Minnesota folksinger Paul Metsa made this archival recording on October 20, 1990, in a studio in Austin, TX. (Although it is described as a "live" recording, that does not connote a concert performance; the tracks simply were recorded "live in the studio," i.e., without overdubs.) He then seems to have taken the sole cassette made from the session home and forgotten about it until 14--years-later, when he was looking for something to release to mark his 25th anniversary as a performer. Loud House Records was sufficiently impressed by it to give him one of his few releases not issued solely by his own Raven Records label. And, in fact, it makes an excellent introduction to him, containing previously unheard, stripped-down versions of songs he has recorded before. This is just Metsa and his acoustic guitar (plus bongos and castanets here and there), and these are first takes; when he coughs at one point, he just keeps on going. Metsa has one of those singer/songwriter voices that manage to hit a narrow range of notes but possess nothing in the way of polish. When he pushes, his singing gets gravelly. And his playing is mostly simple strummed chords. What matters is his lyrics, which range from strident expressions of liberal politics ("Slow Justice") to laments about lost love ("Kisses in the Wind"), and that's just in the first two tracks. Elsewhere, he displays a good feel for the down-and-out lifestyle of life's more unfortunate people, returning over and over to characters who are just barely holding on with dead-end jobs and petty crime. His songs are heard most clearly in this bare-bones format, but this should be no more than an introduction to him. He comes off better with fuller arrangements that realize the country and blues suggestions in his material.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo