Edmonton Journal 

Country Music News

     Over the past fifteen years that hotel's tavern has hosted the occasional performance by composer, singer and pianist Stewart MacDougall. Those performances, for those of us who were fortunate enough to have known they were happening, were memorable indeed. Whether MacDougall was setting sparks for a collective cowboy boogie as a member of a short lived, but fondly remembered swing/cajun/honky-tonk quartet called The Cowtones, or painting a more cerebral sound with the musical poetry he created as a member of  The Great Western Orchestra, the end result of such sessions would be filed under the category "nights never to be forgotten". The memories of such seemingly perfect evenings of music, merriment and camaraderie today act as a reminder of what an important and special contributor MacDougall has been to the western Canadian music scene over the past two decades. 

     His work as a solo artist, collaborator, accompanist, sideman, tunesmith, arranger and bandleader has made a lasting impression, for all the right reasons, on both the individuals he's worked with and those who have taken the time to catch performances he's been a part of.

     So in a sense MacDougall, a native of New Brunswick who has called Edmonton home for about two decades, has over the years found himself with two listening audiences. As a player, in any of the aforementioned capacities, he's always risen to the challenge of connecting with an audience. The settings have been as varied as the musical components. He's done his job and won over crowds in bars as well as concert halls where he's played with a symphony behind him. From his participation in songwriter's workshops at major folk festivals and country music conferences, to rodeos to bluegrass fests as well as shows at cowboy poetry gatherings and spots on national television, MacDougall has pretty much played in every kind of venue imaginable.
 

   The combinations of talent he's worked with over the years  have been no less interesting . He was an important member of a loosely knit aggregation called the Grand Ol' Uproar that had a rotating membership that included, among others, National Fiddle Champ Calvin Vollrath, singer Cindy Church and bluesman Bill Bourne. Stewart's infectious and deeply rooted honky-tonk piano playing was a major component in the original line-up of k.d. lang's reclines when that band was formed in Edmonton in the m id-eighties. A few years later as a member of  The Chinook Arch Riders, this keyboard player was complimenting Ian Tyson's classic country and cowboy songs with an entirely different approach that leaned more toward a soundscape style of playing. MacDougall's time spent as a driving force in The Great Western Orchestra during much of the nineties resulted in two terrific discs, Buffalo Ground and Wind In The Wire. Another wonderful momento from the GWO days is the National Film Board of Canada short film Cactus Swing. The world-class animation, featuring dancing desert dwelling creatures, still shows up on Bravo! as a musical interlude from time to time. The GWO took him to audiences not only around Alberta but throughout North America and as far away as Indonesia and China, of all places. His bold, bright and at times muscular outpourings on the 88's have also added wonderful dimension to the performances of artists as diverse as superb fellow songwriters Katy Moffatt and Danny Mack and the renowned late-great mandolin ace Jethro Burns.

     The other audience that has kept an ear faithfully tuned to MacDougall's musical musings are those singers who know a good song when they hear one. Over the years songs that have a MacDougall writing or co-writing credit have been cut by an impressive and select group of recording artists. His hypnotic Busy Being Blue was cut not once, but twice by k.d. lang, the second time at the insistence of the revered country producer Owen Bradley, who was in charge of lang's Shadowland sessions. Wind In The Wire, a co-write which became the title song for the GWO release, was first recorded by Ian Tyson on his I Outgrew The Wagon album. It was also snapped up by Randy Travis who put his stamp on the outstanding number as well as Cowboy Boogie, which MacDougall also co-wrote and recorded while working in the GWO. MacDougall's association with the GWO goes back to '89, when the first recorded incarnation of the group cut a spicy tune he co-wrote titled There Ain't No Cowgirls Down In New Orleans. That Sony disc is now a collectors item. 

     Another MacDougall tune having a southern flavor at it's core is the cajun rave -up Zydeco Began, which most recently appeared on A Letter Home, the latest release from the legendary Sneezy Waters.

   So even though versatility and all around outstanding talent has led MacDougall down many interesting musical roads, it's been his skill as a songwriter that has been his constant ace. Which bring us to this, his first solo offering, Gathering Time. 

