Colorado singer-songwriter Jeff Cramer is gearing up for the upcoming release of his debut solo album, Northern 45. Recorded at the Bombshelter recording studio in Nashville, TN, the album was produced by Jon Estes, bassist for John Paul White and Abigail Washburn. It’s set for release this Friday -January 25th, 2019.
Glide is proud to premiere the album in full below. Cramer showcases a brooding openheartedness and warm crackly diversity of alt-country, ballads and studio rock reminiscent of early Ryan Adams (Whiskeytown) and Hayes Carll.
“The record, my first, is really a collection of adventures from across the northern 45th parallel I’ve collected over the past decade – some real, some imagined,” adds Cramer. “The stories chronicle the highs of the open road as well as the lows of heartache and loss. I’ve always been a bit of hi-fi nerd too, so it was a lot of fun to lay it all down by way of 5+ decade old analog tape machines and vintage microphones in Nashville with some of my musical heroes.”
Northern 45 brings together a powerhouse of Grammy Award-winning talent including Estes on bass and keyboard, Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on guitar, as well as Steelism’s Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum Jr. (the latter fresh off of working with Miranda Lambert). The album also features drummer Dave Racine of Jim Lauderdale’s band and backing vocalist Molly Parden.
The songs on Northern 45 were a decade in the making, with each of them heralding back to Cramer’s Midwestern roots and sense of adventure. Cramer’s musical stories began to take form on his journey from northern Wisconsin to Bolivia and back to Washington D.C., up through the wilds of Maine, and through the crisp, mountainous air of Denver, Colorado.
Eleven original songs on Northern 45 were written on various outposts during his travels along the northern 45th parallel (with many of them penned “way up theya in Maine,” says Cramer). Life on the road is exciting, but it’s still life, which means the complexity of love, loss, and the struggle for forgiveness. Cramer does a masterful job of taking the listener along on his geographical and emotional adventures. Even as he explores life’s big questions, Cramer never takes himself too seriously; he’s the kind of storyteller you’d love to share a campfire with.
In the wilds of “Bo Tim,” Cramer explores the legend of a man who follows his dream to move to the frontier and live off of the land, only to become swallowed up by the land itself. He takes listeners on a journey through life, transition, and deliverance in the sunny, banjo-backed “In the Garden” – a song that found its roots in watching his grandfather pass on.
Cramer’s cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Colorado Girl” pays a masterful homage to his Denver home. Finally, backed by gentle finger-picking, the deeply autobiographical “The Rebel” channels the style and lonesome theme of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”
The decision to record at the Bombshelter, known as an “analog paradise,” was no accident. “I’ve always been a bit of a hi-fi nerd, following great producers like Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno, and T-Bone Burnett,” Cramer explains. “I wanted both to capture the songs and also make warm sounds.” When Estes suggested recording at the Bombshelter with a few of Cramer’s musical heroes, Cramer jumped at the chance.
“We made the record over about 12 days in March, which seemed to make up about the best two weeks of weather Nashville ever gets. Rather than picking a single sound and band, we opted for three or four different sonic landscapes featuring a few lineups, but always keeping the warmth of one of my three 50+ year old guitars and my voice on a vibey vintage Neumann U67 at the center,” Cramer says. “Given the songs were written at various points across a decade, I think the approach matched the story of the record – keeping a balance of consistency and diversity of feel throughout the record.”
One Response
Great article! Looking forward to checking this album out. Love that it’s pressed to vinyl! 🙂