About Reunion

Dave’s second solo album, Reunion, was released in fall 2007 with a series of concerts in central Canada and on the West Coast. For the album, Dave invited musical friends from various phases of his career to join him on seven of the 13 instrumental tracks and songs.

Among the artists who lend their talents to Reunion are Juno winner David Francey, Canadian Folk Music Award winner Penny Lang, bluegrass singer-bassist Tammy Fassaert and Dave's bandmates from the Montreal folkgrass trio Steel Rail.

Reunion features four new instrumentals of the kind that won Dave such acclaim for his first album, Guitar Songs. The other nine tunes, including a co-write with David Francey and several with his longtime musical collaborator, Lucinda Chodan, feature Dave in a new role: singer-songwriter.

Reunion track-by-track:

Just Waiting for a Train

Lyrics and music: Dave Clarke

Style: mid-tempo bluesy folk

Guests: Tammy Fassaert, harmony vocals; James Whittall, mandolin

This catchy road song was written at Guildwood station in Toronto at the end of an extended tour. It features unforgettable snapshots of the other passengers and an observation about the solitary nature of the journey that each of us is on. The track features Dave’s bandmates in Shearwater, Tammy Fassaert and James Whittall.

Over the Malahat

Music: Dave Clarke

Style: sprightly folk instrumental

Instrumentation: solo guitar

An exhilarating rush up, over and down the Malahat, the mountain pass that connects Victoria to the northern part of Vancouver Island.

Gold and Green

Lyrics by Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke

Style: slow folk

Instrumentation: solo guitar, vocals

This is the story of small towns all over Canada. Its shivery melody and moody lyrics create a melancholic portrait of what’s left behind when everyone moves away.

Snows of December

Lyrics by Dave Clarke and Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke

Style: up-tempo bluegrass

Guests: Tod Gorr and Ellen Shizgal, harmony vocals

A tribute to Dave’s grandmother, Kitty Roy, who loved music of all kinds almost as much as she loved her grandchildren, and who always encouraged Dave in his musical career. Ellen Shizgal and Tod Gorr, the other two-thirds of Montreal’s Steel Rail, join Dave on the choruses.

Garry Oak

Music: Dave Clarke

Style: up-tempo folk instrumental

Instrumentation: solo guitar

The Garry oak grows primarily on southern Vancouver Island and in northern Washington state. This delicate melody is a tribute to the eerie beauty of its gnarled branches and dense leaves.

Another Stolen Day

Lyrics by Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke

Style: mid-tempo folk

Instrumentation: solo guitar, vocals

This song was written on a late November morning when the pale sun seemed to be holding the snow off by sheer willpower. It’s about that last fall day before winter arrives and the great darkness sets in.

In My Home Town

Lyrics by Dave Clarke and David Francey, music by Dave Clarke

Style: driving folk

Guests: David Francey and Geoff Somers, harmony vocals; Geoff Somers, fiddle

Homelessness and poverty are everywhere, but the winter streets of Montreal are particularly cruel. This song features the first (but not last) songwriting collaboration between Dave and David Francey, and reunites a trio that travelled thousands of miles together in the early 2000s.

Bay of Bengal

Lyrics by Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke
Style: slow folk

Guests: Bill Garrett, guitar; Sue Lothrop and Rosemary Phelan, harmony vocals

This song was inspired by a starry night on the beach at Madras and a bleak November morning in Montreal. It is dedicated to Ashok Chandwani, journalist, bon vivant, brilliant cook and friend. The soulful second guitar is played by a longtime musical friend, Bill Garrett, and the affecting harmony vocals are by his wife, Sue Lothrop, and Rosemary Phelan.

Sorrento

Music: Dave Clarke

Style: fast bluegrass instrumental

Guest: James Whittall, mandolin

Every August, a musical community gathers in Sorrento, B.C., for an annual bluegrass camp. This tune was inspired by Sorrento, the first place Dave played after he moved to B.C., and the place where he first played with Tammy Fassaert and James Whittall, who later became the band Shearwater. It’s only appropriate, then, that James contributed some brilliant mandolin licks to this track.

You Have My Heart

Lyrics by Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke
Style: slow, jazzy folk

Instrumentation: solo guitar, vocals

The songwriting of geniuses like Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were the inspiration for this love song, which has an uncharacteristically jazzy cast.

The Day the Winter Goes
Lyrics by Lucinda Chodan, music by Dave Clarke

Style: up-tempo folk

Guest: Penny Lang, harmony vocals

The lyrics for this song were written on the highway between Montreal and Ottawa with the bright March sun glinting on the fields of snow. Its unusual rhyme scheme and vivid imagery catch the excitement of impending spring. The harmony vocals are supplied by Penny Lang, a legendary figure on the Montreal folk scene who now makes her home on the Sunshine Coast.

Only Love

Lyrics and music: Dave Clarke

Style: slow folk

Guests: Penny Lang and Rosemary Phelan, harmony vocals

This love song weaves politics and religion around a beautiful slow melody and an irresistible chorus. Joining Dave are an old musical friend, Penny Lang, and a new one, Toronto singer-songwriter Rosemary Phelan.

Reunion

Music: Dave Clarke

Style: slow folk instrumental

* Songs 1, 2, 5, 9, 12, 13 © 2007 Dave Clarke (SOCAN);

+ Songs 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 © 2007 Dave Clarke and Lucinda Chodan (SOCAN);

& Song 7  © 2007 Dave Clarke and David Francey (SOCAN)