Pretty World, Indeed

I just realized that I never reviewed the Sam Baker CDs I got a while back. I had never heard of Baker until some months ago, when No Depression had a free download of his song "Broken Fingers," and it knocked me out. I ended up buying that CD, "Pretty World," along with Baker's earlier CD, "Mercy."

This is the voice of a guy whose whole life almost ended in tragedy, but instead he clawed his way back up—all without bitterness. The whole story is here; in short, Baker was in Peru on a bus that got bombed, leaving him with brain damage, hearing loss, and a ruined dominant hand. You would expect angry, depressing words and sounds, but instead there's gratitude, albeit tempered with a hefty dose of wistfulness.

Baker's lyrics and vocal phrasing are unique, which he attributes to the fact that his brain doesn't "store words" properly anymore:

"I think I have to collect the words, a lot of times. I have to go get them, and then hold them, and then put them out, and then go get some more. I don’t think there’s a steady stream coming in; I have to gather them up."

But you really don't need to know any of this to appreciate his songwriting or his voice—just give him a listen. You can hear a lot of his songs at his site; here's "Broken Fingers," the one that did me in. Let me know what you think.

Comments

[Wendy]

See, I just knew you'd have to like him. So great. So amazing and heartbreaking and comforting, all at once. Have you succumbed to Mary Gauthier's newest, Between Daylight and Dawn, yet?

[Karen]

I liked Sam right off the bat, I just hadn't gotten around to buying the CDs, and then reviewing them.

Mary is taking me a while longer, but I am definitely perking up my little ears every time she comes up on Boot Liquor.