Review: Vance Gilbert: ‘The Mother of Trouble’

Vance Gilbert
The Mother of Trouble
4 out of 5 stars

Vance Gilbert is a remarkably versatile performer, given an ability to easily slide between genres and actually excel at each. The 14 studio albums he’s released over the course of a more than 35-year career attest to both his verve and versatility.

 In a sense, The Mother of Trouble provides a compendium of all he’s done before, a set of songs that segue smoothly between styles while sharing stories of hope and heartache, tragedy, and turmoil. I never had a chance to say I’m sorry, you never had a chance to tell me to go straight to hell, he sings, flush with remorse, to the victim of past bullying in “Black Rochelle.” Not that he’s always so generous; You ain’t a bad person, you’re just bad for me, he insists on the brassy “Bad For Me,” an all too pointed rebuke.

That said, he shares his sentiment in more positive ways as well, as when he expresses his devotion to the object of his desire on “One or Two of These Things,” insisting, If you were a championship home run, I would be the centerfielder’s catcher glove. That in itself is a corny but convincing testament to his fidelity. So too, while sadder circumstances intrude on several of these songs, an upbeat attitude still manages to prevail throughout. His pervasive performance of the Carpenters’ classic “Close To You” is but one example, but also the funk-fueled title track, the spunky and sprightly “Body in the Well,” and a swinging soiree, “A Room Somewhere,” create added exuberance with more than a hint of wit and humor.

Other offerings find more of a middle ground, as expressed through the calming caress of “Simple Things” and the emotive piano ballad “I Hope He’s the One This Time.”

Ultimately, all find a common bond through personal perspective, one that imbues the album with both humility and humanity. Here’s proof that even a mother of trouble can have a sympathetic side.

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