I had heard the CD described as gospel for the unbeliever. After listening over and again and again, I disagree. Fred Eaglesmith believes in something, but, in his own words: Fancy God That God you got is a fancy God And he’s not the one I know He don’t live in parking lots Outside of monster homes My God ain’t in the government He don’t put on a big show That God you got is a fancy God And he’s not the one I know My God lives on gravel roads And goes down into hollers Goes down and saves the souls Of your very sons and daughters Your crystal meth And your cocaine breathe And your tingling to your toes That God you got is a fancy God And he’s not the one I know Fred has gone through major changes recently. Last year his right hand man and long time band mate, Willie P. Bennett suffered a heart attack. Then early this year, Willie died. I don’t know how much of the changes in Fred’s music can be attributed to his friend’s passing, but to be sure, Tinderbox is a departure from the sound and style I am accustomed to hearing from Fred. Spare, primitive sounds dominate songs with the beat and rhythm you’d expect from old negro spirituals sung out in the fields, perhaps set to the pace of a hoe clawing at the ground. Gospel themes dominate, but Fred’s version of gospel is more like that Jesus offered—that of someone reared in the real world, not the words of some priest or preacher—part of the accepted establishment. Fred sings of a dark, forbidding world, a world that is killing him, day by day. He cries for rain, for mercy, for justice, a farmer on bended knee in a worked up field, a soldier back from war, a desperate outlaw, someone’s crying from the very back row in a failing church; the world’s about to end and everyone knows. He prays, and prays and prays. Yet evil men sit in high places and prey on those below. Once again, Fred’s own words: You Can’t Trust Them Well out on the corner Of third and green They’re dealing prescription Amphetamines And you count your fingers When you shake their hand Cause they steal your wealth As fast as they can (Chorus) You can’t trust em Their souls are lost They keep taking Jesus Back off of the cross Lightning won’t strike em And the cops won’t bust em And all I know All I know Is you can’t trust em And their ivory towers They swing and they sway As they count up the hours Until you can’t pay And your worth is figured And your presence is rated And all of their interest Is calculated (Chorus) Bells softly ring Beneath their steeple They’re selling souls And they’re dealing people And the choirs sing The coyotes laugh And quietly they take Everything you have (Chorus) Tinderbox is an exceptional CD - the best I’ve heard from Mr. Eaglesmith and crew in a long time. And that my friends, is saying something.

  Makes me proud to be an American. Only problem is, Fred is Canadian—100% pure Canuck. Oh well. He gets an honorary Texan degree in my book, and apparently I’m not the only one down here that thinks so. Gruene and Saenger Halls of New Braunfels, Texas reserved an entire weekend (March 23 to March 26 of 06) for him for the third consecutive year. Others will participate alongside him for the event, but make no mistake about it: Fred is the star of the show. Fred’s fans love the guy so much they’ve been given a name. Fredheads. Almost as fanatical as Grateful Dead’s Deadheads, but not on the same dope. Well, most of them anyway. Some follow him from town to town and others just wait their turn. But all of them know that he’ll deliver when they attend one of his shows. A Fred Eaglesmith show blends the power of young rockers with the roots of country, folk, bluegrass and even a blues lick or two and all the instruments these varied disciplines bring to the table. You’ll hear fiddles, banjos, harmonicas, guitars—acoustical, electric and even the wail of an old slide steel—a standing bass and an electrified one too. The pounding of drums and well-tuned harmonious back-up vocals behind his powerful gravely voice. Some songs are quiet and introspective; others work the audience into a frenzy.   The energy he brings is not unlike what you get with a Bruce Springsteen show, and the banter between songs is not only funny but insightful and thought-provoking. The characters in his songs are poor working class people like Woody Guthrie would identify with, struggling with imperfections and a world that isn’t always fair or gentle. He voices their fears, doubts, pain, and their anger, but also their goodness and their determination to survive and overcome. You’ll hear of migrant workers, backs arched in the sun, hoeing away at the earth, men that drive snowplows through the deadly cold of a Canadian winter, frustrated farmers ready to pick up a gun when criminals from the city or some limp-wristed banker encroaches and there simply isn’t enough money to pay the bills. He sings of trains, and failed relationships, of cowboys left behind by time but cowboys nonetheless, lost in a strange new world, and the women that love them, seemingly unable to resist. You’ll hear of rednecks and dogs and horses, old used cars and pickup trucks. Fred sings about the world he knows. He was one of nine children. He watched his father fight to feed his family as a farmer and he watched him fail in the end. Fred also farmed, and knows how hard it is to make a living at it. He still owns a farm. Perhaps that is why he picked up an instrument. To tell the rest of the world what it’s like and to earn a buck or two in the process. Along the way he came up with a unique sound. There’s no one like him out there. Take my word for it. This man can play. I’ve had mixed results with his recorded music. There’s some good cds and then there’s some not so good. I don’t own them all but here are two sure to deliver: Drive in Movie is a great studio album, guaranteed to please. Check out 49 tons, Wilder than Her and Freight Train. The second installment from his bootleg series, a double cd recorded in none other than Gruene Hall during his 2004 gig is as close as it comes to seeing the man live. Also good, but quite different is Dusty, a softer introspective kind of cd for those times when you don’t want to be blown out of your chair. Here’s his page at Lonestarmusic.com which also has a good bio. You won’t however find the bootleg series cd there. To my knowledge the only way to get this is at his live show or from his web site. And here’s one sure to disappoint: Ralph’s Last Show. I tell you this so you won’t waste your money buying this double live cd and get soured on an otherwise excellent performer. Here’s a link to his web site. (http://www.fredeaglesmith.com) Fred does over two hundred shows a year. He’ll probably be coming to a town somewhere near you. Go and if you like the music, tell him some crazy ex-marijuana smuggler from Texas sent you. He won’t have a clue what you’re talking about.-------------------- About the Author - Don Henry Ford, Jr. When Don's not writing books he lends out his talent to Americana Roots to put together great articles like this. If you've enjoyed what you read, then pick up Don's latest book Contrabando: Confessions of a Drug Smuggling Cowboy at your local bookstore or online at Cinco Puntos Press.