Driver (Ferron album)

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Driver
Studio album by
Ferron
Released1994
StudioDesolation Sound, Maddock Studios
GenreFolk rock
LabelCherrywood Station, Earthbeat!
ProducerDon "DB" Benedictson
Ferron chronology
Not a Still Life
(1992) 		Driver
(1994) 		Still Riot
(1996)

Driver is a folk-rock album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Ferron. It was originally released in 1994 on her own Cherrywood Station label, and distributed by Earthbeat!, a division of Warner Brothers.[1] Stephen Holden of The New York Times named it one of the top 10 albums of 1994: "These expansive confessional road songs by the husky-voiced Canadian singer and songwriter communicate a lifetime's wisdom with a bone-deep honesty."[2]

According to Ferron, the album was "the completion of an intention to create a whole body of work."[3]

Production[edit]

The songs on the album were informed by the positive feelings generated by Ferron's relationship and family, which by 1994 included a baby daughter named Maya.[4] Relegated to a drawer marked "g" for "garbage," Ferron considered the songs too personal to record until she auditioned them for guitarist Shelly Jennings.[5]Some of the album was recorded Ferron's garage on Vashon Island, using portable equipment.

"It's very peaceful," Ferron told The Province. "But not sleepy. I went through a lot of emotion putting that record out." "There's supposed to be a question mark at the end of the title, but everyone thought it looked stupid," she told The Vancouver Sun. "But I think the question mark is important—because who ever really knows? It may feel like driving, but we all take wrong turns, we all screw up all the time, but we all keep going."[6]

The song "Maya" was inspired by a dream about Joni Mitchell. "Borderlines" had previously appeared on Ferron's 1977 debut album.[7]

"Girl on a Road" has become one of her signature songs. According to a 2017 interview, only one line of the song is strictly autobiographical: "My momma was a waitress, my daddy was a truck driver/ the things that kept their power from them slowed me down a while." The song was written quickly, in Chicago, while waiting for a sound check. She cried while writing it. When recording the song for the album, she asked the musicians to refrain from distracting flourishes in order to maintain focus on the core message. The song also inspired the title of a 2009 documentary about the musician by filmmaker Gerry Rogers.[8]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
New York TimesFavorable[9]
The AdvocateFavorable[10]
Philadelphia Daily News[11]
Washington PostFavorable[12]

"...an expansive sigh of joy from this nomadic folkie who has finally found her mate and settled into a rustic idyll in the Pacific Northwest," said The New York Times. "The songs, the best of which recall the dreamy mood of Van Morrison's most enraptured reveries, take stock of life and love in language and music that is startlingly intimate, honest and inspiring."[13]

The Philadelphia Daily News called Driver "an arty gem," singling out "Girl on a Road," "Independence Day" and "Maya" as favorites.[14]

Geoffrey Himes in The Washington Post considered Driver a return to form, appreciating the "chamber-folk" arrangements and the work of producer Don Benedictson. "Ferron is less interested in pat platitudes than in life's most elusive riddles," said Himes. "She pursues them with the tenacity of her fellow Canadians, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young."[15]

"A richly produced, moody meditation on turning 40, accepting aloneness, and learning how to love," according to The Advocate.[16]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Ferron

  1. "Breakpoint"
  2. "Girl on a Road"
  3. "Call Me"
  4. "Cactus"
  5. "Love Loves Me"
  6. "Borderlines"
  7. "Sunshine's Lament (Prologue)"
  8. "Sunshine"
  9. "Sunshine's Lament (Epilogue)"
  10. "Independence Day
  11. "A Name for It"
  12. "Maya"

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

  • Ferron – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
  • Shelly Jennings – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer
  • Craig Kaleal – drums
  • Adrienne Torf – piano, synthesizer pads
  • Calvin Cairns – accordion, violin
  • Chris Webster – background vocals
  • Darryl Havers – clavinet, melodica, Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Don "DB" Benedictson – fretless bass, background vocals
  • John Hudson – log drums
  • Steve Hilliam – soprano saxophone
  • Larry Tuttle – chapman stick (tracks: 2, 9)
  • Denny Fongheiser – drums, percussion
  • Jim Lang – keyboards
  • Steve Reid – percussion
  • Novi Novog – viola

Technical[edit]

  • Don "DB" Benedictson – producer, engineer
  • Craig Arnatt – engineer
  • Sheldon Zaharko – mixing
  • Paul Stubblebine – mastering

References[edit]

  1. ^ Obejas, Achy (November 17, 1994). "FERRON STILL FOLLOWS HER OWN PATH IN MUSIC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  2. ^ Holden, Stephen (January 5, 1995). "The Pop Life: Review". New York Times.
  3. ^ Harrison, Tom (March 10, 1994). "Ferron brings it all back home". The Province.
  4. ^ Obejas, Achy (November 17, 1994). "FERRON STILL FOLLOWS HER OWN PATH IN MUSIC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ Japenga, Ann (February 22, 1994). "Ferron's incredible journey". The Advocate.
  6. ^ Monk, Katherine (February 9, 1994). "Her Driver brings her round". The Vancouver Sun.
  7. ^ Harrison, Tom (March 10, 1994). "Ferron brings it all back home". The Province.
  8. ^ Warner, Andrea (July 10, 2017). "A candid interview with Ferron, an unsung Canadian treasure". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (September 9, 1994). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; In the Flux And Flukes Of Pop Fads, 21 Albums For Adults". New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  10. ^ Kort, Michele (February 22, 1994). "Music: Ferron-height". The Advocate.
  11. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (October 7, 1994). "October fest of rising stars". The Philadelphia Daily News.
  12. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (October 7, 1994). "Ferron steers 'Driver' expertly". The Washington Post. ProQuest 750866732.
  13. ^ Holden, Stephen (September 9, 1994). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; In the Flux And Flukes Of Pop Fads, 21 Albums For Adults". New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  14. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (October 7, 1994). "October fest of rising stars". The Philadelphia Daily News.
  15. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (October 7, 1994). "Ferron steers 'Driver' expertly". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ Kort, Michele (February 22, 1994). "Music: Ferron-height". The Advocate.
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