Singer and songwriter Martha Bassett has long been a respected icon of the Triad music scene with her classically trained voice, which has been described as “angelic” and “crystalline.”
This month, with the release of her fourth album, “The Goodbye Party,” Bassett gives listeners a glimpse of her personal diary with a versatile palette of songs that either send shivers down your spine or make your toes tap.
But Bassett didn’t write this diary of love and loss alone. About half of the 12 songs were written by Bassett, the rest by personal friends and band members: Sam Frazier (guitar and piano), Pat Lawrence (bass), Eddie Walker (drums) and Ben Singer (keyboards and banjo). Together, they lead a journey through the pathos of loneliness and weariness but always with the hope and comfort of coming home.
The opening track, “The Goodbye Party,” a melancholy song co-written by Bassett and Singer, sets the tone and pace for the rest of the album.
“We actually had the title to this song before we wrote it,” Bassett says. “I think of the song itself as a vignette of the idea of separation and loss. I like the chorale at the end because it creates intensity and sets up the central theme of the record.”
Bassett cranks up the mood with “Leave Me Behind,” a song loosely based on the old-time tune “Pretty Polly.” Bassett belts out the lyrics, “Show me you want me and mean it this time or pick up your heart, boy, and leave me behind.”
“It’s funny that a song with such sad lyrics always makes people tap their feet and smile,” Bassett says.
One of Bassett’s favorite songs on the album is “Whisper,” written for Bassett by her longtime collaborator Sam Frazier and arranged by Josh Weesner. A song about heartbreak and the end of a long-term relationship, Bassett found this one difficult to sing in the beginning.
“ 'Whisper’ was hard to sing at first because it was so personal, but now it’s one of my favorites,” Bassett says. “Compositionally speaking, Sam did a great job creating an arc that really lends itself to strings and brass.”
Another personally painful song that Bassett sings is “Holly Golightly,” a song about the wedding of Kelly Jo Petersen Womble, an artist and gallery/shop owner in Winston-Salem and one of the primary people responsible for revitalizing its downtown.
“Kelly had been battling cancer and died shortly after her wedding, during the recording of this disc,” Bassett says. “Clare Fader had written the words for the wedding, and Sam helped set the music for the memorial service, which is where I first sang it. It’s still very difficult to perform this song live.”
In addition to originals, Bassett sings covers from two local luminaries Bruce Piephoff and Laurelyn Dossett, managing to channel their distinctive styles into her own.
“My goal is not to establish myself as a great singer/songwriter, although I’m very much learning the craft,” she says. “My goal is to sing great songs. Every song on (the album) that wasn’t written by me was written by a personal friend. That feels good.”
Bassett and Frazier agree the difference in this album compared to her previous releases was in the production. Both cite Pat Lawrence for his artistic efforts on the album, and Bassett also credits him with having strong ideas that she says created a denser and broader palette both instrumentally and vocally.
“I’m a lucky girl,” Bassett says. “These guys are my best friends, and we work so well together creatively. It’s an unusual and precious thing, and I don’t ever take it for granted.”
Contact Carole Perkins at CPGuilford@aol.com
