In the near-constant deluge of singer-songwriters to emerge in recent years, Willy Mason towers above the rest through sheer quality. Listening to the 12 tracks...... more
In the near-constant deluge of singer-songwriters to emerge in recent years, Willy Mason towers above the rest through sheer quality. Listening to the 12 tracks on his debut album Where the
Humans Eat, you'd be forgiven for mistaking this 20-year-old native of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts for someone much older and more experienced. His off-kilter delivery--a bit off-key, a bit off-time--is just part of his charm. But Mason's real talent is as a songwriter, and he is almost without peer amongst his contemporaries. "It's a hard hand to hold / that is looking for control" he sings on "Hard Hand to Hold", a song about homelessness and disaffection that never preaches or judges. His keen observations and deft lyrics place him in an American tradition that includes Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams. Like the best protest singers, Mason is not motivated by anger at
the way the world is, but hope in what the world can be. As a result, Where the
Humans Eat is sweet, simple and altogether excellent. --Robert Burrow
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