Making A Scene Magazine

Steve Dawson’s status in his home country Canada could decorate the face of a skyscraper. Dawson has played remarkable guitar on, and/or produced, over 200 albums since emerging in the late 1990s, winning a cabinet full of trophies including seven Juno Awards for his efforts. Now in Nashville, he works with the who’s-who of Music City’s roots artists, but inexplicably still strives for the recognition in America that he well deserves. Eyes Closed, Dreaming, Dawson’s 14th album and remarkably his third released in the last twelve months, should open plenty of eyes and ears to his talents, and his wonderful way with a song.

In a program awash in variety and style, Dawson moves from deft fingerstyle picking to whipcrack notes to smoky, moaning slide like Blind Willie Johnson or one of the Allman Brothers specialists. He sings eight of these eleven songs (five his own) in an unaffected, but very affecting tenor. The performances offer a picturesque feel by their handmade textures and downhome emotion. Dawson uses Ian Tyson’s “Long Time to Get Old” to great effect to open the album. The song features the beautiful, soulful voice of Allison Russel of Birds of Chicago fame in counterpoint to Dawson’s. It conjures image after image of thankfulness at the most basic level—for being alive and enjoying the journey. Fats Kaplan’s mandolin, chiming alongside Dawson’s slinky slide, adds to the brilliance. Contrast that with “A Gift,” on which the players lay out dreamy atmospherics around Dawson’s sturdily picked notes. It comes off as fantasy, full of imagery of a knife offered as a gift to a young lady. Unique indeed.

The traditional “House Carpenter” features music as if from deep in the Gaelic woods, Tim O’Brien’s dazzling mandolin and Jay Bellerose’s drumming like beckoning steppingstones through the tangled vines of Dawson’s notes. Bobby Charles’ immortal “Small Town Talk” then comes off like a stroll on a sunny day, the message about gossip and judgement conveyed hopefully, dressed in wonderful, New Orleans-inflected rock and roll.

“Waikiki Stonewall Rag” marries Dawson’s love of Hawaiian guitar stylings to that of the hillbilly East Coast, whereas in “Polaroid,” imagination and contemplation bordering on infatuation all emanate through the music and the words. All of it places Dawson in a category reserved for the best. Eyes Closed, Dreaming mesmerizes and entertains with ease and purpose.

Spirit Rocks UK

The third instalment of Dawson’s ‘pandemic trilogy’ was recorded under lockdown conditions with artists contributing their parts from various corners of Nashville, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. Birds of Chicago partner, Allison Russell, Keri Latimer and daughter Casey Dawson contribute vocal support, Nashville legends Fats Kaplin and Tim O’Brien play mandolin and various strings, LA drummer Jay Bellerose joins house band Gary Craig (drums), Jeremy Holmes (bass), Chris Gestrin and Kevin McKendree(keyboards). String arrangements by Ben Plotnik (viola/ violin) and Kaitlyn Raitz (cello) and horn section of Jerry Cook, Dominic Conway and Malcolm Aiken.

Four original songs – ‘The Owl’, ‘A Gift’, ‘Hemingway’ and ‘Polaroid’- form the centrepiece - graceful, heartfelt and keenly literate in their observations about love, attainment and the ephemeral nature of time, each a masterwork of roots music songcraft. And there is a tasteful assortment of song interpretations that do not disappoint. With beautiful melodies, inspired instrumentation and soulful vocal performances, Dawson’s newest music soars effortlessly and deserves recognition that this is, in fact, the third record to be released under his name within a year. And as so often with hard workers, their quality remains astounding. Workaholic.

