In the case of the new album from sublime roots singer-songwriter Jim Gaudet, “So Far So Good” just doesn’t cut it as a title. Really. He should re-name this sucker, “The Good Just Keeps Gettin’ Better.”

 

One of Nippertown’s very finest songwriters, Gaudet has a knack for crafting a mighty memorable melody – the kind that’ll get you singing along even on first listen. His delivery is wry and witty, often saying just as much with his pregnant pauses as he does with his lyrics. And lyrically, he’s poetic, literate and more than just clever.

 

After a string of excellent albums that culminated with “Give Up the Ghost” on the Prime CD label in 1998, Gaudet dropped out of the music scene for nearly a decade, but he came roaring back with the sparkling “Re-Calling It Quits,” one of the best discs of 2007.

 

And fortunately we didn’t have to wait long for the follow-up, and this one is undoubtedly headed for the 2009 Nippertown Top 10.

 

While Gaudet fans will embrace the new CD with plenty of enthusiasm, “So Far So Good” is actually something of a departure from Gaudet’s earlier albums.

 

For one, this is a true band effort, and as befitting the first credited to Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, the Boys – bassist Bob Ristau, mandolinist-lead guitarist Sten Isachsen and fiddler Tim Wechgelaer – get plenty of opportunity to shine in the spotlight.

 

Secondly, the album leans away from Gaudet’s usual folk-oriented approach and heads straight into high lonesome bluegrass territory. And these guys nail it. The vocal harmonies simply soar on original gems like “Get Up John” (not the bluegrass classic), “Jealous Heart” and the traditional “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane.”

 

But this isn’t just strictly a bluegrass album – not by any means. You’ll also find some whiskey-soaked roadhouse honky-tonkers (”Drive” and the love-gone-wrong nugget “Mind Over Matter”), a couple of chuggin’ train songs (the opening “Born to Be Lonesome” and the closing “Railroad Kill Bill”), some country twang (”Callin’ My Name”), a bit of finger-picking folk (”This Time”) and even some heavenly gospel (Gillian Welch’s “By the Mark,” the only cover song on the album).

 

In short, Gaudet has never sounded better or more confident. His voice is strong, and he takes more chances with it. Compare the title track with the version that Gaudet recorded for his 1994 album, “It’s a Colorful Life,” for example.

 

Much of the album was recorded live in Bender Studios in Delmar – the musicians playing all together at the same time, rather than layering on the one-at-a-time overdubs. And it shows. The proof is in the rich, warm, organic sound, which brings out the best in these stellar songs.

- - Greg Haymes, Nippertown.com, Thursday, June 25th, 2009
 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JIM GAUDET AND THE RAILROAD BOYS

so far so good

Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys

Booking: 518-577-8377
Email: jgaudet@yahoo.com

 

 CD Release  

The new collection contains 11 songs all of which Gaudet wrote with the exception of the band’s arrangement of Gillian Welch’s gospel tune, “By The Mark.”  Clearly Jim Gaudet set out to showcase his band on this album and he wisely positioned “Born To Be Lonesome” as it’s opener.   The song starts out like a vintage film that’s been shot at the slowest possible speed, shutter barely capturing, “ this train ain’t got no tracks, with no conductor and no ticket to be punched.”  Gradually the Railroad Boys come into focus - kick up the tempo and you feel as though you’re riding on a ghost train to nowhere.   In the liner notes Gaudet describes how he got the spark for the song last summer while the Railroad Boys were up in the Adirondack Mountains performing at the “Otis Mountain Music Festival.” 

 

Songs like “Get Up John” and “Railroad Bill” would suggest the band had been busy cooking up their own versions of several beloved traditionals’ when in fact the band borrowed titles that came to mind during the crafting of original songs.  In the title track “So Far, So Good” (the group’s token “shout along”) the protagonist takes a romp through a used car lot to a drive-in movie and ends up “stumbling on the real thing” under the stars.  The song is infectious and you can’t help but tap your toes and feel good at the end.  “Jealous Heart” has one of those hauntingly familiar melodies that allows for the harmony parts to stretch out a bit.  Additional tracks include a moody storied song called “This Time,” a companion piece for any long distance venture behind the wheel entitled “Drive” and an accidental composition “Callin’ My Name.”

 

Jim Gaudet is the kind of man who’s not concerned with category or trend, he’s a man who’s made his life out of following his own compass.  This would explain why he chose to keep the project in-house and dedicated to the true live essence of the Railroad Boys ’ sound.

 

“So Far, So Good” may be the band’s first venture on the rails together but the result is a collection of memorable, hard driving, original compositions, featuring authentic three-part harmony and stellar musicianship.  The CD captures the spirit of the RR Boys while positioning the listener at the starting point of what will surely be a promising journey.

 
The foursome that make up the Railroad Boys are Jim Gaudet on guitar and vocals, Bob Ristau on harmony vocals and bass, Sten Isachsen on mandolin and Fender Telecaster and Tim Wechgelaer on harmony vocals and fiddle. 

”So Far, So Good” was engineered and produced by Sten Isachesen and mastered by Scott Pettito at NRS Recording Studio.

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Here's what Michael Hochanadel of the Daily Gazette had to say regarding the show with The Gibson Brothers:

"The Adirondack-born bluegrassers the Gibson Brothers return to Saratoga Springs on Sunday; not to Caffe Lena which they’ve packed many times, but to Lillian’s Restaurant (408 Broadway, Saratoga Springs). They better bring their A-game: Jim Gaudet and his Railroad Boys open, at 7 p.m.

The Gibsons’ (Eric and Leigh) new album “Iron & Diamonds” is their closest to home, invoking both hard-rock mines and baseball summer afternoons in the Adirondacks.

Gaudet’s “Recalling it Quits” may be the best-ever comeback album in this area, a dazzling return to form by a folk-Americana bard who inspired and influenced every serious songwriter hereabouts before putting music on hold for a decade. Now he’s back doing it again.

Tickets for the Gibson Brothers and Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys (a small combo, tight and tough and tender as the Gibson’s band) are $20". 

--Michael Hochanadel, Daily Gazette, Schenectady NY, February 5, 2009

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Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys open for Sugar Hill Records recording artists The Gibson Brothers 

Starving Arts LLC and Saratoga Guitar Present:
The Gibson Brothers

w/ Special Guest Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys
Sunday, February 8th. 2009 - 7:00PM
Upstairs @ The Diamond Jim Brady Room -

Lillian's Restaurant
Saratoga Springs, NY - Tickets $20   

Leigh and Eric Gibson have been performing together since encouraged in their youth by a minister in the borderlands of upstate New York, where they still reside. They received a Best Emerging Artist nod from the IBMA in 1998 and went on to record four albums for Sugar Hill Records- Bona Fide, Long Way Back Home, Red Letter Day, and Iron and Diamonds in 2008.
 

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