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Rating: Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Russell, and Jennifer Warnes together on the same album. Too good to be true? No, that's exactly what happens in "The Gift"; a tribute album dedicated to the great Ian Tyson, and this explains why this album has had a crucial, absolutely decisive importance for my musical culture; the so-called AA.VV tributes often hide pitfalls or, rather, are more often than not purely simple commercial operations with interest and artistic value almost nil; obviously not in this case, given the stature of the people involved and their total estrangement from the world of major record companies and so-called commercial music.
But let's proceed in order: Ian Tyson, Canadian born in 1933, appeared on the folk scene of the 1960s, debuting in 1963 paired with his wife Sylvia Fricker: an intense adventure that lasted just under a decade: Ian & Sylvia promoted and gave luster to the great folk tradition of their homeland, recording beautiful versions of Canadian traditional songs like "Un Canadien Errant" or "Mary Anne," and in turn were covered by artists such as Judy Collins ("Someday Soon") and Neil Young ("Four Strong Winds"). This marital and artistic adventure culminates in 1970 with the beautiful and unfortunate country-rock album "Great Speckled Bird" before ending a few years later. Since then Ian Tyson, after two good solo albums in the 1970s, opts for a precise life choice: he returns to his native Alberta, to his ranch, and dedicates himself body and soul to western music, producing great albums such as "Old Corrals And Sagebrush" (1983), "Cowboyography" (1987), "I Outgrew The Wagon" (1989), And Stood There Amazed (1991), the simply wonderful "Eighteen Inches Of Rain" (1994), then the more acoustic and subdued "Lost Herd" (1999) and finally "Songs From The Gravel Road" of 2002. However, the years pass inexorably and in 2006 he contracts a virus on his vocal cords that irreparably undermines his singing abilities; despite this, he will still manage to record a great album like "Yellowhead To Yellowstone And Other Love Stories" in 2009, but the time for a tribute album is now ripe: Ian Tyson has earned it, in 2007 "The Gift" sees the light, and the final result is worthy of this great artist's prestige.
Let's start with the great Gordon Lightfoot: his connection to Ian Tyson is very close, in fact, in 1964 Ian & Sylvia recorded a wonderful "Early Morning Rain," undoubtedly the best "Early Morning Rain" ever, which became the title track of their fourth album: they were the first to bring this then unknown songwriter, who would debut only two years later, to the forefront. Gordon Lightfoot's contribution to "The Gift" is the evocative "Red Velvet", one of the few songs from the Ian & Sylvia period present in this collection and originally featured on the 1998 album "A Painter Passing Through"; it is an enchanting portrait of an autumn landscape, enriched by velvety synthesizers that give the song a fluid and dreamy sound.
Equally strong and rooted is the relationship with Tom Russell: it dates back to 1983 the cover of "Gallo De Cielo," once again when Russell was a complete unknown not yet weaned from an "official" debut, then Tyson borrowed "Navajo Rug" in 1987 and both songs were duetted on Tom Russell's album "Cowboy Real" in 1991, which also features the epic "Claude Dallas", from "Cowboyography" just like the present "Old Cheyenne", a ballad performed by the American songwriter in a completely acoustic and heartfelt manner, with his usual and unmistakable powerful and magnetic vocal style and an almost realistic pathos.
Apparently, one of Ian Tyson's wishes was to hear one of his songs interpreted by Jennifer Warnes, and with "The Gift" this wish comes true: the sweet and always extraordinary Jenny delivers emotions and chills with an elegant interpretation of the delicate and poignant ballad "Blue Mountains Of Mexico", turning it into a soft folk serenade infused with warmth and feeling.
In addition to the aforementioned "Red Velvet," the album includes the three great classics of Ian & Sylvia indissolubly linked to Ian Tyson's name, "Summer Wages", offered in a light and rhythmic version by The Good Brothers, another institution of the Canadian folk scene, "Someday Soon" transformed into a tormented and poignant ballad by The Circus In Flames, and of course "Four Strong Winds", placed at the beginning of the album and entrusted to the hands of Blue Rodeo who rework it in country-rock style with excellent results, obtaining a very pleasant and engaging sound that honors this great classic. Among the most personal and interesting interpretations, the Irish The McDades deserve a particular praise for transforming the rhythmic bluegrass of "Smuggler's Cove" into a ballad of poignant beauty, expansive and atmospheric, almost surreal and extremely refined and polished from a vocal and instrumental standpoint, and also the brilliant country rock of "Some Kind Of Fool", recovered from Ian's first solo album, "Ol' Eon" from 1973 and faithfully interpreted by Amos Garrett, former guitarist of Great Speckled Bird, and the almost austere but always captivating simplicity of Ramblin' Jack Elliott and David Rea, who deliver guitar and voice versions, according to the most "orthodox" folk tradition respectively of "Will James" and "The Gift".
Of course, some unmistakable rural and romantic ballads which are a trademark of Ian Tyson's solo albums cannot be missing, performed well and without particular stylistic pretensions by Stewart MacDougall ("You're Not Alone Anymore"), Corb Lund ("MC Horses") and Chis Hillman, who even manages to surpass the master with a splendid "What Does She See", thus completing this highly valuable tribute to a great artist: enjoyable, fascinating, well-structured and moreover perfect to know in broad terms but in a detailed and comprehensive way the unique style of Ian Tyson and then, as I already said, if I have come to know artists of the caliber of Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Russell, and Jennifer Warnes, I also owe it to "The Gift", and so beyond the considerable musical depth, this work also has a great sentimental value for me.
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