PAT REEDY – “Wiser When We Get There” CD

Got a copy of this when I saw Pat Reedy play a house show in Columbia in late 2010 but hadn’t been able to really check it out until now.  The music on this CD-R is stripped to the core old style folk and country with acoustic guitar, standup bass, and voices singing tales of traveling, life’s struggles, and the like that calls to mind Woody Guthrie and Rambling Jack Elliot at times.  Delivered sparsely and direct, these songs are a far cry from the pop music calling itself country, preferring to tell stories rather than do what’s hip at the moment.  Reedy has released an album that is roots music at its purest with the songs being the focus here stripped of production tricks or other sonic artifice. Readers into real country and folk music will find something to like in this batch of songs.   (BOONE)