'Matt Rollings Mosaic' Review: Rollings shines on eclectic LP featuring Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett among others
Matt Rollings is a Grammy award-winning producer, piano virtuoso, and in-demand sessions player who has worked with some of the most iconic names in the music business in the course of his stellar career. Over the last 40 years, Rollings has performed on thousands of recordings and a wide variety of genres, contributing to songs by Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Metallica, and Sheryl Crow, besides other incredible talents. Besides having written, produced and arranged songs for everyone from Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett to Keith Urban and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rollings has also won the ACM Award for Pianist of the Year a whopping 10 times, and earned rave reviews for his own artistic solo debut album, 'Balconies', which was released in 1990.
Now Matt Rollings plans to release a new solo album, his first in 30 years, which will drop this weekend on August 14. This upcoming 11-track album, titled 'Matt Rollings Mosaic' was performed, produced and arranged by Rollings himself, and features a star-studded list of musical guests that Rollings has worked with in the past. These superstars include Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Molly Tuttle, The War and Treaty, Buddy Miller, Heidi Talbot, and Charlie Greene. The aptly named 'Matt Rollings Mosaic' record is thus an eclectic mix of timeless tunes and includes some vintage gems, original compositions, plus some of the famous songs that Rollings has featured on over the years. Besides his own contributions on piano, organ, and keyboards, Rollings also roped in the talents of Jay Bellerose for the drum and percussion parts. "I'm a piano player. I've made a career out of listening deeply and supporting other artiste’s visions, and that’s brought a lot of joy and meaning into my life," Matt Rollings stated, and added, "With this record, though, it was time for me to explore my own vision."
The album opener, 'Take Me To The Mardi Gras' was originally performed by Paul Simon in 1973. Here, Rollings enlists the help of The War and Treaty to put his own spin on this lovely number with delightful vocal harmonies, twinkling piano, stirring brass and marching drums. The lyrics, of course, pay tribute to the colorful music, dancing, and festivities of the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. "Come on, take me to the Mardi Gras / Where the people sing and play / Where the dancing is elite / And there’s music in the street / Both night and day." The track also features the accompaniment of Joe Murphy on tuba, Denis Solee on clarinet, Roger Bissell on Trombone, and George Tidwell on trumpet.
'Accentuate The Positive' is a joyous and boisterous piano-driven take on the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer 1944 classic, featuring the contributions of the country star Lyle Lovett. Taking its cues from the hop, skip and jump vocal inflections of the original, this new version encourages the listener to "Ac-cent-u-ate the positive / E-lim-i-nate the negative / Latch on to the affirmative / Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between." Dennis Crouch also features on acoustic bass, with Murphy on tuba.
Up next is the tender and delicate love ballad 'Stay', which features the talents of Americana stars like Alison Krauss with Vince Gill. "I wrote this song with the incredibly gifted singer/songwriter, Alisan Porter, who won 'The Voice' in 2016. We wrote it for an album I produced for her that came out in 2014," explained Rollings. "When Alison Krauss agreed to be a part of 'Matt Rollings Mosaic', I immediately thought of 'Stay,' and that she is the only person (other than Alisan Porter) that I could ever imagine singing it. We cut it live – piano, drums and vocal – and Alison Krauss did what she always does: leave everyone in the room with their jaw hanging open! Later I added her brother on bass (the insanely talented Viktor Krauss) and enlisted my friend, Kris Wilkinson, who did the achingly sparse string arrangement [along with Alicia Enstrom and Carole Rabinowitz]. Finally, the incomparable Vince Gill added a background vocal that perfectly supports Alison’s sublime performance. The result is one of my absolute favorite tracks on the record."
Next up is a new version of the timeless spiritual 'Wade In The Water', which features some sublime vocal performances from The War and Treaty and The Blind Boys of Alabama. This bouncing and funky blues gospel rendition is bound to have you swaying your head in no time, especially during the exquisite vocal fry sections and visceral howls and growls from the guest vocalists. Dennis Crouch also features on acoustic bass.
The gorgeous and evocative 'If I Had A Boat' features the talents of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, the American folk music icon who still sounds incredible at the ripe age of 89. Lyle Lovett performed this song back in 1987 as the opening song on the 'Pontiac' album, and it also featured a younger Matt Rollings on piano. This time around, the exquisite accompaniment includes Glen Worf on bass, Paul Franklin on steel guitar, Dominick Leslie on mandolin, Alicia Enstrom, David Davidson, David Angell, and Jenny Biffano on violins, Kristen Wilkinson and Monisa Angell on violas, and Carole Rabinowitz on cello.
'Spirits In The Material World' was released by Sting and The Police back in 1981, and this time Rollings enlisted the help of the young English balladeer Charlie Greene for this soothing and lilting number. The lyrics also prove to be exceedingly relevant today with lines such as, "Our so-called leaders speak /With words they try to jail you / They subjugate the meek / But it's the rhetoric of failure." Rollings also provides the backing vocals on this track, along with Crouch on acoustic bass, Enstrom, Davidson, Angell, Biffano on violins, Wilkinson and Angell on violas, and Rabinowitz on cello.
'When You Loved Me Still' features the talents of the Irish folk singer Heidi Talbot, and we're left swooning as this beautiful and ethereal hymn-like track unfolds. "In the darkness, will I find you / By the lonely moonlight’s glow / If I be there, will you hold me / Darling say you will" go the sugary-sweet lyrics, and this sentiment is further reinforced by the lovely fiddle and whistle provided by John McCusker, along with Phil Cunningham on accordion and Rabinowitz on cello.
'That Lucky Old Sun' is an old Beasley Smith and Haven Gillespie classic from 1949, and this time around we have three Americana stalwarts in Lovett, Elliott, and Nelson to provide due justice to this immensely popular tune about toil, troubles, and the paradise of the natural world. Nelson himself features on the lead guitar, while John Leventhal plays the rhythm guitar and banjo, Murphy plays the tuba, and Jeff Coffin features on the woodwinds.
'I’ll Come Knocking' is a picturesque old Walter Hyatt tune, which now features the soulful contributions of Nelson's son, Lukas Nelson, along with the vocal talents of Molly Tuttle and Buddy Miller. Worf also sits in on bass on this nostalgic and yearning tune, which features touching lyrics like "When you want me, I’ll come knocking / At your door, at your door / One of these days now, you’ll be rocking / Oh you’ll be rocking in my arms once more."
'Slumber My Darling' is a vintage classic from the stable of the American composer Stephen Foster, and made famous by Alison Krauss on the compilation album Beautiful Dreamer. This breathtaking lullaby once again features the talents of the team behind 'When You Loved Me Still', with Talbot wowing us yet again with her exemplary voice, along with fiddle and whistle provided by McCusker, along with Cunningham on accordion and Rabinowitz on cello, and Krauss's brother Viktor Krauss on acoustic bass. The album is rounded off by a short and sweet piano-driven version of Lyle Lovett's classic 'Pontiac' from 1987, which appears to be a short voice memo recorded by Rollings himself, and it's a fitting closer to a gorgeous album.
"I called this album 'Matt Rollings Mosaic' not only because it’s a mosaic of styles and genres and artists, but because I feel like I’m a mosaic myself," Rollings revealed. "I love being a performer and a writer and an arranger and a producer, but [every] so often, you’re made to feel like you have to pick just one. With this record, I got to choose them all." This record certainly proves to be a worthwhile showcase of Rollings' immense gifts, strengths, and high-quality musical caliber, and we hope we'll soon get to see another album featuring another all-star ensemble cast, with Rollings himself at the top of that considerable list.