Review: Chuck Ragan – Covering Ground LP (5/5)!

Chuck Ragan – Covering Ground – Covering Ground would have been a fantastic name for a Chuck Ragan covers album, but instead it is the third solo album from Ragan, featuring all new material, and that’s even more appealing. From start to finish, it comes with the trademark Ragan energy and raw power that is unique to the realm of acoustic efforts. Ragan plays his guitar passionately. He writes his lyrics passionately. He sings them passionately. And as a result, we listen passionately.

From the opening track, “Nothing Left to Prove,” Ragan’s lyrics read like pure poetry, telling tales of the road and being in love, but simply reading them cannot do the same kind of justice as when the rest of the track seemingly falls away for Ragan’s words to cut through in lines like, “Silence took me fierce and blindly and shadows became one. I found the floor with the broken boards and the grist for the mill gone.”

Ragan harnesses the themes of travel and longing for a woman somewhere at the finish line most succinctly on “Wish on the Moon,” the second to last track for the A-side and one that will definitely become a favorite for fans. Again, the lyrics are only made more beautiful by Ragan’s performance of them.

“I’m gonna lay my head on the chest I know. We’re gonna find that Yuba river shore. Yea we’ll wash these miles off us soon. For now stay between the lines and wish on the moon and sing along strong to a highway tune, wrestle my eyes, my mind and my heart for you.”

“Come Around” finishes the side with a great call and back-up from the band, but it doesn’t end there. The B-side of “Covering Ground” is just as strong, if not stronger. “Valentine” will end up being another favorite for many, with Audra Mae joining for some fantastic backing vocals. It’s just one of a few great guest spots on the album. Mae also sings on “Come Around” and “Right as Rain,” while Ragan recruits Frank Turner for “Wish on the Moon,” and Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem for “Nothing Left to Prove” and “Meet You in the Middle.” Importantly, the guest spots complement the songs well, but never overshadow Ragan in the process.

Covering Ground is simply a fantastically cohesive album from start to finish, which does everything in its power to please longtime Ragan fans without, no pun intended, covering the same ground again. The record simply comes on black vinyl, but the press quality and sound are fantastic. It also plays well with the old-timey black-and-white packaging, which fits the style of the album perfectly, with Ragan creating timeless tales and sounds. The album also comes with a fold-out poster featuring the lyrics on the backside, and even the download card for the digital version of the album is cool as hell.

It would be unfair not to mention the fantastic work put into the design of Cassie Groos at Analog Creative Inc., or the production of Christopher Thorn, which does so much to help capture that raw energy of Ragan’s performance. Both individuals were instrumental in making this the coolest LP I’ve hand my hands on in 2011.

Review by: Bill Jones

Sound/Press Quality: 5/5
The Album: 5/5
Artwork/Packaging: 5/5