Album Notes

Folk Rising's Album of the year 2008 - Mat d., singer / songwriter from Sioux City, IA works with recurring themes of hard living, lost love and heart wrenching spirituality using the "banks of old Route 66" as it's musical inspiration and lyrical backdrop. The album, produced by collaborator and guitarist Kurt Mullins stays true to Mat's acoustic roots, expanding on the stripped down style of 'Gasoline Rattle" with a more somber tone and focus than it's predecessor. The album, dedicated to the memory of Mat's father who died in early 2008, serves as a journey of grief, comfort and personal reflection for the songwriter. Mat stated that "following my father's death the tone of the album changed dramatically. Much of the material I had prepared for the CD no longer seemed to represent what I was feeling; so we shelved several of the songs and I went about working on music that became very cathartic for me." Merciful 66 chronicles some of Mat's most heartfelt songwriting and performances to date. A few of the album's songs draw directly from Mat's own experiences while others tell an allegorical story of his father's life and work. Even though much of the album ventures to the darker side of the tracks, Mat's signature redemptive and glimmer of hope cynicism remains intact from the Coney Island inspired "Gypsy Town" to the gospel flavored "Gasoline Angel". The theme of mercy is woven tightly into each track from the old timey big tent revival holler of "the Ghost of Huddie Ledbetter" to the bittersweet tone of "Merciful 66" and "Metropolicana". A document of hard luck living and death with remnants of redemption and grace, Merciful 66 not only leads the listener into the grave, but lifts one up from the depths briefly; perhaps long enough for a taste of resurrection.