Thursday, July 18, 2002

[Beth Wood] Live!

by Marianne Meyer

Beth Wood is a musical triple-threat - a thoughtful songwriter and talented multi-instrumentalist with a supple, soulful voice. If you haven’t heard of her, it’s not your fault, or hers. She has had a few breaks - her debut album, 1996’s "Woodwork" had a song ("Geometry") featured on Fox television’s popular series, "Party of Five," and her third album, "Late Night Radio"(1999), was met with great reviews around the same time she was voted Campus Activities Club’s Performer of theYear for her relentless schedule of dynamic college performances. But when her fledgling label went bankrupt, Wood was stuck in that limbo reserved for genuine talents who don’t fit the MTV model or have major label backing. Their loss is music fans’ gain, because you can see a performer of Wood’s caliber at a comfy local place tonight.

Wood grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and was classically trained in piano, violin, harp and voice. After a brief detour for some college studies in North Carolina, she finished her schooling at the University of Texas, picking up a degree in literature as well as her first guitar. After a few years of playing around Austin, first in a band and then in a duo, she returned to western North Carolina and became a standout in the Asheville songwriters’ community. Now she occasionally resides in Arlington - Texas, that is - while regularly touring at music festivals, intimate acoustic venues and campuses across the country. Her road work has paired her with such artists as Steve Winwood, Shawn Colvin, David Crosby and Freedy Johnston.

Wood’s most recent album, last year’s "Ghostwriter," has a more stripped-down sound than "Late Night Radio," which featured full-band production by Don McColllister (Indigo Girls, Sister Hazel). On the new album, most of the instruments are played by Wood and her producer, Chris Rosser, making for a more intimate, but never lightweight, album. Playing and solo, Wood is folksy, yes, but also offers jazz, pop and rock accents. Although her subject matter is usually love, family and other complicated relationships, she veers into other territory, too, such as the comfort of good music on long drives ("Late Night Radio") or the travels of a favorite CD taken by a bad roommate ("My Miles Davis ‘Kind of Blue’"). She might do an a cappella number to show off her vocal range, or display her guitar chops with a cover of Richard Thompson’s "1952 Vincent Black Lightning." Get other clues on what to expect at her Web site, www.bethwoodmusic.com.