Sarah Lee Guthrie Johnny Irion Exploration CD ASD

24.77 / 2008-01-31 S asoccSarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Exploration CDCD in excellent shape 9 of 10Digipack in very good+ condition with a mark on back 7 of 10 Review by Mark DemingWhen your last name is Guthrie, people are going to have certain expectations about your music, but Sarah Lee Guthrie (Arlo's daughter) and her husband and musical collaborator, Johnny Irion, have managed to make an album that speaks to her personal heritage while possessing a strong aural personality of its own. Exploration is a collection of songs filled with the easy charm and home-truth honesty of postwar folk music, and even boasts a new tune by family friend Pete Seeger, as well as originals from Guthrie and Irion that confront war, poverty, and other social ills with a gentle but firm insistence. But Guthrie and Irion also display a stronger musical backbone than their semi-folkie ways might suggest; Exploration was produced by Gary Louris of the Jayhawks in collaboration with engineer Ed Ackerson, and Louris brought along several of his bandmates to play on the sessions, so it's no surprise that the album displays some of the twangy élan of Tomorrow the Green Grass or Sound of Lies. But it also has a playful campfire singalong quality that's obviously Guthrie and Irion's doing, without undercutting the potent if understated rock & roll energy of tunes like "Gervais" and "Gotta Prove." Exploration is a high-energy post-millennium hootenanny that adds some high-kicking fun to the passionate and playful folk-rock that's Guthrie and Irion's natural stock in trade; it's as homey and refreshing as iced tea on an August afternoon, and equally satisfying. Biography by Erik Hage While she may not have envisioned it early on, Sarah Lee Guthrie, the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, ended up answering the call of family tradition, releasing her self-titled debut on the family-owned Rising Son Records in 2001. Careful observers will notice that her first recorded appearance was as a toddler vocalist on dad's 1981 album Power of Love. As an adolescent, she would also sing with her dad on the Grammy-nominated children's album Woody's 20 Grow Big Songs. In high school, however, she was more prone to listening to punk albums than thinking about a career as a folksinger. Nevertheless, she spent the years directly after high school on the road with Arlo, initially as road manager and then as part of the band. Her live debut was with family and friends at Carnegie Hall. In 1997, she met her future husband, Johnny Irion, once a member of North Carolina alterna-rockers Queen Sarah Saturday (as well as once a touring member of Dillon Fence). In 1999, Sarah Lee teamed up with Irion and Tao-Rodriguez-Seeger to form the folk trio RIG (Rodriguez, Irion, and Guthrie). In 2001, besides releasing respective solo albums, Guthrie and Irion toured extensively as a duo, and in 2004, they entered the studio to record an album together. Produced in part by Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and featuring a number of alt-country luminaries lending support, Guthrie and Irion's Exploration was released by the roots-friendly Yep Roc label in the spring of 2005.This exquisite piece of retro music history is a compact disc or CD. Please visit the A Sound Deal store for similar items and information on grading and shipping. Add me to your favorites for red hot sales bulletins and sneak previews of upcoming products. Combine Items to Save $$$! Click here to check the store for more! ©A Sound Deal