The Iowa Waltz
by Greg Brown

From buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/03/2017 17:59 | #191916

There are a lot of artists calling themselves "low-fi" without really being low-fi. Then there are artists like Daniel Johnston, who do indeed sound like they're recording at the bottom of a well, though I'm not sure this is a good thing. And then there's Greg Brown's The Iowa Waltz, which actually sounds purposeful in using production that makes it sound like an analog recording from the 1950s. These are throwback songs that feel like they came from a bygone era, though really it's a bygone era of a time that never was: a time when Middle America represented hard-working farmers who cared about their neighbors and communities. I'm skeptical, but it's definitely an America I want to believe in, and Iowa folk troubadour Greg Brown delivers it perfectly. The album is a model of consistency, but my favorite track is "The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home," a fitting nod to one of America's greatest and most influential country singers.