Shawn Colvin
A Few Small Repairs (1996)The year 1997 was a sad and difficult time for me. Then, A Few Small Repairs happened.
In the same odd way blues music can make one feel happy, or at least better, this masterpiece – released the previous October – did just that for me. The album was inescapable. Even if I didn’t have it constantly playing at home or in my car, it was everywhere: radio, late-night talk shows, and later, the Grammys.
Everyone I knew owned it. And 20 years later, whenever I mention “Sunny Came Home,” people say, “I love that song!” Always moved whenever I heard it, I dreamt of touring with fellow Austinite Shawn Colvin.
Then, in 2017, she asked if I’d be interested in doing the 20th anniversary tour for A Few Small Repairs. I immediately immersed myself in the music as every good sideman does. It was like ’97 all over again, except this time I was at a much happier place in life. Nevertheless, nothing could’ve prepared me for what I was about to discover – that this material isn’t easy to learn or play.
Like much of my favorite music, the songs sound deceptively simple. Shawn’s voice and lyrics glide over the arrangements, and because of that I was lulled into a two-decades-long false sense of security. I overcame my initial shock at Repairs‘ complexity only to rediscover this beautifully crafted masterpiece.
Finally having the opportunity to meet Shawn’s co-writer and producer, John Leventhal, I remarked about how much fun it was to learn these songs. He laughed and apologized for the complexities of the music. I begged him and Shawn to please do it again.
It took me 20 years and many small repairs to remind me of how truly lucky I am. God bless you, Shawn Colvin, and thank you!
This article appears in January 19 • 2018.