Rocking Magpie

Steve Dawson is a name that regularly crops up here at RMHQ, either as a singer-songwriter in his own rite, as a key band member or more recently as a producer …. and it’s fair to say he never gets involved in anything that could be described as average or ordinary.
Even with this release being his third in twelve months; you instantly realise bore opening track Ian Tyson’s Long Time To Get Old, that the quality on offer is going to be sky high; and it is. The melody hints at being ‘old timey’ but the story is a razor sharp contemporary observation of life in a small town; somewhere – anywhere. Plus there’s a majestic female voice supplying harmonies that I felt sure I recognised and sure enough, there in the small print …. Allison Russell!
Most of the songs here are collaborations with another RMHQ favourite; Matt Patershuk; and again … the word ‘quality’ springs to mind; not least during A Gift and Hemingway; which follow and grab your attention and heartstrings at the same time; conjuring up imagery worthy of much more famous singer-songwriters.
Another from the dynamic duo; The Owl shouldn’t in theory be the type of song that I’d normally like; but could be the finest ‘Folk Song’ I’ve heard in many a year.
The song Small Town Talk is something of a cornerstone here; as when you listen to it you more or less here Dawson’s voice over everything else; yet the CD cover tells us 7 people are involved and the instrumentation involves slide, acoustic and electric guitars, drums and percussion, bass, organ, piano, baritone sax, tenor sax and trumpet, yet it all sounds so effortless and simple.
Tucked away in the background are two ‘Traditional’ songs re-arranged for modern ears. The first; House Carpenter I’ve not heard before; and is another bespoke Folk Song, using phrasing and intricate guitar play that are absolutely fabulous and deserve our full attention.
The other, is a particularly odd choice; an instrumental version of Singing The Blues has an arrangement that I can’t decide is Hawaiian or Ragtime …. or both; and it’s quite delightful.
A couple of tracks earlier, Dawson drops in the quirky Waikiki Stonewall Rag; so perhaps it shouldn’t have been such a surprise after all.
By this stage I get to thinking about ‘Favourite Songs’ and there are so many to choose from; a very easy on the ear Jack Clement song, Guess Things Happen That Way was an early contender, as was Small Town Talk, a Bobby Charles song, but sounds as if it was written with Dawson in mind …. or at least that’s what I hear.
The finale, Let Him Go Mama has Dawson all alone singing and playing his ‘Weissenborn’ guitar …. quite exceptionally, it has to be said; and the result is three minutes of outstanding and beautiful music.
Yet there is still one other; and simply because of the title drew me to it before I’d played the whole album and that’s Polaroid. These cameras have held a fascination for me since my teenage years half a century ago; as my remodelling of album covers in my reviews will testify; and it appears Steve Dawson has a similar affection as he describes a single photograph taken of a lover using this medium. Therefore; Polaroid is my Favourite Song here.
While there are numerous ‘famous names’ from the Alt. and Americana circuit involved in one way or another; and the Press Release pays great attention to ‘artists contributing their parts from various corners of Nashville, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver, during the pandemic‘ … that matters not a jot, as this is simply a Steve Dawson album from start to finish and is another ‘keeper’ in our humble opinion.

Minor 7th

Steve Dawson's feast of an album draws on a Who's Who of talented roots musicians to back up and support his own superb talents. Eyes Closed, Dreaming is the last in a set the Canadian guitarist, now residing in Nashville, terms his "pandemic trilogy," three albums released since the virus forced musicians into isolation. While players' contributions were pieced together remotely from various locations, the sound, immediacy, and synergy defy geography in this masterful display of song craft. (On a majority of tracks appear Jay Bellerose or Gary Craig on drums; Jeremy Holmes on bass and upright bass; and Chris Gestrin on pump organ and piano, joined here and there with other guest artists). The eleven tracks include four original songs written with Matt Patershuk, covers, traditional ballads, and two instrumentals. Dawson kicks off the album with Ian Tyson's classic, "Long Time to Get Old," a rollicking duet with Allison Russell that features a fingerpicked mandolin solo by Fats Kaplan and Dawson's riveting electric and slide guitars. "The Gift" opens with a flourish and moves into energetic fingerpicked territory, while "Hemingway" showcases Dawson's fun with lyrics ("The marlin was a real fish, he said….What's the use of metaphor?") Here Dawson's daughter Casey Dawson adds vocals while the graceful strings of Kaitlyn Raistz on cello and Ben Plotnick on violin and viola weave in and out. One of the strongest pieces on the album is traditional "House Carpenter" with Dawson's thrilling, intricate guitar (Weissenborn, electric) and the treat of solo mandolin by the legendary Tim O'Brien. While unconventional horns (Jerry Cook on baritone sax; Dominic Conway, tenor sax; and Malcomm Aiken, trumpet) add a little soul to Bobby Charles' "Small Town Talk," there's a quasi-New Orleans' vibe to instrumental "Waikiki Stonewall Rag." Also showcasing Dawson's virtuoso chops on Weissenborn, National guitar, and ukulele is "Singin the Blues," where he and Chris Gestrin's piano provide a thrilling ragtime blues treatment. Among several superb originals is "The Owl," in which Dawson plays both lap steel, fingerpicked acoustic, and 12 string with mesmerizing skill that underscore the mysteries of nature the song celebrates. While the wide-ranging compositions highlight the interplay among the musicians, at the album's heart are Dawson's stunning talents in composition, melody, and counterpoint. His pleasing vocals switch effortlessly among all the styles represented on the album and are particularly effective on his unembellished version of John Hartford's "Let Him Go On Mama." Here, alone with his Weissenborn, his playing is especially resonant on this rich, varied, and exceptional album.

Toledo Blade

If there was an award called Underrated Guitarists You Really Should Get to Know Better, Nashville-based Canadian Steve Dawson would be one of the contenders.

