Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell
Begonias
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Caitlin Cary
Begonias
Yep Roc, 2005
RiYL: Lucinda Williams, Robbie Fulks, Hank Williams |
After all, Cockrell naturally sings in the same tenor as Ryan Adams, the erstwhile alt.country wunderkind whose innate songwriting fueled two stellar albums in the mid-to-late 1990s with Cary during their chaotic days in Whiskeytown.
And Begonias is, at its heart, a country album, meaning the melodies and sad tunes that dominate the record will sound somewhat familiar to old fans of Cary's first band.
Finally, Cary and Cockrell sing their harmonies in natural lockstep, no doubt leading some reviewers to instantly think of the Adams-Cary harmonies that dominated the best Whiskeytown songs -- songs that many critics consider some of the most heartfelt, honest and stark tunes in the fading alt.country universe.
That said, any critic that is paying attention will quickly realize, after one listen, that Begonias has nothing in common with Strangers’ Almanac or any Whiskeytown record. For one, Begonias contains serious and beautiful gems from polished songwriters interested in the craft itself, not where it might lead them.
This album isn't about becoming rock stars, it's not about artificially aiming to be the most prolific songwriter since Dylan. Begonias is about the music, and while there are one or two missteps, Cary and Cockrell have delivered an album steeped with country licks and drown-in-your-beer lyrics that would make even Hank Williams proud.
Of the two artists, Cary is obviously the most well-established. Her time with Adams in Whiskeytown gave her an instant audience for her first two solo recordings, 2002's spotty-but-strong While You Weren’t Looking and 2003's sleeper I’m Staying Out, an album that got better after each listen. Solid reviews for both helped Cary's reputation grow and she has been compared to Dusty Springfield and Emmylou Harris.
Cockrell, meanwhile, has released a handful of records on Yep Roc and has lended his songwriting and singing talents to Cary's albums in the past.
The two have an instant chemistry, no doubt helped by Cary's Emmylou-esque harmony vocals that can make anyone sound like a superstar. Cockrell, though, is blessed with a soulful soprano of his own. While he may not have the natural ability of Adams or a Gram Parsons, it is obvious that he has an appreciation and respect for the music and his own ability that neither of those singers possessed. [Hipsters take heed: I'm not comparing Cockrell to Parsons, I'm just stating the obvious fact that Parsons didn't always appreciate his own talents and wasted what could have been a most promising and stellar career].
In fact, it is Cockrell, rather than Cary, who stands to benefit the most from Begonias. His slurry soprano dominates the album, and Cary proves that after two solo albums as the featured star, she can still be John Stockton when needed. Stockon, you sports fans may recall, retired as the top assists man in basketball history, meaning he knew how to share the ball and make everyone around him look better.
Cary, with her instinctively beautiful harmonies, makes everyone sound better and picks up everyone's game. Not that Cockrell needed to pick up his "game," but Cary's presence is an intangible, one of those things you don't notice until gone.
Begonias starts with the straight-up "Two Different Things," a basic country tune detailing a falling out between two lovers. "I wish we cared enough to / fight about it / every now and then," the two singers croon before reaching the climax -- "What I want / and what I have / are two different things."
From there, the singers get a little more folksy with "Something Less Than Something More," perhaps the only song Cary truly is the star. I tell you, she may not have the range of Emmylou--really, who does--but she has the ease of delivery and down-to-earth presence that makes everything she touches turn to gold. A quick pitter-patter drum beat and lite, tickling acoustic guitars speed the tune along as Cary laments a love that was not to be. "Picked a pretty shirt this morning / thought that stripe might catch your eye / You looked at me the same as always / I told myself another lie / Because I'm something less than something more to you / Just something here to pass the time."
Things slow down a bit with "Please Break My Heart," an updated version of a tune from Cary's 2003 I’m Staying Out. This one of the few missteps on Begonias, as although it has the ingredients for a great down-and-outer, sometimes the best chefs make mistakes. This song is just too clichéd and the album would be much stronger without it.
The apex, though, is the unfortunately-named "Conversations About a Friend (Who's in Love with Katie)," a song that doesn't seem nearly as long as its title would suggest. The song tells the tale of a couple's bored and star-crossed friend who followed the wrong girl out to California. "I should of known first time I saw her / their introduction I regret / We all worried he was lonesome / Don't blame yourself for how things went / We all watched them on their first date / they never even knew we were there/ this is one short town honey / we just couldn't help but stay."
"Sometimes friends have good intentions / drive a good man to his end / these aren't the first dreams ever wasted / we just wish it wasn't him," the song concludes.
Well, not to be flip or abrupt, but on Begonias, whatever intentions and dreams Cary and Cockrell had for this album were wildly exceeded.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.