The fact that Spencer Cullum was a (well-respected) session musician for several years is almost forgotten. The British native, who lives and works in Nashville, now gathers an impressive community of top instrumentalists on his own albums. COIN COLLECTION 3 is the final release in the album series he launched more than five years ago.
The new collection of songs was created in Cullum’s garden shed, which the singer and pedal steel guitarist has turned into not only his makeshift recording studio, but also a shelter from the far too many distortions out there. You can tell from these nine songs that the artist has made it his mission to cherish and care for what is dear to him. For example, the sound of the guitar from the picture book of Americana, the delicate playing around the basic motifs, the beautiful, clear bass in pieces like “Jackie Paints” and “Music On The Hill”.
It often sounds as if the singer Cullum is coming from the belly of the music, the main thing is to be well wrapped up, it’s so cold outside. In “Look At The Moon” Cullum lets the pedal steel pass by a slightly reverbed clack, “stay awake, there’s a lot to see,” he sings, letting his thoughts wander from the gloomy days to the pretty flowers all the way up to the moon. In the pre-release “Rowan Tree”, which could have come from a decades-old record by Bert Jansch, Cullum follows a traditional story; in his version it is a tree that kills all those who have declared war on nature. The recordings included a Nagra analog recorder from the 1960s and iPhones; For the finale, Cullum had the tracks transferred to cassette (Teac four-track recorder). Kudos to people and machines.
