Tucker Zimmerman — Dance of Love
Qobuz new release review (October 2024)
The cover image on Dance of Love — a photo of a slightly grizzled octogenarian gripping a giant walking stick with one hand while his other arm is draped around his significant other — could lead one to believe that this album is some earnest indulgence by a hippie who just made his way out of the woods, but that is definitely not the case here. Tucker Zimmerman is not an accidental musician; his first album, 1969’s Ten Songs was produced by Tony Visconti and was claimed to be one of David Bowie’s favorites, and Dance of Love is anything but some piece of folkie self-seriousness. Zimmerman’s career as a singer-songwriter has been, putting it mildly, somewhat sporadic since Ten Songs. He released five albums between 1979 and 1983, then none until 2003, and has released four in 2024. Dance of Love is the most notable of those four — produced by the members of Big Thief, who may be even bigger fans of Zimmerman’s approach than Bowie was. While the band respectfully allows Zimmerman to be himself throughout, their confidence and energy shine through, most obviously when Adrienne Lenker joins for harmony vocals on many of the songs, providing additional texture and depth without dominating. Big Thief also help keep the proceedings loose and personal, even though Dance of Love is tonally sad and wistful numbers like “The Season,” with its twangy mournfulness, dominate. More pensive numbers are balanced out with plenty of moments of rollicking acoustic arrangements, whether on the singalong “Leave it on the Porch Outside” (featuring Zimmerman’s wife, Marie-Claire), or the jaunty “The Idiot’s Maze,” which may or may not be might be about death (its lyrics involve both breathing tubes and pancakes). Zimmerman’s grizzled but delicate voice shines on the bluesy, bouncy “Nobody Knows,” evoking a little bit of Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler, and while the “does anybody have a kazoo?” that opens “The Rama Lama Ding Dong Song” understandably could lead to reservations, the combination of his wizened approach and the gleeful energy of his younger musical compatriots helps elevate it into a moment of joyful silliness.
