SAN DIEGO TROUBADOUR APRIL 1,2006 Allen Singer “Down the Road” by Kate Kowsh With his latest album, Down the Road, Allen Singer finally, and single-handedly, disproves the old belief that those who can't do teach. As a skilled musician and torch carrier of folk heritage, Singer masters both. A San Diego local, Singer, in addition to keeping the spirit of music alive through his recordings, also serves on the board of the San Diego Folk Heritage, a concert-producing organization. If that weren't enough, he also leads the San Diego Folk Song Society, created in 1957 by local treasure Sam Hinton, a great American folksinger, folklorist, and diatonic harmonica player. A collection of cover songs and original material, Down the Road includes classics by legends Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. Tucked in between are three of Singer's original songs. Perhaps one of the best ways to describe the validity of this body of work is to say that it'd be difficult for the untrained ear to differentiate which tracks are Singer's originals and which are covers of world renowned classics. According to his bio, Singer plays guitar and sings folk, blues, country, traditional music, old time tunes, topical, and bluegrass music, and has a knack for picking the best songs to accentuate his strong, dusty voice. In the same way Tom Waits spits out his vocals and lobs them at you like emotion-filled bombs, Singer, too, has harnessed the ability to let his deep, at times raspy, weathered voice land firmly in the hearts of his listeners through their ears. Devoid of self-conscious hesitation on Singer's cover of Alton and Rabon Delmore's "Deep River Blues," he lets all his vocal imperfections hang out. Like a good faux finish, it adds authenticity and impressive detail to the composition. A cover of Harlan Howard's "Busted" incorporates a little twang with the songs' old time, grassroots foundation. "Stealing," a Singer original, is one of those authentic, "o', my darlin''' kind of tunes that you'd swear you've heard somewhere before. Its tempo reminds me of a galloping horse, setting a real western, chewin' tobaccy mood for its listeners. A description of the album on Singer's website says "[it] takes you on a journey through American 20th century folk music, country blues, traditional, and early country musicÉ Listen to the songs and the music that set off the 1960s' folk revival." With Down the Road, Singer lights the spark for the modern revival.

Really makes me happy to hear this CD! Loved the folksy guitar pickin'!!