Ironically, the most telling line on
Dave Rawlings' first album as a frontman comes from one of the few tracks he didn't write. On his version of the
Bright Eyes song Method Acting, imagine a more direct explanation of
A Friend of a Friend's genesis. Singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer
Rawlings has worked with
Bright Eyes and
Old Crow Medicine Show in the past, and members of both bands return the favor by appearing here, but of course he's best-known for being
Gillian Welch's musical foil throughout her career. After a decade-and-a-half spent as the shadowy figure in the background, chiming in with those reedy harmonies and concise guitar licks on demand,
Rawlings is long overdue for this solo debut. While he has hidden light under a proverbial bushel, he hasn't been concealing any unexpected predilections -- the overall approach here is pretty much in line with that of the albums he's made with
Welch, which makes sense, considering that he was the producer on half of those. The biggest difference is a slightly more expanded sonic palette, a result of
Rawlings bringing his aforementioned buddies on board, in addition to
Tom Petty's ivory-tickler
Benmont Tench and of course, longtime singing partner
Welch. But even though a string section pops up on a couple of tunes,
A Friend of a Friend is essentially a low-key, acoustic-based Americana outing that feels more like a 21st century version of the early-‘70s Laurel Canyon cowboy aesthetic than anything else. The old, new, borrowed and blue song selection is balanced to present a quintessential picture of where
Rawlings is coming from; he tackles
Ryan Adams and
Old Crow tunes he co-wrote, covers cohorts
Bright Eyes as well as inspirations
Neil Young and
Jesse Fuller, and rounds things out with a batch of new
Rawlings/
Welch compositions. And while he doesn't exactly adopt an in-your-face approach to the leading-man role, preferring to become part of the powerful collective he's assembled,
Rawlings proves himself fully capable of taking the reins and leading this horse wherever he wants it to go.