Wall, Colter: Songs Of The Plains (Red) LP

After two years of relentless touring, Colter Wall wanted to make an album about home. Drawing on the stories of Saskatchewan, Canada, the young songwriter's corner of the world takes shape throughout his second full-length album, Songs of the Plains. Produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville's Studio A, the project combines striking original folk songs, well-chosen outside cuts, and a couple of traditional songs that reflect his roots growing up in the small city of Swift Current. Wall captures the spaciousness of the Canadian plains by relying on minimal production and his resonant baritone, which he's strengthened into a mighty instrument in its own right. It's a deep and knowing voice you wouldn't expect of a man who's not yet 24 years old.

Songs of the Plains begins with "Plain to See Plainsman," a sincere portrait of a man whose rural heritage follows him into the greater world. As Wall lists the kinds of people he meets on the road – beautiful women, bikers, junkies, hippies – it's easy to imagine the autobiographical component. The darkly comical "Saskatchewan in 1881" recalls a stubborn encounter between a Toronto businessman and a steadfast farmer who cultivates the province's land. And although Wall racked up a body count on his prior album, this time he stops just short of killing the title character in "John Beyers (Camaro Song)," which he says is inspired by true events. Evoking the most remote reaches of the plains, "Wild Dogs" sounds like a cinematic Colter Wall composition, but he actually first heard the Billy Don Burns song in Little Rock, AR. He found himself captivated by its minor-chord progression, no rhyme scheme, and unique perspective of being told from the dog's point of view. 

As a folk singer, Wall places equal importance on crafting songs as well as carrying older songs into the present day. That sense of tradition is part of the reason he recorded Canadian folk hero Wilf Carter's "Calgary Round-Up," a snapshot of the iconic Calgary Stampede. To make it his own, he put a Western Swing feel to it and brought in steel guitarist Lloyd Green and harmonica player Mickey Raphael. Through his favorite folk singer, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Wall discovered "Night Herding Song." Because the song was a cappella, and because Wall doesn't wear headphones when he records, he couldn't nail down the campfire vibe inside the sprawling Studio A. So, for this track only, he went to Cobb's house, started a fire in the outdoor fireplace, and recorded it on the spot. The immediacy of his voice is unmistakable.

Wall says he spent the last three or four years trying to get better as a singer. By putting in the work, his range is now far more dynamic and expressive. He describes the vocal development as "less gravel, without losing the baritone that I've developed over the years." Meanwhile, Wall's ability as a songwriter is especially clear in the second half of Songs of the Plains. "Wild Bill Hickok" distills that legendary gunfighter's epic life and death into less than three minutes. While "The Trains Are Gone" laments the loss of an era, "Thinkin' on a Woman" hints at a heartbreak as a truck driver concocts a lethal combination of whiskey, wine, and a mountain road. Wall turns far more introspective on "Manitoba Man," a devastating song he wrote about a dark period in his life. The desperation in that track quickly gives way to the outrageous traditional song, "Tying Knots in the Devil's Tail," featuring verses from Blake Berglund and Corb Lund.

"I went into the studio and knew exactly the story I wanted to tell," Colter says of Songs of the Plains. "That made it easier on a sonic level and a musical level, to be able to tell Dave that it's a record about my home. That changes it at the roots level because it's like having a mission statement, saying, ‘All right, let's make a Western album.'"