MATT ANDERSEN plays the Winter Garden Theatre Saturday (October 22). See listing. Rating: NNN
A promo photo shot from below of Matt Andersen, a Maple Blues winner, makes him look like a mountain of a man, and he has the resonant voice to match. His new album is a Canadian roots musician’s dream. Recorded at Levon Helm’s Woodstock, New York, studio by Colin Linden (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings), it features backup vocals by Amy Helm and an appearance by Garth Hudson on accordion.
Not just blues, and not solely devoted to the mining theme in the title, the disc also features rock ‘n’ roll, love ballads and feel-good roots-pop. Andersen’s a convincing soul singer on Baby I’ll Be (with the McCrary Sisters), and sax- and trumpet-filled Heartbreaker’s fun. While the production is warm and clear, Andersen’s at his best when delivering stripped-down acoustic guitar blues backed only by a drummer, as on Make You Stay.
Top track: Make You Stay
