This Too Shall Light,
Amy Helm's sophomore solo album, is a logical progression from 2015's excellent
Didn't It Rain (recorded after three dynamite albums with
Olabelle), but it's also a marked departure. For starters, she stepped away from her home base in Woodstock to work with producer
Joe Henry in Los Angeles at United Recording Studios in Hollywood, where the
Beach Boys recorded
Pet Sounds and the
Mamas and the Papas tracked the immortal "California Dreamin." Second, in order to "meet" these ten tunes directly, she refrained from rehearsing or playing them live beforehand.
Henry played her
Delaney & Bonnie's cult classic
Motel Shot, recorded to resemble its many players hanging out and singing in a rundown roadside motel room. This date was cut in four days and the end result captures that spontaneous feel but goes to a deeper level emotionally. The material is uniformly strong; it makes use of many of
Helm's gifts as a singer ranging between country, rock, folk, soul, gospel, and even jazz. Gospel, however, is prevalent, thanks to
Helm's desire to hear a gospel chorus (from three talented backing vocalists) behind her on every song.
The opening title track penned by
Hiss Golden Messenger's
M.C. Taylor and
Josh Kaufman, crosses through sparse, slippery, bluesy rock in the intro before diving headlong into soulful gospel. Its lyrics reference
Donny Hathaway's "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)," and
Helm travels them to marry hope and caution. The cover of
Henry's "Odetta" is completely revisioned. In the grain of her voice, L.A. singer/songwriter balladry is wed to
the Band's gritty country gospel.
Tyler Chester's cascading piano and
Jay Bellerose's martial snare point her toward an uncertain horizon -- which she embraces.
The Milk Carton Kids' "Michigan" is a mournful song of grief and loss painted by
Helm's earthy voice expressing deep loneliness as the green backdrop of the Great Lakes state passes in the rear view. The gritty, funky Southern-style soul on
Allen Toussaint's "Freedom for the Stallion" marries
Gladys Knight's stirring sea of emotion to
Ann Peebles' weary-to-the-bone heartbreak. A stellar reading of
Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind" is delivered with acoustic and electric slide guitar and a honky-tonk piano --
Helm's own mandolin is noticeably absent -- but the romantic ache in her heartworn delivery more than compensates. Her reading of
Blossom Dearie's "Long Daddy Green" (a song
Helm has loved since childhood) utilizes a blues-haunted B3 in an unorthodox approach to jazz; it's a saloon song of uncommon emotional depth. "The Stones I Throw" was the last single
Levon Helm sang with
the Hawks before emerging with
the Band. Of all the tracks on
This Too Shall Light, this and the traditional closer "Gloryland" resonate with
Motel Shot's feel: They balance sacred and corporeal celebration with want, loss, and earthly gratitude. As fine as
Didn't It Rain was,
This Too Shall Light better illustrates
Helm's massive talent. ~ Thom Jurek
![Being There [Deluxe Edition] [5 CD]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227943493_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Being There [Deluxe Edition] [5 CD]")
