Grayson Capps: Heartbreak, Misery & Death

By any standard, Alabama-based Grayson Capps is one of his generation’s first-tier singer-songwriters. So on this, one of the finest of his many fine albums, Capps offers no new original songs but rather deploys his earthy southern baritone at its most expressive best in service to 16 songs he learned during his childhood years, at his father’s knee, all of them critical to shaping his nascent musical sensibility and sensitivity. From the chilling a cappella rendition of Doc Watson’s “Wake Up Little Maggie” on through mesmerizing, minimalist arrangements (vocal, Capps’ tenderly fingerpicked acoustic guitar, and his long-time musical compadre Corky Hughes’ atmospheric second voice on electric and bass guitars and “tiny piano”), Capps is consistently captivating. Consider the thoughtful probing of Leonard Cohen’s justly celebrated “Hallelujah” in a way that, with a big assist from Hughes’ gently weeping guitar, actually heightens its cry for spiritual redemption. Whether it’s the haunting take on Doc Watson’s version of “Moody River” (yes, the Pat Boone teen tragedy hit from 1961); a buoyant rendering of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain”; or a gentle, folk-flavored reading of Randy Sparks’ lovely ballad “Today,” surrender to the moment, and every breath you draw will be hallelujah.