Doc Fell & Co: Revelations
Revelations are upon us, and it is not only the title of Doc Fell & Co.’s newest release, but also the feeling you may get while listening to it. A revelation is what makes you consider some factor of human existence in a new or different way, and that is the running theme of the 11 songs on their 4th studio album. Recorded at Monotone Studios in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Doc and his band, Brad Rice (Drums), John Barker (Bass), Jordan Cox (harmonica, accordion, vocals) and Kyle Brown (lead guitar) were joined by other well-known and accomplished Oklahoma artists Kyle Nix (fiddle), Hank Early (pedal steel), Thomas Trapp (acoustic guitar), Terry Day (dobro), Ahna Jennings (vocals), Amber Watson (vocals) and Autumn Ragland (vocals) to build the tone for each of the mini-sermons on life offered up here. The use of their hometown studio and focus of using homegrown musicians gave them the time and control they wanted while recording with a strong and grounded Oklahoma character felt from the first note.
“Dear Jane” sounds like it could be from a story set in an old western. The imagery of a strong female protagonist, Jane, moving forward after many hardships is punctuated by Kyle Nix’s fiery fiddle and Amber Watson’s beautiful harmonies. “She could feel the tears coming, she just couldn’t cry/ Somewhere between falling and learning how to fly/ She’s running to a river that’s done gone dry.”
“Borrowed Time” digs into some strong, hard-working Oklahoma musician pride. With percussion hitting all the right points and fast fingers on the guitar strings, Ahna Jennings and Jordan Cox’s vocals also help move those images forward into our hearts. If you know and support touring artists, you can really connect when he sings, “I’ve spent nights without a bed out here searching for something/ Played until my fingers bled and I walked away with nothing.” (Keep supporting artists however you can!)
“Prairie Wind” is a heartfelt duet with Amber Watson that seems an ode to a familiar woman in Doc’s life. The lyrics analogize her to a prairie wind, grassfire, a bottle rocket to show her fire, and sparkling ocean and molasses to show her sweetness. In the end, they remind us of her impact when they sing, ”She’s not just the air you breathe, she’s the earth on which you stand/ You love her hard as a diamond, ‘cause she makes you a man.”
“Boxes” moves quickly from containing the physical songs and letters written being stored in a box, then leads us to the regret he feels for not playing those songs or sending those letters to someone he loves. “I’ve got boxes in my mind full of the past/ Things I can’t outfun and I damn sure won’t outlast.” The reminder that we are here for a short while and should take those opportunities to love is illustrated when he sings, “The only thing that’s real is space and time/ A blink between the cradle and a box of pine/ My lost love sprinkled like the dew, cast down each night by the moon, sad and blue.”
“That Spark” is a song about trying to understand a weakening relationship, and describing aspects that lead to the impending failure with the chorus “Did you give up on me or did we just quit trying/ The only truth I ever found is we were truly lying/ Now we’re lying all alone in the dark/ Wondering how we ever lost that spark.” It ends with self reflection and possibly seeking a path to forgiveness and redemption in the future, but things are just too heavy right now. “I swear to God there must be light, but I can’t see it here tonight/ Buried in this avalanche of snow.” Autumn Ragland harmonizes perfectly as the female protagonist in the song.
“Silly Little Song” is also a sweet little song that puts you straight on a beach happily thinking of someone in your life who you love. With it’s Jimmy Buffett and Jack Johnson vibe, it’ll make you smile, just like it is intended to do as the closer of the album. “This silly little song gives me a silly little smile/ It reminds me all day long I’ll be with you in a while.”
There are five more amazing songs for you to discover that toggle between brokenness and feeling whole, fragility and strength, and Revelations will offer connectedness to those feelings for everyone who listens. The musical styles vary from light to dark, the tempo from slow to fast, and the influences from traditional country, to beach music, to rock. All of these elements blend together for fantastic new music from Doc Fell & Co. and you can get it here: https://music.apple.com/us/album/revelations/1519637969