Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon

Together Again

Appalseed

Two years later, the iconic folk singers Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon reunite, building on the success of their 2023 collaboration, Together. So, now we logically have Together Again. This is only the second time the two have appeared on an album as a songwriting team, but they claimed to have written over 100 songs together for that first effort. We knew at least one additional installment was in the works. McCutcheon recruited his usual collaborators for support, tapping fiddler Stuart Duncan, keyboardist Jon Carroll, bassist JT Brown, drummer Steve Fidyk, and steel guitarist Steve Hinson, the latter the only one not appearing on the first effort.

On this generous batch of fourteen tunes, both share vocals on eleven, Paxton taking a solo turn on two and McCutcheon on one. Compared to the previous album, there is far less venom. There’s only one socially conscious tune, but rather story songs, fond memories, pure fun,  a heartfelt tribute, and a few expected hints of mortality. We’ll take them in that order. The one socially conscious tune addresses a common subject in songwriting these days: gun violence. “Stop at Nothing” assails the proliferation of mass shootings with lines such as “When we dare to raise our voices/We hear ‘too soon! Too soon!’/The families and survivors/Are left howling at the moon/And the cowards we elected/Just turn their heads away/While their bloody hands/Accept their Judas pay.’

Paxton delivers a clever story song, “Sgt. O’Reilly,” singing like an Irish bard, as he describes kids scuffling with a cantankerous cop, who was removed from his duties after being found drunk in his car. He never did turn in his badge, however. You’ll learn that it appeared in a most unlikely place. Both writers expressed their love for baseball on the previous record, and return here with a true tale about Ron Neccai, who struck out 27 batters in a game in 1952. The pitcher achieved only a glimpse of fame, represented by the title, “Famous for a Day.” Appropriately, since Paxton grew up during WWII, he regales us with a story of a group of ten flying the B-17 bomber named “Rebel Gal.” Part history, part sarcasm, the protagonist, the pilot, is just 22 years old, naive as could be, leading missions over France. Paxton pays it off in the second-to-last verse –  “Though eighty years have come and gone/We were better than we knew/Back aboard the Rebel Gal/When I was twenty-two.”

McCutcheon brings several fond memories. The leadoff track, “The Future,” depicts a beautifully singing girl not much older than his granddaughter, who left him in awe. The two elders write about man’s best friend in the bittersweet “Old Dog,” while “Ran Away with the Circus” has the protagonist witnessing a third-rate circus that reminds him of every lame circus he saw as a child.

“Cheatin’ While I’m Eatin” is hilarious at first blush until realizing how relatable it is. We, this writer included, may crave a quick fast food stop or the like when alone, realizing that our partner would be aghast.  Yet, the serious side prevails in so many of these tunes whether it be the heartfelt tribute to Pete Seeger in “Pathfinder” or the wisdom that comes with age in “We Know How This Ends.” McCutcheon and Paxton mourn the loss of the daily newspaper as they paint a despairing picture of a lonely man decrying declining sales at the newsstand in “Artie’s Last Stand.” “Last Man Sitting” is even bleaker, as the protagonist realizes he is the last among lifelong friends.

By contrast, they revel in the sheer enjoyment of collaborating on songs in “Every Monday at Two.” “Lay This Guitar Down” turned out to be prophetic as Paxton retired from touring between the time the song was written and recorded. The tune could easily be sappy but instead rings with a tone of triumph, fitting for these two masters, who likely have more installments in store.

• Jim Hynes

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