We discovered Greg Brown thanks to the Davenport Iowa Borders Bookstore listening station.  April gave a CD of his that was on display a listen and was hooked immediately by that rich, low voice.  We bought a copy of "Slant Six Mind" based on the strength of his voice and the a recommendation from the Border's computer and it remains one of our favorite finds.  "Billy From the Hills" is a highlight but it's a CD without a weak track.  Greg Brown has become April's favorite singer-songwriter and one of Wade's too.

     It's hard to imagine that we went so long without knowing about Brown.  He is from eastern Iowa (not all that far from where Wade grew up in the Quad Cities).  Most of his albums appear on the "Red House Records" label - an independent label Mr. Brown helped found.  We have by now bought several more of Mr. Brown's albums including "Songs of Innocence and Experience", "The Poet Game", "The Live One," "Further In", "Covenant", "Over and Under", and "Milk of the Moon."  They are all excellent.  Along with "Slant 6 Mind" (still our favorite Brown CD) we especially recommend "The Live One," "The Poet Game", "Over and Under", and "Milk of the Moon."  "Over and Under" is about life in Eastern Iowa and even name drops Wade's home turf ("The Quads") though not particularly positively.  Mr. Brown contributes a lot of time and energy to good causes.  Two albums "Solid Heart" and "The Barn Aid Benefit Concert" were produced for charity events.  When Red House Records decided to do an album as a tribute to Mr. Brown featuring women artists singing his songs, he asked for the proceeds to be given to fight breast cancer.  All three of those CDs are well worth tracking down on their own right, and the money goes to doing good works too.

     Brown seems steeped in traditional music (though his albums generally feature songs written by himself) and he can play the blues, ballads, and folk-rock and be adept at them all.  In 1986 he set several poems by William Blake to music on the album "Songs of Innocence and Experience."  His own lyrics are powerful and poetic, full of humor and energy.  His voice has the deepness of Leonard Cohen's.  In concert he performs his own songs and also many traditional songs and covers of such songwriters as Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, and Tom Waits.

     We got our first chance to see Greg Brown live at the 2002 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.  It was not a disappointment.  He performed many of his own songs that we love (such as "Almost Out of Gas" and "Jesus and Elvis") and some excellent older folk songs (like "Kind-Hearted Woman Blues" and "Twelve Gates to the City").  We will be actively seeking opportunities to see him again.  If you get the chance to do so, do it!  Click the picture above (taken by April at the 2002 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival) to be taken to his website.

Falcon Ridge, first night		Falcon Ridge, main set		Falcon Ridge, main set 2
With Lucy Kaplansky		With Lucy Kaplansky and Kris Delmhorst		At Falcon Ridge
At the Blue Moon		At the Blue Moon Again		Blue Moon 3
With Bo at the Blue Moon