Review: Steve Dawson 'Gone, Long Gone'

Steve Dawson

By Mike O’Cull

Seven-time Juno Award-winning guitarist and songwriter Steve Dawson delivers yet another batch of his expertly executed, laidback roots rock on his latest album Gone, Long Gone. Set to drop March 18th, 2022 on Black Hen Music, the set employs blues, folk, and Americana flavors to surround Dawson’s tales of life as he sees it in a quietly poetic way.

The tracks on Gone, Long Gone represent the first of three albums worth of new material Dawson generated during his pandemic lockdown. Quarantine life let him work on an immense pile of songs that would probably never have been finished in any other circumstances. Dawson produced the record himself and created a song-focused release full of intelligent lyrics, sweet guitar playing, and Steve’s understated J.J. Cale/Jim Croce vocals. The nine new cuts here were mostly co-written with Alberta songwriter Matt Patershuk, who is an amazing addition to Dawson’s already-expansive artistry.

Dawson is a Vancouver native who has been based in Nashville since 2013. He’s become well-known and respected as a producer of roots artists, a touring guitarist for Matt Andersen and Birds of Chicago, and host of his popular Music Makers and Soul Shakers podcast. Add in his touring and recording as a solo act and you get one extraordinary individual who’s always in demand. His original songs are sleek and literate, showing both Dawson’s gift for the craft and his unique guitar style. His magic is subtle but genuine and will romance the ears of anyone who loves lyrical songwriting.

From the opening guitar licks of the first song “Dimes,” it’s obvious that Dawson is anything but a typical singer-songwriter. His playing blends blues, funk, and country DNA in such a casually brilliant and flowing way that you’ll wonder why you didn’t come up with these lines yourself. His lyrics tell the no-money blues story in a fresh way over the track’s gentle funk groove and beneath a toneful horn section.

“Bad Omen” is swampy and full of a southern noir atmosphere that’s engaging and cool. Dawson’s guitar soloing is tasty, idea-heavy, and free of clichés. Jeremy Holmes’ tight bass parts keep this mellow jam pumping without crowding the space in the arrangement and make the band sound huge. It’s a blues song at heart but Dawson’s independence and personal vision turn it into something else. Steve never tries to imitate past greats. Instead, he creates his own musical world where genre rules don’t apply.

Dawson’s titular track “Gone, Long Gone” is a high-and-lonesome turnpike-watching song that sits upon intricately-fingerpicked acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and a virtual string quartet. It’s an absolutely gorgeous selection and makes a fine namesake for this album. It’s a song that brings Dawson’s vision of roots music into the real world, pairing familiar sounds with new methods to arrive at a place no one has visited yet. It’s the centerpiece of the set, without a doubt.

Another highlight of Gone, Long Gone is the instrumental “Kulaniapia Waltz.” It’s a delicate Hawaiian string tune that provides a beautiful, lilting variation from all the vocal songs that will catch your ears and chill you out. Soft-spoken numbers like this are often tricky to put down but Dawson and company have the touch required to make it fly.

Other moments of Gone, Long Gone you’ll want to experience include Dawson’s cover of The Faces’ “Ooh La La” and the emotive closer “Time Has Made A Fool Of Me.” Steve Dawson is a monster talent on all levels and is making some of the best original roots music out there in this era or any other. Get this record and let it fill your soul.

Watch “Gone, Long Gone”