It took me all these years
To find my peace among these hills,
To stop the ringing in my ears,
The grinding of the mills.
(Among these Hills)
The new HT Roberts album, Acres of Time, is a country album. Plain and simple. Straightforward and open. One from the heart.
Its been a long time in the making, one might even say a lifetime. Born in 57 , in Belgium, HT got blown away by one man with an acoustic guitar on black and white television, singing No Dogs Allowed by Jose Feliciano. It could have been any singer, any song: it was the early seventies and music and songs still had the power to change the world. If not the so called real world, then at least your own: you could glimpse another way, a different road in the words of a song. At first there were the readily available hits and popsongs on the radio, full of promises and attractions. Then the discovery of what are now called singer-songwriters, the power of an acoustic guitar and a few well chosen words. And finally, emerging from behind them, the pioneers, the tradition, the roots.
Can somebody leave the porchlight burning
So I can find my way home.
(Porchlight)
The beginning is the same everywhere: the feeling of I-want-to-do-that-too, buying a cheap guitar, begging, borrowing or stealing as many lyrics and chord charts as you can find, hours locked inside your room practicing, learning, dreaming. First bands, first disappointments, its not as easy as it looks, giving up never an option. That first vinyl single, Masquerade with that first real band, The Lost, that first taste of not being completely unknown, not being completely unheard. Other bands, other tries, other disappointments.
New band, The Headstarts, new single Barbed Wire, suddenly all over the radio. Loud guitars in places too small, where do we go from here?
Last night I watched the pages fall
From trees that stand as pillars tall
But cannot keep the sky from crushing daylight.
(To Midnight)
Its always the song. Strip away the layers of sound, the lights, the poses and the games: its always the song. Finally ready to set out on your own, with an acoustic guitar and what you hope are well chosen words (and a couple of great people to help you out, because no man is an island). The result: Following the Buffalo: soft and gentle, an album about love, a labour of love. Songs like Country music makes me cry, Wearing Wings, Sweetwater Well, Sophia in the South, acoustic guitars, violins, intimate and close. The first step towards creating something that can stand on its own, without explanations, reservations, justifications.
King of the Rooftops followed the buffalo, much spacier, more floating, a panoramic picture of water and clouds. Went down to the Seashore, Rose of Sharon, Closer to Heaven. A lot less direct, it leaves a lot to be discovered.
Second Thoughts brought it back down to earth. Gritty, stripped down, elemtal. The blues, HT Roberts style. Wise Man, My Fathers Mansion, Turboliner Blues, Short for Jericho, the roots take hold, the tree is growing.
Theres a rooster just outside my window
And its crowing like its going out of style.
Some days I just dont care which way the wind blows
If I can only wake up to your smile.
(The Wonder)
If Second Thoughts brought it down to earth, then Acres of Time is bringing it back home. Songs to cook and eat and drink to, to make love to, to sit outside and talk to a friend to. Music to stretch your eyes. Country music, in every sense of the word: sorrow that can make you feel good, happiness that can make you sad. This album takes you along the old pilgrim trail, among these hills on the road to Damascus. Its a fulfilling trip and its not over yet.
