It’s one thing to journey back to the past. It’s quite another to find that it’s as wonderful as one might remember.
Scientists have yet to invent a time machine, but fortunately, artists often have the advantage of revisiting their earlier efforts and allowing them to resurface for rediscovery. And when one is at the helm of a record label, that opportunity is well within one’s grasp.
Consequently, Alison Brown decided to return to her formative years as a budding banjo player ready to embark on a recording career that would eventually yield a Grammy win, multiple Grammy nominations, a USA Artists Fellowship in Music, and a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Early on, she had no idea those honors would eventually await, but given the effort instilled in this, her debut outing, suffice it to say the title, Simple Pleasures, is clearly an understatement.
Originally released on Vanguard Records and recorded at David Grisman’s studio in Berkley, CA with an array of high profile players in support — Grisman himself contributing mandolin and overseeing production, as well as guitarist Mike Marshall, percussionist Joe Craven, bassist Jim Kerwin, flautist Matt Eakle, and cellist Mark Summer — it’s an impressive early example of Brown’s skill and savvy.
Each of the album’s original twelve tracks — as well as the three demos included here — make that declaration quite clear in terms of both melodies and execution. Eakle’s flute work adds a somewhat exotic feel to opening track Mambo Banjo, while Brown herself proves her prowess in establishing the melodic tack on practically every entry. The rapid-fire banjo picking that illuminates Leaving Cottondale and Wolf Moon, the supple sheen of Fantasy, the jovial Daytime TV, and the sprightly Weetabix, all testify to her talent for integrating personality, spontaneity, and a sound that reflects her ability to exude sheer joy. These could be considered her signature songs, not because they because they became seminal standards, but rather because they helped define her as an artist who was obviously assured, emphatic, and completely confident even that long ago.
Simple Pleasures helped form the foundation for Brown’s lingering legacy, based on everything she’d accomplish in its wake. Years after according Brown an impressive introduction, it remains an essential acquisition.
