Alan Cayn - The Last Cast

On a recent kayaking trip on the beautiful Etowah River in north Georgia, I floated in the quiet, with just the sound of the water and the crickets somewhere on the banks, feeling what those who paddled that river must have felt for hundreds of years.  A strong wind blew across the water causing the glinting sun to sparkle like jewels, tiny leaves raining down like snow as I passed under the canopy.  If you've ever fished in solitude, or paddled in the crickety-quiet, you know what I mean when I say that I felt a kinship with the river.

Alan Cayn

Alan Cayn knows what I mean. His most recent album, The Last Cast, even features some crickets.  This is Cayn's final offering in his fishing folk music triology, Hey!A Fish.  Having engaged musicians  from as far away as Liverpool, collaborated with a poet all the way from British Columbia, and assembled a fine men's choir, The Last Cast  is Cayn's most eclectic collection yet.  This album goes beyond the river, into the forest, the hills, and even the sea.

There have been many favorites from Cayn's past work, but "Jack Pine Savage" stole that spot for me upon the first listen.  Alan Cayn is a superb storyteller and excellent vocalist.  Here he weaves a tale of a man who finds his way back to the woods, to nature, to living a simple life.   The musical presentation is impeccable in its simplicity - a man and his guitar.  Perfect.

Alan Cayn

"Mon Carpe" is a tune to leave you smiling, sung in French and complete with Cajun accordion.   David Hanna helps out on electric guitar, and Christine O'Niel on vocals, to bring home the only love song to a fish this writer has ever known.

Alan Cayn's live performances with his Appalachian dulcimer tug his audiences back in time and so on this album he does the same, with "Song of the Wandering Angus," his lovely rendition of the traditional folk tune and poem by William Butler Yeats. 

Another poet featured on The Last Cast is Mag MaWhinney, a cowboy poet and songwriter from British Columbia.   I had the pleasure of hearing Mag recite her poetry for the internet radio audience, and was instantly moved by her insight into life.  For "Crazy World," Cayn has arranged the musical accompaniment to make Mag's words, and the listener, dance.

Zanzibar, cowritten by Cayn and Gabrielle Monk, features the band Good Intentions from Liverpool, UK.  They are R. Peter Davies (guitar,) Francesco Roskell (guitar and banjo,) Grabrielle Monk (vocals, autoharp, percussion,) and Scott Poley (pedal steel, mandolin, and lap steel. )  Good Intentions sets the tone for this story of love left behind, and it is the mandolin floating through the lyrics of pirate ships, empty glasses, and a life run aground, that keeps the listener believing maybe all hope is not lost.

At this point, I must make my own confession (yes, this is a subtle reference to Cayn's second in the trilogy, Streamside Confession.)  Included on this album is ”Appalachian Trail," written and sung by my father, Tom Phipps, with guitar by Thomas J. Brown, both of Dalton, Georgia.   It is a nice complement to Cayn's songs, reflecting the love he and my father share of nature and spending time outdoors.

Hapless Wader Choir

No Alan Cayn album is complete without an a capella performance or a little humor.  Here we have both, in two songs.  The first, "She Looked Good in Waders," has Cayn singing with those crickets I mentioned earlier.   This and "Hapless Wader Revisited" are two of Cayn's classic fishing songs.  "Hapless Wader Revisited" is my favorite surprise on The Last Cast.   Cayn is joined by Mike Slomka, Dan Adair, Ed (Jesus) Urbaniak, Tom (Trout Lord) Jaissle, Glen (Joe Flatlander) Krueger, and Dave Hanna for a men's choir treatment of his story of the fish getting the best of the fisherman.

The Last Cast comes to a close with the title track of the nine, "Last Cast/Riparian View,"  and the lyric, "I don't want this to end / I wish this could go on forever / just me being all alone / standing here in this river."  Cayn sneaks in one more musical twist, amping his dulcimer with the VOX DA5, and the sound could be bouncing off water or river boulders, until it fades away. 

The next time you are in a canoe or kayak, or standing in the river in your waders, or just walking through the woods, remember, there's a man named Alan Cayn who knows  the kinship you feel with the river and the hills, and he doesn't want it to end for you either.

Check out Alan Cayn's YouTube page for this one and more!