I felt fortunate to have become acquainted with Dawson’s talent a few years before he visited Toledo in November of 2019 to play one song before a limited audience.

Dawson accompanied the Birds of Chicago when it stopped at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo en route to its concert at The Ark in Ann Arbor in November of 2019.

The group had agreed to perform Toledo native and Birds of Chicago member JT Nero’s 2017 folk song, “American Flowers,” which includes a passing reference to the mosque in its lyrics.

On a side note, Nero’s wife, Allison Russell, began her solo career shortly after that visit and her success went up into the stratosphere almost instantly. Russell appears on three songs on Dawson’s new album, which is itself is an outstanding collection of roots music.

Eyes Closed, Dreaming is the third installment of Dawson’s “pandemic trilogy,” yet — unlike a lot of songs that musicians were inspired to write and perform while much of the world stayed home during the height of the crisis — this isn’t a weepy disc or anything full of angst. There’s great storytelling and, of course, great music. 

It’s imaginative and uplifting, not a downer. Dawson’s earthy vocals and down-home vibe add a fine touch to this 11-song set, including four originals. Many songs explore themes of love and fulfillment of life.

Supporting musicians play anything from mandolin to cello and drums to horns, with tracks laid down anywhere from Vancouver to Nashville, Los Angeles, and Toronto.  

Music Riot UK

There are a couple of things you can expect from any Steve Dawson album: it’s going to be beautifully arranged and played, and definitely unpredictable. ‘Eyes Closed, Dreaming’ doesn’t disappoint on either count. It’s the third of Steve’s pandemic albums, with contributions pieced together remotely, a logical and necessary extension during lockdown of the studio practice of recording parts separately. It’s a tribute to Steve and all the superb musicians involved that the whole album feels like it was recorded by musicians playing in the same room. The arrangements on the album are trademark Steve Dawson with lots of layers of guitars and a whole raft of instruments that are unusual in any context but particularly in Americana arrangements. As ever, he makes it work, creating soundscapes that sound uncluttered while using multiple guitars, bass, drums, keyboards (including Moog and mellotron), strings, horns and even marxophone, vibraphone and pump organ.

Steve enjoys reworking other people’s songs with his own spin and there are four of those on the album, ‘Long Time to Get Old’ and ‘Guess Things Happen That Way’ get the swampy Southern rock treatment, while ‘Small Town Talk’ with its horns, nods in the direction of Muscle Shoals and ‘Let Him Go on Mama’ is a solo piece with Weissenborn backing that closes the album. There are also a couple of reworkings of traditional songs. These are all great versions that give Steve a chance to have a bit of fun and show his instrumental versatility, but the backbone of the album is the four songs co-written with Matt Patershuk.

Matt’s a hugely creative and poetic songwriter and the four co-writes are a good representation of the breadth of topics he likes to cover, from the nostalgic ‘Polaroid’, harking back to a pre-digital era to the wonders of nature expressed in ‘The Owl’. ‘Hemingway’ references, well, Ernest Hemingway, while ‘A Gift’ is about taking care of your family and showing pride in workmanship. Like all of Matt’s songs, they’re thought-provoking and occasionally spring a few surprises. As good as the rest of the album is, these four songs shine brightly.

Steve Dawson’s one of the many that accepted the pandemic lemons and made artisan lemonade by learning a completely new way of working and using the enforced break to create three superb albums. ‘Eyes Closed, Dreaming’ covers a range of styles from folk ballads through Americana to ragtime and Hawaiian music and Steve sounds convincing in all of them with his range of instruments, particularly the Weissenborn. And I almost forgot to mention that he has a great laid-back and soulful vocal style. You won’t get bored listening to this album.

Gonzo Okanagan

This is the third album of material written and recorded by Dawson during the pandemic, also his third release in about a year. Eyes Closed Dreaming is absorbing and conducive to letting go as were Gone Long Gone and Phantom Threshold.   Some seriously excellent playing and evocative storytelling is happening that takes you away.

“This is the 3rd and final album I’m releasing of music I recorded during the pandemic” Steve says in the press release. “Through the months of isolation, some good friends and I dialed in a way of working remotely that kept us busy, somewhat employed and relatively musically active.  (The) 3 albums are very connected sonically and emotionally.”  Eyes Closed, Dreaming is exquisitely produced and performed, and feeling thrilled at the musicianship on display is just the first step on an incredibly vibrant journey through the center of Dawson’s mind.

