Robert Francis | Atlantic (USA) | April 6, 2010
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Recording information: Red Star Studios, Silverlake, CA; Sunset
Sound; Hillside Manor, Hollywood, CA.
BEFORE NIGHTFALL is a different animal than Robert Francis' debut,
whose rich production and pastoral songwriting took the songwriter
an entire year to complete. Nowhere is that difference more
pronounced than on "One By One," a nostalgic track that makes an
appearance on both albums in radically different versions. As
presented here, it's a straight-and-sober ode to lost love,
stripped of the piano arpeggios and violin that lent a folksy
elegance to the original arrangement. Returning listeners may find
themselves wondering what happened to Francis' luxuriant take on
Americana, which once included everything from ambient animal
noises to mariachi horns. Recorded in a matter of days, the album
does away with those accoutrements, devoting more focus to the core
of the songs rather than the different ways those songs can be
ornamented. Robert Francis keeps the studio sparsely populated this
time around, occasionally enlisting help from family members
(sisters Carla and Juliette Commagere, both of whom sing backup)
and family friends (Ry Cooder, who plays slide guitar on "Climb a
Mountain") but largely sticking with a simple four-piece band. The
result is a grounded, no-frills album, sometimes sweeping in
scope--the falsetto-filled choruses of "Junebug" and "Keep on
Running" are wonderful--but always reminiscent of a live recording.