New Multitudes (Deluxe Edition)

Deluxe edition contains 23 tracks and features limited edition Guthrie lyric sheets! Set to coincide with the centennial celebration of Woody Guthrie's birth year Rounder Records is set to release this 12 track album. Under the invitation of Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, to tour the Guthrie archives, each of the four songs writers were offered the chance to plumb and mind the plethora of notebooks, scratch pads, napkins, etc for anything that might inspire them to lend their voices and give the words new life. The spirit of Guthrie may have been involved in more ways than one, as all four songwriters mentioned the immediate connection to the songs they chose, or as they would suggest, "chose them." The writing came together quickly, as if the mischief muse who originally penned them latched himself to each writer's grey matter upon first contact.

Musically, it is this sense of collaboration that makes New Multitudes not just another trite and traditional acoustic regurgitation of back porch blues. From the ragged jangle of its opening track, "Hoping Machine," the loping lilt of "Fly High," the floorboard stomp of "No Fear," to the lush warmth and sudden sonic gut punch of "My Revolutionary Mind" the cohorts deliver a lesson in discovering a song's sweet spot. It's the function and preparedness of each artist's dogged work ethic gleaned the old-fashion way; veracious songs, road weary odometers, and sweat stained live shows, all attributes of the man they are honoring.