It would be easy for Tom Russell to coast on reputation alone. With a career stretching back nearly four decades, and a catalogue of more than 20 albums, the consummate storyteller has amassed a devoted following that cherishes his vivid, novelistic tales evoking the spirit of the American experience in tightly constructed, panoramic vignettes. Among his most ardent fans are fellow artists: Russell’s compositions have been covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, k.d. lang, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Iris Dement, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark and Dave Van Ronk.
But all of that work has, in Russell’s own estimation, been a first act. The dozen new songs comprising Blood And Candle Smoke “start the second half of the story, reaching out toward wider realms,” he says, 25 years after the release of his debut solo album, Heart on a Sleeve. “I feel I’ve at least got five or 10 records left in me.”
