North Colorado-based singer-songwriter Cary Morin is best known for his amazing finger-picking guitar skills that have earned the respect of icons such as David Bromberg, not to mention many press accolades. In recent years though, Morin has gained great respect for his songwriting too. Dockside Saints, though, is something completely different – great songs delivered by a band of the highest caliber South Louisiana musicians, just brimming with hooks, infectious rhythm and deep soul. Morin’s considerable guitar skills are still on display but not necessarily in the forefront. His songs take on a completely new wardrobe here, dressed in Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco, produced by one of the best in the business, Tony Daigle, at the renowned Dockside Studios, hence the album name.
This was project two years in the making that Morin brushes off rather casually indicating that he’ll “show up with dozen songs and turn these guys loose on them.” In addition to the styles mentioned this version of Morin’s self-professed Native Americana brings in folk, country, blues, and gospel too. The stellar lineup of “turning these guys loose” is bassist Lee Allen Zeno, drummer Brian Brignac, and accordionist Corey Ledet alongside Eric Adcock on keys, Morin’s better half, Celeste Di lorio on harmony vocals with Keith Blair and John Fohl on electric guitars and Beau Thomas on fiddle.
From the opening strains of the pulsating “Nobody Gotta Know” it’s clear that this is a no holds barred session, sizzling with energy. Through the grooves, Morin’s soulful voice is front and center, as his wife provides lush harmony. Adcock and Ledet shine and searing guitar leads stir the mid-section. The requisite change of pace comes immediately with the stirring ballad, “Exception to the Rule” before the swampy, funky sound resumes for “Prisoner,” another strong Morin vocal.
We feel gospel touches with Morin’s goosebump-inducing slide guitar in the standout “Because He Told Me So,” an homage to the church music that has nurtured so many Southern musicians. “Tonight,” with its dark hues, is emblematic of Morin’s signature finger-picking style, one of the few where that style emerges. It’s punctuated with Thomas’ weeping fiddle. “Jamie Rae” is a Zydeco rave-up, ideal for any dancehall or bayou swamp party. “Bare Trees,” as the title suggests, is another atmospheric tune, with layers of organ, accordion, with sustained electric guitar notes and slow sliding fiddle caresses. It soothes as one of the two fully instrumental tracks.
The deeply emotional “Valley of the Chiefs,” touches on Morin’s heritage. He sings, “We are the children of the long-beaked bird / traveling as captives into the night / taken far from the valley / no tears were cried / toward the eastern light.” He explains that the song is “a true story told by my great grandmother at my Crow naming ceremony. It tells of when she was a teenager and was kidnapped by a neighboring tribe. When women were kidnapped back then, they were destined to a life of servitude. She and her friends escape the warriors and are able to steal their horses and ride back home. The moral of the story from my great grandmother to me was that there is nothing in life that you cannot overcome.”
”Chosen Road” begins with a slew of haunting guitar and keyboard notes and unfolds with Native American touches over the indelible chorus “No, I won’t complain” as Morin picks his poignant guitar notes carefully, supported by the band and especially Thomas’ fiddle. The other instrumental, “Cary’s Groove” is a showcase for Adcock’s barrelhouse piano, his B3 organ, Ledet’s accordion, and the insistent beats of Brignac, before the guitars duel in bluesy style. It leads nicely into the slow blues of the warm “Blue Delta Home,” a terrific vocal bathed the soft tones of fiddle and keyboards. “Come the Rain” closes, with Morin on pedal steel, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. He comments, “I was in Lafayette when I wrote this song, about a few days before going into the studio. It is truly the product of a long day’s work in the studio and the persistence of Tony Daigle to create something worthy. It was intended to be a simple, straight-ahead rock-and-roll tune.”
Morin and his wife, Celeste, proclaim a deep love for the South, the passion of which comes through brilliantly with these top-shelf musicians and Daigle’s superb production. The understated Morin brought more than a batch of a dozen songs. He brings a singular soul that fully engages all. Let’s recognize Morin as an outstanding songwriter. He claims he just writes “about fishing and life.” We know better; these are deep songs. We can only imagine what his fishing trips are like.
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