Mary McCaslin's Roundup

Aug 4, 2005

IAN TYSON: SONGS FROM THE GRAVEL ROAD

Ian Tyson has long been one of Canada's most respected songwriters. His original song classics (Four Strong Winds, Someday Soon and Summer Wages) have been covered by Judy Collins, Neil Young, Bobby Bare, David Bromberg, Gordon Lightfoot and other artists. He has also co-written Navajo Rug and Claude Dallas with singer-songwriter Tom Russell.

And recently, Ian’s Four Strong Winds won a poll in Canada proclaiming it best Canadian song. In winning this honor it beat songs by Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot.

In spite of the success and popularity of his songs, there are times when Ian has despaired that he won't write another song. This is where the stone cottage about a mile up the gravel road from his ranch house comes in. For over two decades Ian has lived on and run a working ranch in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary, Alberta. When he is not touring the stone cottage is his retreat and his daily walk to the cottage is often where he gets the ideas for his songs. His new CD is titled Songs From The Gravel Road.

"I guess 80% of my songs come on the walk," he says. "Sometimes they come fast; others take a lot longer. There's one song here (on the new recording), 'The Ambler Saddle', that seemed to take forever. And there's another song, 'This Is My Sky', that came in 20 minutes."

Ian took a break from harvesting this season's crop of hay to speak on the phone about his carreer. He said that his first western recording, Old Corrals & Sagebrush, was done in 1983. Cowboyography, the third of these, is his most well known. He has an outstanding ability to paint the characters of the true west, as well as the west itself.

Around the time of the Old Corrals & Sagebrush release the "Cowboy Renaissance" was about to find expression at the inaugural Elko (Nevada) Cowboy Poetry Gathering. A small coterie of saddle makers, rawhide braiders, cowboy poets and singers discovered one another in this small cowtown. Ian was invited to perform his "new western music" and the overwhelming response brought home to Tyson the realization that he had found his true audience. He has become one of cowboy music's most revered performers, touring extensively throughout Canada and the U.S. Other cowboy poetry and music festivals have sprung up around the country, inspired by Elko.

The Songs From The Gravel Road CD features accompaniment by session players who are better known in the jazz and pop world. They bring a fresh approach to Ian's songs, and as he says, "They are songs that I couldn't hear with the standard 'country' instrumentation, which is often so mind-numbingly predictable."

Highlights of this recording include This Is My Sky, The Ambler Saddle, Range Delivery (sung with one of Canada's finest singers, Cindy Church), Moisture (rhyming Tyson with bison) and Casey's Gone. Every track on the CD is a treasure and the arrangements are superb.

Ian will be performing an evening of his music this Sunday at Don Quixote's in Felton. When asked how long this tour is and where it will take him, he mentioned some other places in California. Later on he will tour Idaho and Oregon. "It's an on-going process," he says. One that takes him far away from the gravel road at home.

Contact Mary McCaslin at roundup@marymccaslin.com

WHAT: Ian Tyson

WHERE: Don Quixote's Music Hall

6275 Hwy. 9, Felton

WHEN: Sun., Aug. 7, 8 pm.

TICKETS & INFO: (831) 603-2294