     This is indeed a solo album in the truest sense. Streamlined performances. The man, his keyboards, his words and music with only a few embellishments here and there. Some of the pieces are new, a few have been around a while, and a couple were borrowed from great sources, those being Man Walks Among Us from the book of Marty Robbins and Tom Russell's modern day cock fighting epic Gallo del Cielo. These are all heartfelt performances and MacDougall's words, thoughts and emotions are laid out here without any fancy wrapping or diversions. His voice stands alone. A voice molded out of experience that covers all types of fertile musical ground. From singing in church on Sunday morning at an early age, to absorbing the soul of greats from Robbins to Ray Charles, the influences are many and have been rolled into a sound that is distinctive and easily recognizable. It would be hard to believe the man hasn't either witnessed or lived the thoughts and stories he's conveying.

     These days MacDougall is once again taking his songs to live audiences around the west. A recent performance this observer witnessed in Edmonton found him knocking off one great original tune after another for a crowd that was more than appreciative of the music set in front of them. The response was similar to that for those rare performances at the Longview Hotel and, judging by this set of fine songs, those of us who have followed Stewart MacDougall and his music will be on the receiving end of more memorable evenings from this hard working and talented musician.

Peter North
Freelance roots music journalist, Edmonton, Alberta,
March 1999

MacDougall coming into his musical prime:
Top-notch tunes, distinctive voice on Gathering Time

Peter North 
Special to the Journal 
EDMONTON 

Over the past couple of decades this singer-songwriter, who came to our city from his native New Brunswick, has time and time again delivered music of a very high standard in a variety of settings. 

It's been a while coming but MacDougall has finally added his first solo album to that impressive resume and it's a fine collection of material that rests under the title Gathering Time. 

Recorded in a couple of local studios, the disc casts a bright light on both the man's top-notch songwriting abilities and his distinctive and strong voice. 

Minimal production is also a key ingredient as the use of his various keyboards, from digital piano to organ and his vocals are once in a while embellished by restrained pedal steel guitar lines and additional vocals. 

He's pleased with the disc and should be, as it avoids, in his words, "being genre specific." 

this is a tunesmith, who after all, has had more success than any other Edmonton writer in having songs picked up by other artists. Over the years k.d. lang, Randy Travis, Ian Tyson and Laura Vinson have cut MacDougall written numbers. He was also one of the creative sparkplugs in a version of the Great Western Orchestra. 

"My songs start out as hardcore country but they can grow in a variety ways. What I like about playing them solo is that I can reinvent them everytime I perform them," adds MacDougall who has envisioned them being rearranged by any number of artists. 

Interestingly enough, MacDougall chose to fire up the album with one of the two covers, a sturdy version of Man Walks Among Us, which was written by Marty Robbins. 

The late, great singer-songwriter was one of MacDougall's heroes. 

You can hear the influence the sounds of church had on his music both in the changes and sonically with the piano and organ as well.                     top of next column

Fans will hear most of the new disc tonight at Riverdale Hall as well as familiar tunes from his catalogue and a few more that he's unveiling for the first time. 

"I'll mix in Buffalo Ground and Cactus Swing plus some new co-writes. There are two I wrote with Billy Cowsill, Stubborn Case and Hide Myself and another I just completed with Michael Shellard (One HOrse Blue) called Away I Will Be." 

You can bet he'll tear into Tom Russell's cock-fighting classic Gallo Del Cielo as well. Although many of us thought Joe Ely may have recorded the final and possibly definitive version of the well-travelled epic - MacDougall's is a winner. 

"Well, the direct response to the whole album has been strong but I was also pleased that Tom Russell likes my version of Gallo," said MacDougall. 

While he hasn't been gigging live a lot, his voice is in performance shape as he's constantly singing at home. 

When asked what some of his career highlights have been, the musician - who also lists Van Morrison, Merle Haggard, Ian Tyson and Gordon Lightfoot as other major influences - didn't ponder for an answer. 

"The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra shows with the Great Western Orchestra in '95 stand out, as do the three nights I did with Ian Tyson as a member of the Chinook Arch Riders with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. 

"I really enjoyed the Folk Festival workshop I did with Chip Taylor, Sylvia Tyson and Marc Jordan a few years ago. There were some magic nights with k.d. lang and Sneezy Waters too," added this very complete musician and creative artist. 

You can also find out a bit more about his impressive career on his new home page at http://shop.westworld.ca/troubleclef

As usual the odds are it will be another sold-out Full Moon Folk Club show so consider snapping up an advance ticket during the day at Southside Sound or Tix On The Square. Regina's Newkirk and Bell are the opening act. 
 
