Much of country music is about landscape and travel, the road serving as a metaphor for the ups and downs of life. And if a country song is not about movin’ on down the road, it’s likely about hanging around honky-tonks. High Or Hurtin’ speaks the language of both the road and the honky-tonk in a poetic voice. The album showcases the songwriting talents of Willie P. Bennett, a folk circuit perennial who now makes his home in Peterborough, Ontario. Judging from the breadth of the album’s 14 tracks, Bennett is one of Canada’s best-kept secrets.
The album is the result of the combined efforts of folk artists Colin Linden and Stephen Fearing, and Junkhouse’s Tom Wilson. The three decided to pay their respects to Bennett by forming an ad hoc band called Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (also the title of one songs on the album). Last winter they assembled an impressive list of guest players, including Bruce Cockburn, Prairie Oyster’s Russel deCarle, and Bennett himself; with Linden as producer, they recorded the beautiful High Or Hurtin’.
The guitar playing is strong throughout and provides a charged momentum, particularly on Linden’s blues-inspired solos. But the lead vocals are the album’s big drawing card. For the most part, they’re split amongst the three band members of the band, though Bennett sings on at least one song and deCarle turns in a powerful performance on a tune about foolish pride called “For the Sake of a Dollar”. All the vocals have a driving passion that lends the album an immediate sense of sincerity. Wilson’s vocals shine in particular on a tear-jerker called “Has Anyone Seen My Baby Here Tonight” and the rollicking “Blackie & the Rodeo Kings”.
A well-crafted sensitivity (the surprisingly subdued tone and subtle range of Wilson’s voice, for example) results in a welcome emphasis on the songwriting. High Or Hurtin’ serves as convincing proof that Willie P. Bennett is one of Canada’s premier country/folk songwriters. In a pantheon that includes Neil Young, Ian Tyson and Gordon Lightfoot, this is high praise indeed.
