Just listen to this. Please. Listen to all of it. On repeat like I do. Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch Tiny Desk Concert
It's not an image but it's definitely moving me. I "discovered" Gillian Welch in 2007 or 2008. I remember buying a used copy of "Revival" and walking around campus, amazed at the beauty and simplicity of the arrangements. Rawlings has always played second fiddle to Welch. His guitar. Her voice. Nothing was better to me. But this -- an inversion. Welch as backup and Rawlings' voice front and center. He said it himself -- Welch's voice is big, pure and takes up a lot of space. The arrangements can be skeletal. But his voice is smaller, no less beautiful, but definitely needs the help of fuller accompaniment. This concert is perfection. Their harmonies are breaking my heart.
I have long periods of time when I'm not listening to their music but I always go back. And when I'm back I think: why did I ever leave?? Their melodies are haunting, not infectious. Their lyrics are restrained, not over-determined. They are musicians, trained at Berklee, perfected on the road. They sing about orchards, farms, sadness, love. Their are moments in my life, perfectly etched in my memory, that have Gillian Welch singing in the background. And now they are both here in the foreground; I couldn't be happier.
