Denison Witmer

Recovered (Fugitive)
by Tim Den

Forget Bright Eyes, this generation’s best singer/songwriter is Denison Witmer, no doubt about it. Having thoroughly floored me with his last full-length, Philadelphia Songs, Witmer is back with Recovered, a collection of cover songs that sound so perfectly form-fitted to his voice that you’d be hard-pressed to believe they aren’t originals. Witmer captures the simplistic magic of tracks such as Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird,” Graham Nash’s “Simple Man,” and especially Jackson Browne’s “These Days” with effortless grace, his tenor trembling with affection and bottomless depth. While doing a great job of conveying the songs’ original feel, Witmer is able to put his own spin on the mood and pacing of the songs through his delivery, filtering and applying the sentiments as if they were autobiographical. Even tackling an old standard like Carole King’s “So Far Away,” Witmer is able to lethargically inject a new sense of desperation into the existing yearning.

I’m usually not a fan of cover albums, but the fact that Denison Witmer is able to pull it off so convincingly only proves my theory correct: That there are contemporary songwriting geniuses out there carrying on the torch of Gram Parsons.
(PO Box 99556 Seattle, WA 98199)