Shelley Posen – Roseberry Road

SHELLEY POSEN
Roseberry Road
Well Done Music 
shelleyposen.com

On Roseberry Road, Shelley Posen – a member of Finest Kind, the Ottawa-based vocal trio known for their exquisite harmonies – presents a set of 16 well-crafted songs in a variety of styles written over the past decade-and-a-half.

The album opening title song – named for the street in suburban Toronto where Shelley spent his early childhood – is among the highlights. It’s a sweet, lovely and nostalgic reminiscence filled with personal and very specific memories.

Another is “The Campfire Song,” about singing around a campfire and the kind of songs that get sung there. I developed much of my earliest appreciation for folk music from sing-alongs at summer camp in the 1960s and the song brings back a lot of those memories for me.

A few other favorites include “The Gazebo on the Oswegatche,” which seems like it could have been a 1920s pop tune; “The Basket’s Song,” which Shelly sings from the perspective of a basket woven in 1903 as it tells its history from creation to museum exhibit; “Canoeing My Troubles Away,” a country waltz that celebrates getting away from city life; and the closer, “Thanks for the Song,” an end-of-the-night farewell after a fulfilling concert or any kind of gathering for singing and sharing music.

Shelley uses a wide variety of styles on these songs and each features musicians specifically chosen to bring something special to it. Just a few of the contributing players include producer Paul Mills on banjo, guitarist Rick Whitelaw, violinists Anne Lindsay and Mika Posen (Shelley’s daughter), and bassists Dennis Pendrith and David Woodhead.

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--Mike Regenstreif