Rick Faris’ third solo album Uncommon Sky, on the Dark Shadow Recording label, is marked by a wisdom that comes from being comfortable with where he is in his life and in his music career. The album opens with “Don’t Hold Back,” an unflinching nod to Faris’ faith, which finds a place in many of his songs.
With most of the songs either written or co-written by Faris, the lyrics weave together an underlying theme of hopeful optimism, even in the face of loss or disappointment.
“The One That Got Away,” one of several co-written with Rick Lang, opens like a fishing song, but advice from “Momma” in the chorus to “close your eyes and trust your heart to see/ the one that got away wasn’t meant to be” extends to other losses. Faris, a luthier himself, sings of the “musty Martin” that was “spoken for,” leading him to realize, “If I couldn’t buy the vintage sound, I’d have to make my own.” Likewise, “You Can’t Slow Down the River” shares the life lesson that despite setbacks, “this life, it ain’t so bad.”
The Kansas native also draws inspiration from his home turf. “Kansas Cornfields” tells a grandfather’s story, set in the Great Depression, of working corn and mining coal, leaving “no time for raisin’ Cain when you’re raisin’ Kansas corn” and “Topeka Twister” recalls an F-5 tornado in the summer of 1966. Despite the devastation described, Faris focuses on the way people come together to address the destruction:
Tragedy will strike that’ll change your way of life
Nothing builds fellowship like heartbreak, loss and strife.
Uncommon Sky also showcases Faris’s vocal and instrumental strength, backed by first-rate musicians: Laura Orshaw on fiddle, Zak McLamb on upright bass, Harry Clark on Mandolin and Luke Munday on banjo.
Faris was also joined by some of his heroes on the album, with Jerry Douglas on dobro on “Please Don’t Say Goodbye” and “Too Lonely, Way Too Long.” On the latter, Faris is joined by Del McCoury singing tenor vocals. Ronnie McCoury also plays mandolin on “Misery-Go-Round” and “Topeka Twister.”
The first single released from the album “The Power of Love” caught the attention of Huey Lewis and the News, who originally recorded the song. In the album notes, Faris challenges listeners to pay closer attention to the lyrics of this familiar song:
Make one man weep, make another man sing
Change a hawk to a little white dove
More than a feeling, that’s the power of love
While the level of musicianship is consistent throughout the album, the songs bring a variety— “Too Lonely, Too Long,” looks at the complication of loneliness through the diction of math “No one plus me ain’t making three. It’s just a mathematical impossibility.” On a happier note, “Love Sweet Love” is likely to be the earworm listeners will find themselves singing. By contrast, “Hellfire Club” incorporates darker lyrics and instrumentation, as the wind urges, “Get out while you can!”
The closing track “I’m Not Waiting ‘Round” opens with a lively banjo riff, with the fiddle chasing, and the pace never lets up. Uncommon Sky gives every indication that Rick Faris is not slowing down any time soon either.
