The life story of singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt sounds like the script of a movie, but the palpable emotion in his lyrics and vocals tell us it is all very real. Born in 1964 and adopted by a family in Georgia, Chesnutt spent his childhood surrounded by the vast nature of rural Georgia. At 18, Chesnutt was paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident, leaving him bound to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.
Soon after, he moved to Tennessee and began to read poetry that ultimately influenced his moving and personal songwriting. After short stints in bands, Chesnutt moved back to Georgia where he began to perform as a solo act at local bars. It was at one of these bar shows where Chesnutt would meet R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe, who encouraged Chesnutt to begin recording his original music. In order to do so, Stipe agreed to produce Chesnutt’s debut, 1990’s Little. The intimacy of the record jumps out of the grooves and wraps you in the warmth of Chesnutt’s soft tones. This led to Stipe working on Chesnutt’s sophomore and thus, the wildly imaginative world of Vic Chesnutt’s discography was born.
A crown jewel of Chesnutt’s career is celebrating a major milestone today. Chenutt’s sixth studio album, The Salesman & Bernadette, was released 25 years ago on November 10, 1998. It was recorded with the alt-country juggernaut Lambchop, a twelve-piece outfit willing to bring a dash of color to Chesnutt’s muted and murky sound. The drastic switch in sound proved to be a worthy risk as the 14 songs featured on the LP are some of the best of Chesnutt’s career. With the southern orchestra taking over playing duties, Chesnutt’s vocals feel as free as ever, allowing him to dip into moments of southern soul along with his signature folk-inspired sound. The album finds solace in the middle ground between minimal and colossal, the perfect recipe for some classic southern sounds.
The sonic leap Chesnutt took from his 1990 debut to The Salesman & Bernadette proved his diversity as an artist. Going from the fireside chat style with almost nothing but him, his guitar, and his words to the smooth horns and bombastic sound of Lambchop put Chesnutt’s songwriting to the test. Miraculously, Chesnutt needed to change very little about his songwriting to match the new sonic territory, his poetic approach to songwriting can pull at your heartstrings even if it was set to a car crash. The album kicks off with two somber examples of Lambchop’s artistry, “Duty Free” and “Bernadette and Her Crowd” which has Chesnutt crooning to gentle melodies. The album picks up with “Replenished”, arguably one of Chesnutt’s greatest musical offerings. The backing vocals perform an interpretive dance with the spurts of horns that line the track as our hero puts on a stunning vocal performance. This juxtaposition sits at the core of The Salesman and Bernadette, an LP brimming with artistic risks that pay off tremendously.
Unfortunately, the story of Vic Chesnutt came to an end on Christmas day in 2009 when he passed far too soon. The discography he left behind is filled with personal stories that attack emotions most try to bury deep down. Chesnutt fearlessly wrote and recorded multiple albums that are lined with his novel-esque penmanship, each song containing its own universe. The Salesman and Bernadette cement a moment in Chesnutt’s legacy that showed him coming into his own as an artist, creating a confident outing that, even 25 years later, feels immediate and mesmerizing.
