Dar Williams

While still in her early twenties, Dar Williams won over both fans and critics with her combination of masterful storytelling and musical genius.

Williams launched her music career on the Boston-Cambridge coffeehouse folk circuit, but her early artistic ties were closer to Hartford-based songwriter Nerissa Nields - both share a knack for complex characters and narrative development - rare in the medium of song.

Her first collection of songs, The Honesty Room, was released on Waterbug Records in 1994; the already skyrocketing album was picked up by Razor & Tie the following year. With songs like "When I Was A Boy," "The Great Unknown," and "I Love, I Love" (plus the popular "Alleluia" and "The Babysitter Song"), The Honesty Room remains perhaps her most seminal album. Throughout, real poetry drives melody lines that are both strong and beautiful in a way that, while recalling Joni Mitchell, is completely original. For one thing, her songs distill a kind of generational wisdom that has rarely been seen since the days of early Dylan (Yes, there's Ani DiFranco, but Williams' work is more sophisticated, showing an understanding of the human condition that transcends age groups).

In 1996 she released The Mortal City and in 1997 End of the Summer - both of which show signs of bending to the pressure of her rapidly growing audience of teenaged girls and college-age women. Masterpieces like "February" and "End of the Summer" are mixed with songs like "Teenagers Kick Our Butts" and "The Christians and the Pagans," which make no secret of their intent. Her 2000 release, The Green World, marks a return to her core strengths as a first-rate artist.

Williams' career is unique in the extent to which it was fueled early on by the internet. Word of mouth praise of her writing and engaging performances spread nearly instantaneously. Later tours with Joan Baez and the trio of Cry, Cry, Cry (with Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky) helped secure her an international audience.

While other recent folk phenoms have generated dozens of imitators (Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin), Dar has none.

Important Songs

• "When I Was A Boy"
• "The Babysitter Song"
• "The Great Unknown"
• "February"
• "End of the Summer"
• "Calling the Moon"

Discography

• The Honesty Room. (Waterbug/Razor and Tie).
• Mortal City (Razor and Tie).
• The End of the Summer (Razor and Tie).
• The Green World. (Label). (see my review)
• Live! (2001 - coming soon)

Influences

Williams best songs have a literary quality, and her major traceable influences may be writers and playwrights from Shakespeare to Adrienne Rich. Some musical influences might include:

• Joni Mitchell
• Suzanne Vega
• Ferron
• Nerissa Nields

Sites to Check Out

• Official Home Page: http://www.darwilliams.com - useful for info about new releases, tour schedule, commercial press.
• Main Fan Site: http://www.darwilliams.net - a great site for real fans of the music and the artist.
• Nearly complete archive of song lyrics, chords & tabs: http://www.darwilliams.net/music.html
  

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com

 

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