western Beat" (Reprise Records, 1992)
(Produced by Harry Stinson & Kevin Welch)
Welch's second album for Warner Brothers, and his last for a major label, before co-founding the independent Dead Reckoning Records with several alt-country cohorts... This starts out a little on the glossy side, with a couple of overproduced tracks that have a Daniel Lanois-ish sheen to them... But it grew on me. Welch has a sincerity and directness -- and an earnest doggedness -- that can win you over. There are obvious nods to the Dylan-derived school of alt-country poets, a style that can sound wearying, but that works here pretty well... The highlight here for me was the album's most overtly country-sounding song, the forlorn, heartfelt "Happy Ever After (Comes One Day At A Time)," but once that comes along, I'm inclined to like anything else I hear on the album... And, by the end, I'm ready to say this is a mighty fine record. I guess Reprise dumped Welch as a lost cause... Their loss; indiedom's gain. But this disc is certainly worth tracking down...
Kevin Welch "Life Down Here On Earth" (Dead Reckoning Records, 1995)
(Produced by Harry Stinson & Kevin Welch)
Kevin Welch "Beneath My Wheels" (Dead Reckoning Records, 1999)
(Produced by Kevin Welch)
Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane "11/12/13: Live In Melbourne" (Dead Reckoning Records, 2000)
Kevin Welch "Millionaire" (Dead Reckoning Records, 2001)
(Produced by Kevin Welch, Frank Marstokk & Frank Birch Pontoppidan)
Kevin Welch "Live Down Here On Earth" (Shock Records, 2003)
Kevin Welch/Kieran Kane/Fats Kaplin "You Can't Save Everybody" (Compass Records, 2004)
(Produced by Philip Scroggins & Charles Yingling)
Two veteran Americana scenesters reunite for a fine set of acoustic-based tunes... The first three tracks on this album are sublime, the sort of stuff that just jumps out at you and holds your soul... Perfectly crafted, compelling blues-laced country-folk. From that fine start, though, my attention started to wander a bit., with a few too many Greg Brown-ish topically-oriented singer-songwriter songs, with throaty intoning galore. But hey, that's just me -- I'm old and crabby and I have a low tolerance for things that seem stagey or overly self-conscious. Overall, this is a great record, and if you like the Greg Brown style, you're gonna love this album. Those first three songs alone should make it worth your time.
Kevin Welch/Kieran Kane/Fats Kaplin "Lost John Dean" (Compass Records, 2006)
(Produced by Philip Scroggins & Charles Yingling)
Kevin Welch/Kieran Kane/Fats Kaplin "Kane Welch Kaplin" (Compass Records, 2007)
(Produced by Kieran Kane, Fats Kaplin, Kevin Welch & Charlies Yingling)
The third album from this acousto-Americana triumvirate finds them in fine form, though a bit on the doleful side. With their ELP/CSNY-like band name, Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin want it to be known that this ain't no temporary thang, that they consider themselves a proper band, and not just an all-star jam-session... Fine by me: the picking and the tonal texture is exquisite -- get these three guys in the same room together and you'll hear some sweet guitar work... The album opens with the moody "Ain't Gonna Do It," with a rumbling, electric reverb worthy of Pops Staples, back in his prime... Other highlights include the mournful yet hummable "Last Lost Highway" (dedicated to Sonny Terry, perhaps?) and the gentle gospel oldie, "What Are They Doing In Heaven Today," which, like the other songs on this album, is unhurried and slow, letting the emotion well up and mix with the weariness of the sentiment. They lay the dustbowl poetics on a bit thick for a few tunes, but overall this is a class act... If you like your pickin' on the mellow, moody side, this disc might just be for you!
Kevin Welch "A Patch Of Blue" (Music Road Records, 2010)
(Produced by Kevin Welch)
A heavily-thicketed, roots-country, singer-songwriter set -- a little too densely crafted and downcast for my tastes, but rock solid for the style. Fans of Robert Earl Keen and late-vintage Joe Ely ought to dig this, too... Some songs latch onto a strong melody, like "Moonlight And Noon," with sweeping pedal steel courtesy of Fats Kaplin and understated harmony vocals from Sally Allen. Most tracks, though, feel sluggish to me, with Welch exploring his own lyrics, chewing them over, digging into a slow soul-tinged groove, while dispensing with typical pop rhythm. Trouble is, for me at least, I really like melody and a little rhythmic drive. But for folks who dig the contemplative, poetical/profound strain in modern Americana, then this is a doozy of an album. Certainly worth a spin, if that's your style. I did enjoy the gospel-meets-Billy Sherrill feel of the title track, which closes the album...
Kevin Welch & Dustin Welch "FestivaLink Presents: Kerrville Folk Festival, TX 6/4/11" (FestivaLink, 2011)
Kevin Welch "Dust Devil" (Dead Reckoning Records, 2018)
Kevin Welch & Walt Wilkins "Live In The Rock Room" (2018)
Kevin Welch "Live From The Basement" (New Shot Records, 2023)
Kevin Welch "The Dead Reckning Years" (New Shot Records, 2017)