 

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Gathering Time represents Stewart MacDougall's first solo effort - and it's a wonderful trip through newly charted musical waters. MacDougall has a mellow, crystal clear vocal delivery (no muffled, mumbled, incomprensible (sic) lyrics here,, and the material presented is all soft and smooth and surrounded by equally calm and soothing arrangements. MacDougall wrote all but two of the offerings and his own keyboard work (piano and organ) is the most predominant instrumentation on the album. 

Several tunes stand out. Face In The Mirror (not the Gene MacLellan classic) is a particularly strong effort and probably the most commercial item on the album. Sleep Come Take Me Home is a bluesy tune that Stewart MacDougall delivers to perfection; When I Surrender is another vocal treasure emphasizing the "spiritual" flavour that exists throughout Gathering Time.

Two cover songs are also included. Stewart MacDougall does a "quieter" version of the great story song Gallo Del Cielo which has been previously done by the composer Tom Russell, as well as by Ian Tyson and Joe Ely; and MacDougall delves nicely into Marty Robbins songbook fro the message song, God (sic) Walks Among Us which was first heard on Robbins' classic 1964 Return Of The Gunfighter Lp. 

Gathering Time was produced by Stewart MacDougall and recorded at Beta Sound Studio, and CBC's Studio B in Edmonton. 

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Warm are the winds on the desert
A whirlwind is dancing around
I stop to survey all the beauty that's here
when a shadow moves out ’cross the ground
It's an eagle that circles above me
and he screams to his friends on the hill
"Stay close together
Move not a feather
Man walks among us, be still, be still
Man walks among us, be still"

Everything hides, but I see them
I've spotted an old mother quail
I look close and see looking right back at me
the eyes of a young cottontail
I see a coyote sneaking
as he crawls through the brush on the hill
And the eagle screams down
"Stay close to the ground
Man walks among us, be still, be still
Man walks among us, be still"

Twenty feet high, in the side of a cactus
I see a hole where the butcherbird stays
If mortals could choose, and if Heaven should ask us
Here's where I'd want to spend all of my days

Soon will be gone all the desert
Cities will cover each hill
Today will just be
a fond memory
Man walks among us, be still, be still
Man walks among us, be still

Written by Marty Robbins
Published by Martys Music / Unichappell Music Inc. 
Administered by Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
Reprinted with Permission of Administrator
 
 
 

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Another day is done
Again the night will come
Sleep come take me home
Before I travel on
Let me rest my weary bones
Sleep come take me home

Far though I wander
It's home I am led
When onto my pillow 
I lay down my head

Bring shelter, bring relief,
Sweet slumber, bring me peace 
Sleep come take me home

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
 

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He was no thief
He just needed some bread
What kind of man
leaves his family unfed?
Why call him a liar
and put him in jail
'cause his has been taken
and yours is for sale?

Right side of the tracks
Wrong side of the hill
Turnin'our backs
is turnin' the mill
When it happens to you 
you'll be fixin' to kill
Right side of the tracks
Wrong side of the hill

She was no tramp
She just needed some sleep
A promise that's made
is a promise to keep
Why make her unwanted?
Why call her unclean?
When you call her immoral
do you know what you mean?

Right side of the tracks
Wrong side of the hill.....

Buyin' our children
and sellin' their bones
One from the Smiths
one from the Jones
Givin' them numbers
and takin'their names
Putting them under
and shiftin' the blame

Right side of the tracks
Wrong side of the hill.....

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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Can you see me if it's only 
in the safety of the shadows ?
If you're lonely is it only for tonight ?
Am I guilty if you love me? 
If you love me can you say so?
If you say so will it only be a lie? 
Will you run if there's a warning ? 
Will you stay until the morning?
If I trust you, what in silence have I said?
Could I be with you and not be haunted? 
Could I be the one you wanted 
if I give in and pretend? 

And lie with you 
And lie for you
And when it's done am I the only one
to never really know the truth
And lie with you 
And lie for you ?

If it’s only you and I know
who am I to wear a halo? 
If I'm fallen is it only from my pride?
Will you hurt me if I hold you?
If I hold you can I let go?
If I let go, will you hold me when I cry?
If I touch you for a moment 
Will it free me from my torment?
When it's over, have I cheated on a friend?
Could I come to heaven unforgiven 
If I'm tempted to believe in 
your salvation in the end 

And lie with you 
And lie for you.....

