Artist:     Matt Andersen

Album:     Halfway Home By Morning

Label:     True North

Release Date:     3.22.2019

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Canadian Matt Andersen has an early entry for soul-blues Album of the Year with Halfway Home By Morning. Typically when producer/multi-instrumentalist JUNO Award-winning Steve Dawson is involved you can expect nothing short of excellence. That’s the case here but the star is clearly Andersen, mostly with his vocals, but also with stellar songwriting from an array of co-writers. Not only does Dawson lend his considerable talents on a variety of instruments, but Amy Helm (who co-wrote “Something to Lose”) provides the album’s best track in a Southern soul groove. The McCrary Sisters (Ann, Regina, Alfreda) are aboard for their signature harmonies and vaunted drummer Jay Bellerose and go-to horn man Jim Hoke also contribute.

These are 13 tracks, soul-soaked, some rooted in R&B, others in roots, recorded live off the floor in a kitchen studio, that may induce goosebumps. It’s the same studio, Southern Ground, that spawned great records from Neil Young, Emmylou Harris and Jerry Lee Lewis. Maybe it has a special magic. “There really is nothing like listening back in the studio and everybody has the same smile on their face over what we’re hearing,” says Andersen. “You can’t fake the vibe of musicians playing together, responding to the choices others are making in that moment.”

Andersen, a native of New Brunswick, is now two decades into his career, with this, his tenth album. He has won two European Blues Awards, seven Maple Blues Awards, and a JUNO Award nomination. Look for him to be recognized by the BMA for this one.

The McCrary Sisters make their presence felt immediately on the opener, the slow grooving “What Would Your Mama Say?” On the third track we get the duet with Helm, “Something to Lose,” exquisitely done as it explores the long, scarred, and loving history of a relationship, as one alternates between proving and facing the fear of losing. The McCrarys’ vital vocals and Chris Gestrin’s keyboard work infuse “Free Man.” “The Bed I Made” is churning R&B while “Give Me Some Light” has a Delbert McClinton slow soulful groove, with Gestrin’s Hammond B3 simmering below Andersen’s consistently emotive vocals.

“Gasoline” appropriately burns with a Memphis-like horn blast, led by Hoke on sax, Charles Rose on trombone, and Steve Hermann on trumpet. Andersen, in the vein of the best soul singers, urges “Let’s start living and forgiving like we’re running out of time.” “Over Me” is a deliciously infectious soul ballad, in a Ray Charles/Raelettes mode, as the McCrarys fulfill the latter role exceptionally behind Andersen’s lead vocal and scintillating guitar break. “Long Rider” moves into an acoustic sound, as Andersen pines longingly about going home.

“Been My Last” features Dawson on the pedal steel, as the blues steps aside for this lament. That said, nothing can diminish the soulful quality of Andersen’s voice so many will take it as a soul ballad. This is a difficult album to finish as there are absolutely no filler tracks. As expected, Andersen comes to the fore with one of the disc’s most poignant songs, “Quarter of the Ground (A Song for Uncle Joe),” which recalls a conversation between Matt’s mother and uncle.

Andersen’s commanding voice and sturdy songwriting, teamed with Dawson, make for an album that is practically flawless.

—Jim Hynes