THE LAST TRAIN

Album Review

In the liner notes to his debut solo album, veteran musician Gordon Titcomb addresses the several surprises the disc represents to those who know who him: that he should even want to make his own album after more than 30 years of playing behind others; that he should take up singing; and that he should abandon his main instrument, the pedal steel guitar. He notes that he really loves writing songs, that if he doesn't sing them himself, nobody will know how they go, and that he is preparing a second album that will feature pedal steel. As to this one, it reveals Titcomb as a songwriter steeped in folk and bluegrass who is able to vary his approach. Themes of aging, separation, and travel abound, with lots of trains, rivers, and roads in the lyrics, but Titcomb can go from a mature divorce song like "If It Were Up to Me" to an up-tempo bluegrass workout like "Gold Plated Love" with ease. His voice is modest but usually adequate, except when he writes a tune with a bit too much range. He is a generous frontman, always willing to let his sidemen solo, particularly fiddlers Frank Solivan II and Antoine Silverman, and he is joined by his employer and record company head, Arlo Guthrie, on several songs. The Last Train is unlikely to launch a new career in the spotlight for a professional who has made a successful career standing a few feet back from the center-stage microphone, but it is a respectable effort.