photo courtesy of Trespass Music

Album Review of Craig Bickhardt: Outpourings

Craig Bickhardt is a singer-songwriter who sings folk songs, sprinkled with a hint of Americana, with a rich, resonant, just slightly raspy voice and a penchant for connecting with his listeners as if he’s telling stories we’ve all heard a million times before, but perhaps with different details and not previously told quite so well. Craig is a songwriter whose songs have been recorded by a lot of major country music artists and a few from other genres, too, as you can see from the discography page on his website. As is sometimes the case with great songwriters, Craig is a talented recording artist in his own right, his musical talents providing voice and accompaniment to his own-penned musical creations.

image courtesy of Trespass Music

Outpourings is a 13-song trip with Craig’s heartfelt voice as the guide. On this record, I’d place him squarely on the folk side of Americana, though perhaps renditions that were more electric and less acoustic would raise the hint of country to greater prominence in the mix.

Opening track, “Breaking the Bread,” immediately caught my attention. Fast-picking, a warm, rough-edged vocal, and a welcoming message – “so glad you’re here, breaking the bread” – provide a welcoming entrée to the album. I hear hints (just hints) of Jim Croce in Craig’s voice, mostly in the delivery, but it’s a surefire attention-grabber.

In “Ancient Lullabies,” I hear a tone that’s more in line with the delivery soft rock piano-man Joshua Kadison used on his mellowest songs. By the end of the disc, you really just hear Craig Bickhardt, but early on you notice the presence elements you appreciate in some other great vocalists, and it helps you appreciate Craig’s vocal talent. Of course, the man’s an accomplished songwriter, so the song structure and lyrics are consistently top-shelf.

Throughout the record, Craig chooses topics that will evoke emotion, and then he paints detailed pictures with his lyrics and the emotion in his voice. There are a few songs that stand out for me; you may or may not have the same favorites.

photo courtesy of Trespass Music

In “England Or Me,” Craig sings an emotionally power-packed tale of finding love during World War II. It’s a powerful song that’ll leave a lump in your throat, even though neither Craig nor we (most of us) were around for that period of world history. The song and the story it tells, however, are timeless.

“She Won’t Be Yours Alone” is another standout track that will stick with you. It’s an uptempo song that lilts and lifts and dances its way around and through some nifty, thoughtful, clever lyrics.

“Fire in the Spirit” introduces harmony vocals from Aislinn Bickhardt Landolt that blend well with Craig’s voice to offer a new, intriguing vocal line.

“Steal Home (Letter to Curt Flood)” won’t just resonate with baseball fans who understand the importance of Curt Flood in the history of major league baseball free agency. The song soars with melancholy, particularly when the lyrics circle back to introspection.

When Craig adds some tempo to his songs, as he does in spots on “Hills of Geronimo,” another personal favorite, it adds nice variety to the album, probably the reason a song like this is memorable, though the heavy lyrics are there for anyone who chooses to listen closely.

photo courtesy of Trespass Music

“I Don’t Know About Love At All” is a pure acoustic country ballad, with Tom Hampton’s lap steel providing a lot of that country twang, though the lyrics and Craig’s delivery of them also recall open spaces, suggesting this as a song that might be poured out while sitting around a campfire if a cowboy – or a poet staying up late under the stars – were so inclined.

“If Holes Were Coins” is slow-tempo rockin’ Americana with a serious country edge. Fast picking, organ-like sound in the keywork, harmony vocals again from Aislinn Bickhart Landolt, and the odd lyrical image of “if holes were coins” combine with, probably, the song’s next-to-last position on the album to cause it to be one of those songs that stick with you after the album ends.

Craig closes the disc with a song that returns to the folk side of the spectrum, extending over a bit to the soft rock/singer-songwriter lane, with dancing keys contributing to the light feeling of “I Live For This.” The lyrics, too, seem like something you might expect to be the life motto of a songwriting folk troubadour: “Some cry for more, some die for less. I live for this.”

And with that, the album ends. It’s a mostly folk album with a few other influences popping up in spots, including a more country-flavored section toward the end of the collection. If you like folk singing and appreciate a singer-songwriter who’s a master at his craft, you’ll enjoy Craig Bickhardt’s Outpourings. I’ve certainly enjoyed getting to know this disc.

photo courtesy of Trespass Music

More Recently

Outpourings was released in January 2023, more than a year ago, and is one of the albums I felt I needed to review as I circled back to see what I missed during my 19-month writing hiatus that ended last summer. In September, Craig re-released No Road Back: A Retrospective, a 2010 album that had long been out of print. The “News” page of Craig’s website also mentions a limited-edition 26-song edition of Outpourings, double the length of the album I just reviewed. The message containing that information is more than a year old, but if you’re a Craig Bickhardt fan, it might be worth reaching out to see if any of those are still available. Of course, if you stream, you can listen to the 26-song version of the album on Spotify.

Looking Ahead

The “Tour” page on Craig’s website lists several upcoming performances, starting March 9th in Ewing, New Jersey. Additional dates spanning the rest of the year are listed in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Massachusetts. Check Craig’s website for dates, locations, and ticket information for those concerts, and be sure to circle back periodically for new dates as they’re added.