''Wildflowers'' is the 2001 debut album by
Jonathan Byrd. The songs are mostly original songs with a few traditional tunes. Here he mixes contemporary singer-songwriter storytelling with
Appalachian folk roots. There is even a
murder ballad
Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the content ...
; "Velma" is a song about serial killer
Velma Barfield
Margie Velma Barfield ( née Bullard; October 29, 1932 – November 2, 1984) was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder, but who eventually confessed to six murders in total. Barfield was the first woman in the United States to ...
whose victims included Byrd's own grandfather. ''
Sing Out!
''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960.
Background
''Sing Out ...
'' says, "
onathan Byrd'ssongwriting melds the lyricism of
Celtic music with the stark storytelling of the finest traditional
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
eers."
[
Arthur Wood of ''Folkwax'' says that Byrd's "Ashe County Fair" is certain, in time, to become a "]folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
classic." Byrd explained to Wood: "When I started writing it, I didn't know the girl was going to die."[Wood, Arthur]
"Born into the Whisper" (Jonathan Byrd bio)
''FolkWax'' (link requires free subscription—accessed August 14, 2008)
Byrd says that he learned to play in the alternate guitar tuning DADGAD
, or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock, folk, metal and several other genres. Instead of the Guitar tuning#Standard and alternatives, standard tuning () the six gui ...
during two visits to Ireland: "For a personal challenge, I wrote and recorded my entire first album his albumin that tuning, bringing it into the Old-Time, Bluegrass, and Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
idioms."[ The album includes a couple of instrumentals that allow Byrd to show off his ]flatpicking
Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...
skills. ''Sing Out!'' described the sound of the album as, "a wonderfully spare collection, allowing the warm expressive vocals of Jonathan and his strong guitar to carry most of the weight of the arrangements."[ Byrd plays a number of vintage ]Martin Guitars
C.F. Martin & Company (often referred to as Martin) is an American guitar manufacturer established in 1833, by Christian Frederick Martin. It is highly respected for its acoustic guitars and is a leading manufacturer of flat top guitars. The ...
on the album including a 1936 Martin D-28, a 1937 sunburst D-18, and a 1934 D-18.
Track listing
All songs by Jonathan Byrd except where noted
# "Wildflowers" – 3:29
# "Eli's Cotton Gin" – 3:14
# "Velma" – 3:34
# "Lady's Fancy" (traditional) – 2:13
# "Sandy Mush" – 4:03
# "The Golden Glow of Autumn" – 2:48
# "Tinytown" – 5:30
# "Ashe County Fair" – 5:27
# "Bean an Fhir Rua, Backstep Cindy" (traditional) – 3:27
# "The Sparrow" – 3:01
# "Mama" – 2:26
# "Molly Dear" (traditional) – 3:26
# "Big Hoedown" (traditional) – 1:57
# "The Cider Song" – 3:51
# "Her Eyes Were Green" – 4:16
# "Robena" – 2:48
Personnel
Musicians
* Jonathan Byrd – vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
, guitar
* Tim Stambaugh – tenor vocals
* John Boulding – Dobro, banjo
* Russell Johnson – chop mandolin
* Charles Petee – lead mandolin
* Rex McGee – fiddle (tracks 6 & 7)
* Bill Hicks – fiddle (track 15)
* Robbie Link – bass
Production
* Jerry Brown – co-producer, recording engineer, mastering
**Recorded at the Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
**Mastered at The Chop Shop in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Artwork
Hale Dixon Design
**John Dixon – Graphic art
**Melissanne Hale Dixon – Photography
References
External links
Jonathan Byrd – ''Wildflowers''
page at Waterbug Records
Waterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer ...
(sound samples etc.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildflowers (Jonathan Byrd Album)
2001 albums
Jonathan Byrd (musician) albums