Ian Tyson
Lost Herd

There are albums that create an addiction, that you become attached to instantly and replay over and over again until exhaustion, and there are albums that maybe don't particularly thrill on first impact and only occasionally manage to leave their dusty shelf to unleash the music contained within them, but those few times, perhaps in special moments, they always manage to leave a mark, to convey emotions: "Lost Herd" by Ian Tyson belongs precisely to this category: slow rhythms and reflective tones, almost melancholic, as suggested by the black and white cover; this album, recorded between Nashville, Calgary, and Toronto and released in 1999 as a mid-price release (maybe in Canada, certainly not here...), evokes boundless prairies, horses, bison, coyotes, deserts, and snow-capped mountains: pristine landscapes where nature reigns supreme, far from enclosed spaces and the chaos of cities.

One of the defining features of this ninth solo effort by the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter is the deliberate sobriety of the arrangements, which further highlights Our artist's beautiful voice and innate storytelling ability, as demonstrated by the opener "Brahmas And Mustangs": acoustic guitars set the pace, the piano highlights the melody, a barely hinted electric guitar in the background adds depth to the sound, and our voice flows smoothly and magnetically, culminating in a particularly catchy and successful chorus, thus creating the perfect song to start the album, which throughout its duration (38 minutes) maintains levels between high and medium-high, reaching peaks of poignant poetry with the wonderful ballad "Blue Mountains Of Mexico", as minimal, almost bare in structure as it is enchanting, hypnotic and ennobled by a text of rare beauty, but in general, it is the entire album that presents not even a single flaw, always proving beautiful, rich in meaning, refined and never trivial from whichever angle you approach it: the evocative bluegrass of "Smugglers's Cove", with the acoustic bass and the dear old Fiddle recreating with their rhythm and melody the charm of unknown landscapes, the epic ballad with flamenco-like sounds "La Primera", a sort of tribute to the history of the North American continent, from Cortez to the conquest of the Far West, the serene and reflective mood of the title track "Lost Herd", enriched by vivid sax solos, which also peeks through in the brief and poignant piano ballad "Summer's Gone", the most melancholic and poignant point of the album, contrasted by a trio of catchy folk songs, "Roll On Owyhee", "Legends Of Cutting", and "Elko Blues-The Roan Mare", which emanate lightheartedness and freedom from every single note and complete the short but vivid fresco of this album, which closes on the notes of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow": a very simple cover, practically only voice and acoustic guitar: an ageless melody and a goosebumps-inducing interpretation, closing with immense class an album for refined palates, rich with timeless melodies and lyrics of great depth, a perfect testament to the transcendental talent of this underappreciated artist, who has to settle for the Canadian Music Hall of Fame while individuals like Metallica or, even worse, the Jackson 5 and solo Michael Jackson, or even worse, Madonna, are introduced with all the honors into the golden firmament of Rock and Roll stars.