Steve Dawson released his sixth solo album earlier this month. The Chicago-based singer/songwriter is known as the front man for the alt-country band Dolly Varden. Nonetheless, he has also built a solid reputation for his solo efforts and his new album has been long awaited since 2021’s exceptional At The Bottom of a Canyon in the Branches of a Tree.
Ghosts was released on Pravda Records on June 7, 2024, and opens with the retrospective “Time To Let Some Light In.” It basically tells us the past is the past and it is time to move on. The rest of the album tells us we are all haunted by ghosts from our past, that no matter how much we try to leave events in the past they are still always with us.
“Yes,” Steve told me. “It is a constant battle to stay in the present moment while all these thoughts from the past keep coming back, interrupting and derailing our progress.”
The songs on the album are largely based on Steve’s personal experiences in life. “Leadville” is based on his experience growing up in Hailey, a small Idaho town near Sun Valley. The song comes across a country-rocker with no punches pulled. Steve noted, “’Leadville’ seems to be getting the notice of a lot of guys. It is really interesting to me and to my wife. There seems to be this undercurrent of middle-aged men who were sickened by the environment we grew up in.”
“Sooner Than Expected” is a reminder that we may not have the little more time we were counting on – whether it be in life, in love, or in friendship. “Oh, California,” the single from the album, is another song many people seem to respond to when Steve performs. “When I Finally Let You Down” is about people he has known.
“A lot of people like that one, too,” Steve said. “Boy, what a dark song. That one is more of a character song and less my own experience. A lot of the songs on this album are very much personal experiences, but that one is fiction. I mean, I come from a long line of alcoholics whose lives are in shambles, but that is not my personal experience.”
Ghosts features a number of musicians well known in the Windy City – Chicago’s Wrecking Crew, if you will. “I got this guy Gerald Dowd, a phenomenal drummer and a singer/songwriter. I wanted to make a record with him forever, so he’s the drummer. The bass player is John Abbey who also is a recording engineer at Kingsize Sound Labs. We recorded (the album) at his studio.”
Steve Dawson, Gerald Dowd, and John Abbey appear on all ten tracks. They are joined on other tracks by Brian Wilke, who Steve describes as “a pedal steel player who is a magical musician,” and “ my friend Alton Smith on piano.” Instrumentally, Chris Greene on saxophone and trumpeter John Moore round out the group.
“I brought in some guest vocalists,” Steve added. “My friend Nora O’Connor sings on “Oh, California.” My wife, Diane Christiansen, who has been in Dolly Varden with me the whole time, sings on a handful of songs. My friend Ingrid Graudins sang on “Weather In The Desert” and then sadly passed away right after that.”
Steve told me living in Chicago it is hard not to be immersed in the city’s rich tradition of blues and soul music even though his own voice and music tend to sound like folk or alternative rock. “I guess when I make my own songs I can’t escape the singer/songwriter world I grew up in,” he says. “I guess it is hardwired into what I do.” Well Steve, the songs appearing on Ghosts is a good example of what you do, and you do it very well.
