Album Review – Joe Ray McDonald’s “Harvester”

Classic country (#510.1) and Singer/Songwriter Americana (#570.15) on the Country DDS.

If you’re one of those country fans where as long as the guitar comes in hot and tasty, then everything else is gravy to you, you will fall head first for Joe Ray McDonald’s new album Harvester and have a hard time walking away. This thing serves up stellar guitar work one track after another, from blazing Telecaster-style twangy boot stompers, to brilliant and beautiful acoustic movements, and even some Southern rock textures and other stuff thrown in for good measure.

But there’s ample gravy with this record too. In fact, the way Joe Ray sells Harvester to the public is “I wanted to balance the virtuosic picking of someone like Jerry Reed and the emotional depth of someone like Townes [Van Zandt].” Few souls are capable of pulling off what Townes did daily by accident. But it speaks to the attention paid to the songwriting on some of the tracks on what’s otherwise a showcase of country guitar mastery.

And if all of this sounds like it’s way too heady and compositionally complex for what you come to country music for, don’t worry. A good bit of Harvester is fair to characterize as pretty straightforward country music beer drinking songs, just with a lot of good ol’ guitar pickin’ by a guy who deserves way more attention and ears on him. Lucky for him, Harvester is the perfect conduit for that.

Joe Ray McDonald is from the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada—not exactly a hotbed of activity in the country music world, but not not completely out of the way either. Thanks to the world wide web, you can find fans anywhere. You can tell that McDonald isn’t just naturally gifted and tenaciously practiced when it comes to country and roots guitar. He’s also doggedly studious of styles, tones, and eras, and savvy at interpreting all this stuff into original songs.

Three instrumentals grace this record, including the opening song “Pippin’s Breakdown,” which lets you know to expect this to be an album you intently listen to, not just hear in passing. “Beer Bottle Rag” is a classic country guitar clinic, while “James’s Tune” shows off the acoustic and more sedate side of McDonald’s artistry. But even lyrical songs like “Party Like We’re Millionaires” and “How A Grown Man Cries” are incredible showcases for musicianship, and not just by McDonald. The fiddle, pedal steel, and some mandolin and banjo all meet the challenge McDonald makes for them.

On the Townes Van Zandt side of things, McDonald might still might be a bit more aspirational than comparable to the legendary songwriter. But hell, when the bar your being measured against is Townes, just about everyone is going to fall short. The song “Palomino” certainly gives you those chilling Van Zandt vibes of a song like “Kathleen,” but the writing tries a little too hard to be poetic and interpretive instead of relying on the story to do the heavy lifting.

“In The Morning” is a much more successful stab at clever and original word play, while “Cocked 22’s” also has those melancholic and nostalgic tones that makes smart use of natural settings. Nobody will compare “How a Grown Man Cries” to “Pancho & Lefty,” but it happens to be a cleverly-written country drinking and heartbreak song. Harvester doesn’t hide it’s author’s fondness of beer. The second half of the album is pretty much centered on that. “Kitchen Party” might be a little too obvious as a reworking on “Louisiana Saturday Night,” but you do appreciate McDonald’s effort to make sure the record doesn’t forget to have fun.

While Jerry Reed, Billy Strings, and others have been employed as descriptors for Joe Ray McDonald’s sound, Daniel Donato might be best. Harvester might be hit and miss for some since McDonald casts such a wide net of influences and moods in these songs. Solely written by himself and completely self-produced, it’s the outcome of his own vision, and aspires to be true to himself before trying to capture mass appeal. But a strong appeal can definitely be found in these songs, while the album acts like a billboard for a guitar player that the greater country world deserves to know about.

8/10

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