Many artists have performed Woody Guthrie songs with varying degrees of sincerity and artistic success. On the triumphant
Woodeye, the Joel Rafael Band is up to the challenge of not only reproducing, but faithfully interpreting Guthrie's songs.
Rafael is careful not to let his voice or delivery intrude on the complex subtleties of the human condition that are the
soul of Guthrie's narratives. An immaculate blend of strings, percussion, and Taylor guitars provides a warm, vibrant,
musical backdrop as the band takes the listener on a journey that retraces Guthrie's dusty steps through Okemah, Oklahoma.
In an amazing bit of opportune timing, someone heard this album and decided that the band should provide the live music for
Frank Galati's theatrical adaptation of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The Tony Award-winning production (starring Christian
Slater as Tom Joad, James Cromwell as Casy, and Shirley Knight as Ma Joad) was presented last October by L.A. Theatre Works in
Los Angeles' Skirball Cultural Center.
It makes sense to use Guthrie's music, especially as played by the Rafael band (daughter Jamaica Rafael on violin, viola, and
vocals; Jeff Berkley on percussion; Carl Johnson on lead acoustic guitar), in a theatrical production of perhaps America's
greatest populist narrative (and we hear that it worked quite well). But the recorded medium encourages a "theater of the
mind" context that's an even more fertile field for this material.
One misconception about Guthrie (a byproduct of his being pigeonholed as a "protest" singer or political activist) is that he
was an angry man singing angry songs. Actually, his music was born of a great love for the people of America and the principles
of unadulterated freedom they cherish. Rafael's delivery - weathered and comfortable as an old leather jacket - extracts the
ebullience, humor, warmth, and optimism of Guthrie's work in equal measures.
Twelve of the 14 cuts on Woodeye are readings of Woody's songs, but Rafael demonstrates his affinity for the subject and his
style by fusing a "found" Guthrie lyric to one of Rafael's own tunes ("Dance A Little Longer"), and by including an original
song, "Talking Oklahoma Hills", written specifically for this tribute project. If you've ever wanted to delve into Guthrie's
music, but were intimidated by the prospect of searching for archival compilations, start here. Woodeye is an effort of such
purity and conviction that even cameo performances by Jennifer Warnes, Ellis Paul, Van Dyke Parks, and Matt Cartsonis aren't
distracting.
-David Kaye
