John McCutcheon - 'Untold'

John McCutcheon is an outstanding teller of folk tales, and an outstanding singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. He proves it on his new double CD “Untold.”

The title disc features five extended tracks recorded live at the 2008 National Story­telling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn. It will make you laugh and sometimes weep. The second disc, “Unsung,” features 12 songs that, fortunately, do not live up to that disc’s title. It is sometimes philosophical and sometimes completely nutty.

Most of the music is four-star, but it is the live disc that will create the most interest. It offers so much. An ad for it could sound like a Hollywood coming attraction – “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You will not forget what your hear here.”

McCutcheon, who often turns to the Bible for his story­telling, combines cleverness with wit, a coupling used to great success with the many children’s songs he has penned. One of the exceptions is a song by one of his heroes, Pete Seeger.

“Well May the World Go” is preceded by a McCutcheon item, “Survivor.” The coupling has been described as a combination of “Lord of the Flies” and “Gilligan’s Island.” Quite a story, as you may imagine.

The most familiar item on disc one is a fun, updated version of “John Henry,” the famed choo-choo guy.

Two other couplings – “Miracle” and “Step by Step,” and “Sydney” and “Joe Hill” – are enticing stories that come complete with surprise endings.

Most of the offerings can be categorized as surprises because McCutcheon does not go for the obvious. The combination of humor and philosophy are this performer’s stock-in-trade.

There are lots of senior citizens in our neck of the woods, and for them, and their kith and kin, “Old People in Love” will serve as a real tear-jerker. It’s performed with Suzy Bogguss. If you are old and your marriage is cold, this will toss a guilt feeling at you. Philosophy was mentioned earlier, and here’s an example. It is from “El Perdon” and reminds us that “adults can lie, little girls (are) not allowed.”

“Untold” is outstanding. Folk stuff, yes, but all folks with good taste and a good sense of humor should thoroughly enjoy John McCutcheon’s latest class act.

– Frank Roberts

Tracks to download  “Survivor/Well May the World Go,” “Old People in Love,” “John Henry”

Buy "Untold" (Link goes to Amazon.com)

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