Steve is an acclaimed producer in his own right, working out of his Nashville studio. Generally speaking, all 3 of these records were recorded at the same time. “Many of the songs spread out through the 3 albums were recorded on the same day” Dawson notes. “When the process was complete I had to split the songs up into 3 different albums, and this is where I landed. I guess in my mind there’s a bit more of a traditional side to the new album, and so I put some of the older material in there (along with) a Bobby Charles song and a Johnny Cash song.  I hope that the material I wrote with Matt Patershuk on here can stand up to (them).”

Maybe it’s the leisurely approach taken by Dawson & Co. here, but ECD is relaxing and musically arousing at the same time.  Lots of different moods on the disc, including the ironically titled Singin’ The Blues which is actually an instrumental. With Eyes Closed, Dreaming it seems Steve Dawson has saved the best for last.  I have to be up early tomorrow for work but screw it, I’m listening to this one more time before bed. Street date is March 24th.

Rock and Blues Muse

Rock & Blues Muse is pleased to premiere Steve Dawson’s video “Long Long Time To Get Old”, the opening track from his forthcoming album, Eyes Closed, Dreaming out March 24th on Black Hen Music.

“Long Long Time To Get Old” (Ian Tyson) is a laidback piece of Southern funk that’s loaded with good vibes and sweet slide guitar work. Dawson steers the track into a Little Feat/Grateful Dead/J.J. Cale lane that’s uplifting and righteous without ever becoming heavy-handed. His slide playing is crisp and spot-on and his vocals are easy and go down smooth. The live-in-the-studio music video for “Long Long Time To Get Old” lets us see Dawson and his ace recording band do their jobs and make their magic happen. If your spirit needs a boost today, this is the song you need.

The Nashville-based Canadian musician Dawson’s newest effort Eyes Closed, Dreaming boasts beautiful melodies, inspired instrumentation and soulful vocal performances. It’s his third record that follows Gone, Long Gone and Phantom Telescope and is his third installment of his “pandemic trilogy”, recorded under lockdown conditions with artists contributing their their parts from various corners of Nashville, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver.

As usual, Steve has called on a bunch of his very talented pals, selected from a veritable who’s who of North American roots musicians, to help him bring the new songs to life. His old “Birds of Chicago” partner, Allison Russell, contributed some very stirring vocal support on three tracks, while Nashville legends Fats Kaplin and Tim O’Brien keep pace with Dawson, playing mandolin and various strings on several of the album’s most compelling compositions. Legendary LA drummer Jay Bellerose’s signature sound takes the rhythms to a higher level on five tracks with the rock-solid house band of Gary Craig (drums), Jeremy Holmes (bass) as well as Chris Gestrin and Kevin McKendree (keyboards) guiding the music into some very thrilling territory and holding the course for the rest of the musicians.

Eyes Closed, Dreaming is rounded out with adventurous string arrangements from Ben Plotnik (viola/violin) and Kaitlyn Raitz (cello) as well as a Stax-inspired horn section recorded mid-pandemic in Vancouver with Jerry Cook, Dominic Conway and Malcolm Aiken. Additional vocal textures were skillfully added by Keri Latimer, and Steve’s daughter Casey Dawson.

As Steve’s listeners have come to expect, Eyes Closed, Dreaming features a tasteful assortment of song interpretations. “House Carpenter” sees Dawson breathing new life into this old ancient ballad in a version that picks up where Bert Jansch and Pentangle left off. With intricate guitar work, sympathetic vocals and a wonderful solo from Tim O’Brien, it’s one of the albums many highlights. Ian Tyson’s classic, “Long Time to Get Old,” and the Johnny Cash gem,” Guess Things Happen That Way,” (written by Cowboy Jack Clement) shed light on Dawson’s country side, while an uplifting interpretation of Bobby Charles’ “Small Town Talk” reminds listeners that there’s always been a lot of soul lurking in the undercurrents of Steve’s music. John Hartford’s ode to the quiet heroism of a life dedicated to music, “‘Let Him Go on Mama,” is given a sumptuous solo treatment as Dawson’s Weissenborn guitar defines a seductive path to close out the album.

Beautifully recorded, sensitively arranged and played, Eyes Closed, Dreaming, like all of Steve Dawson’s albums is like a master class in composition, melody and counterpoint. From beginning to end, it is quite simply stunning and almost certainly features the most beautiful and engaging music you’ll hear this year.

In addition to his work as an acclaimed recording artist, Steve Dawson’s acclaimed podcast, “Music Makers and Soul Shakers,” is currently in its 6th season and with well over 125 episodes, and is one of the most-respected and followed podcasts on roots and Americana music. In the show, Steve gets into long-form discussions with musicians ranging from legendary session players like Hal Blaine and David Hood, to current recording artists like Sierra Hull, Aoife O’Donovan, Jerry Douglas and Bryan Sutton.