As a music journalist who listens to hundreds of new releases each year—falling into multiple genres—it’s not often that I’m surprised. That’s especially true of veteran artists, many of whom recycle the same old ideas year after year. Not Russ Seeger. I’ve been familiar with Russ’ music for more than five decades, and he’s never ceased to amaze me with his constant evolution as an artist. As a songwriter, musician, vocalist—all of it—Russ is a true original, and Tracks is his most compelling, exciting music to date. Each tune—and they’re all completely different—begs for repeat plays, revealing new treasures, new nuances, each and every time. Russ Seeger presents a unique vision. For starters, he’s an uncompromising lyricist whose words burrow deep into your skull, knock around for a while, take a breather and then come back for more scrutiny when you least expect it—whether he’s navigating the perils of human relationships or the plight of a flummoxed little insect *yes, you read that correctly). Seeger is also a multi-talented multi-instrumentalist and a compelling frontman, welcoming you into his fine-tuned musical world with each new song. Many of the albums I hear today are lucky to make it through their first play. Tracks continues to call out to me and I just can’t resist its charms. I suspect I’ll be coming back to it over and over again for a long time.
Jeff Tamarkin (Editor, BestClassicBands.com; Contributing Editor, Relix Magazine)
