Today, my students broke my heart. Not only did they accuse me of looking like a tourist, but they asked me who Paul McCartney was. And Ella Fitzgerald. Of the three, I’m not sure which cuts the most.
Anyway. It’s been a roller coaster watching Porter’s music change over the course of this blog’s short life. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the man himself. First, he made some powerful music with his then-partner in Some Dark Holler. Then, when that broke up, he recorded one of the most depressing albums I’ve had the pleasure to review on here with The Pollies, recorded at a time when all parties involved were going through it.
So Porter packed his bags, left Alabama, and wound up in Austin. He recorded this.
Porter was pulled to Austin by his new lady friend and BAMF-in-her-own-right Bonnie Whitmore. Whitmore participates in the album, as do a number of other musicians who have become integral to Porter’s new life in the lone star state. It’s easy to hear the devotion that goes into this album from all the hands on deck.
There are a lot of sad songs on This Red Mountain, but mostly they’re about overcoming those hurdles. They’re about redemption and starting to feel maybe a little bit better. True,t most of the songs featured on this blog have that element to it. But Porter’s music is able to touch me in ways that few artists can. If the Porter and the Pollies EP punched me in the gut, This Red Mountain was the hand to help me back up.