If you’re looking for something different to listen to, let me suggest a new album from one of the founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

John McEuen’s latest offering is called The Newsman: A Man of Record . I’ll be honest; it’s not an album you can put on and listen to in the background while you do other things; it is a master class in storytelling. McEuen captivates with a series of spoken word vignettes taken from different eras and genres. It’s like sitting on his front porch listening to him tell a story.

The collection spans works from 200 years. It includes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Civil War-era poem “Killed at the Ford” to Robert Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” about a Yukon prospector. Other tracks include Stephen Vincent Benét’s “The Mountain Whippoorwill,” Hank Williams talking blues song “Fly Trouble,” and Walter Brennan’s “Old Rivers.” Thomas Monroe’s Vietnam War reflection “Nui Ba Den” contrasts with more recent compositions like John Carter Cash’s “The Guitar of Pineapple John,” Hans Olson’s “I’ll Be Glad (When They Run Out Of Gas),” and Thaddeus Bryant’s “Red Clay.”

The title track “The Newsman” is McEuen’s tribute to a newspaper vendor that was an influence on the young banjo player in the late mid 1960’s.

I had the chance to Zoom with John McEuen recently. If his voice sounds a little weak, there’s a very good reason. Earlier this year he suffered a double heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery, but he’s on the mend. He is on tour, including a stop in early August in Stony Plain, Alberta.

In this clip, we talk about the new album, his time with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Enjoy!

Copyright Peter J. Maurin, The Vinyl Professor. Published under Creative Commons License: Attribution/Non-Commercial Use.