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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That's his face in the mirror, but I don't remember 
The eyes were so tired, or the hair was so thinner
There's one in the rear view that's younger and freer
Now I'm face to face with the face in the mirror

I'd watch every morning from the foot of the stair
While he lathered his whiskers and laquered his hair
When he left for the office at a quarter to nine
He was late for the bus, it was always on time

That's his face in the mirror.....

I'd wait 'til his five o'clock shadow came home
Then I'd ask him when I could have one of my own 
When he let me stay up 'til a quarter to nine
My mother would say it was past my bedtime

That's his face in the mirror.....

I waited a lifetime to stand in his place
And put soap to my stubble, and steel to my face
I'm late for the bus, it's a quarter to nine
But the face in the mirror is finally mine

That's his face in the mirror.....

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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Carlos Zaragoza left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full
No money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in gold
He headed for El Sueco,stole a rooster called "Gallo del Cielo"
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that chicken nestled deep beneath his arm.

Gallo de Cielo was a rooster born in heaven so the legends say
His wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head
He'd fought a hundred fights, and the legends say that one night near El Sueco
They'd fought Cielo seven times, and seven times he'd left brave roosters dead.

Hola, my Teresa, I'm thinking of you now in San Antonio
I have twenty-seven dollars and the locket with your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll bet it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago. 

Outside of San Diego, in the onion fields of Paco Monteverde
The Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk
And they laughed when Zaragosa pulled the one-eyed del Cielo from beneath his coat
But they cried when Zaragosa walked away with a thousand dollar bill. 

Hola, my Teresa, I'm thinking of you now in Santa Barbara
I have fifteen hundred dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll put it all behind the fighting spurs of Gallo del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago. 

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern lights spills shadows on the fighting sand
A wicked black named Zorro faces de Cielo in the night
And Carlos Zaragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his rooster's beak
And he fears that he has lost the fifty thousand that is riding on the fight. 

Hola, my Teresa, I'm thinking of you now in Santa Clara
Oh, the money's on the table, I am holding now your good luck framed in gold
And eveything we dream of is riding on the spurs of del Cielo
I pray that I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago.

Then the signal it was given, and the cocks they rose together far above the sand
Gallo de Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny breast
They were separated quickly and they rose and fought each other thirty-seven times
And the legends say that everyone agreed that del Cielo fought the best.

Then the screams of Zaragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara
As the beak of del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand
And they say that Zaragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
When Zorro rose up one last time and drove de Cielo to the sand.

Hola, my Teresa, I'm thinking of you now in San Francisco
There's no money in my pocket, I no longer have your picture framed in gold
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved del Cielo
I'll not return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago.

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
Does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
Do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo de Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.

Words and Music by Tom Russell
© 1979 End of the Trail Music SOCAN
Reprinted with permission of publisher
 

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When I surrender
When the fight is gone from me
from my warfare I'll be free
There will be honour

When I surrender 
and to her my arms release
She will open hers in peace
I will forgive her
When I surrender

When I surrender 
She will show me mercy ever tender
When I defend her
I will know forever how to mend her

When I surrender
To the calling of my name
I will answer without shame
I am her prisoner
When I surrender

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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Warm west wind blew right through the room
Tasted just like springtime on a winter afternoon
We are still as restless, we who are as old
Forever driven to a land we've never known
Nowhere to go

We followed freedom callin' down the road
Dared the wind to catch us then we raced it for the coast
Left in such a hurry  we barely said good-bye
Our eyes wide open and our tears already dry
Nowhere to go

Nowhere to go
Where do you go when there’s nowhere to go?
I wanna know where to go

From this place it's we who once belonged
Who now must take our leave and find a world beyond
Never free from passion never without pain
Pullin' up our collars standin' in the rain
Nowhere to go......

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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Come from the islands
Come from the old lands
O'er the horizon the new lands await
Frontiers are callin'
I hear them callin'
Come to the unbroken ground, come away

Come from the darkness
Come to the sweetness
Come with forgiveness, come away
Come away,
Come to the unbroken ground, come away

Come from the Highlands
Come from the Lowlands
Behold the silent and virgin terrain
New vistas callin'
I hear them callin'
Come to the unbroken ground, come away

Come from the twilight
Come to a new life
Come with a new light, come away
Come away,
Come to the unbroken ground, come away

Words and Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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A postlude for piano, tambourine and two hammond organs 

Music by Stewart MacDougall
© Trouble Clef Music Ltd. SOCAN
All rights reserved
 

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