Review of “Starting Something” by Fred Kraus, Minor 7th Magazine

Dave Ferra inhabits that magically comfortable niche located somewhere between heartache and a wry smile. On his recent collection, “Starting Something,” his work thrives in the blues universe, supported by his sterling fingerstyle guitar and rack harp work. Ferra penned all 11 tracks, an array of Delta blues, Chicago blues, folk blues, jump blues, the walking blues and the talking blues. He employs his resonator guitar and a slinky slide technique for “We Both Started Something,” a gentle love ballad in which he ruefully laments, “How could we start over again, it’s just too late in the game. We both started something that we just couldn’t stop.” In this, and in other tracks, Ferra’s vocals carry convey an easy earnestness. He’s so clear and unaffected, he can’t help but be telling the truth about his – and more universally, our – missteps in matters of the heart. Ferra uses his harp to good effect in “Returning to the Scene of the Crime” and in “Knock Me Down Again” (“you build me up, baby, just to knock me down again … like a bad smell, you’re always around”). His instrumental tracks pay homage to blues royalty – “Blues Skies and Isolation Blues” provides a rolling fingerstylish nod to Mississippi John Hurt, as does the elegant “DJ Mike,” while the thumping “Big Tone” recalls the the fierce acoustic power of the Rev. Gary Davis. It’s fortunate that Ferra includes these instrumentals, as his acoustic guitar chops can take a back seat to his vocals as our ears focus on the tune and the tale. Throughout this collection, one gets the impression that Ferra would be a fun guy to see in concert – or to share a pint with. The bouncy “One Year Older” prompts a sing-along vibe, and in “I Was Walking,” Ferra shows his unerring sense of meter and syllabic playfulness. Other tracks stay upbeat while the various alter-egos in his songs invariably receive the short end of the stick. Still, Ferra’s compositions suggest that resilience and a sense of humor can perhaps get us all through just about anything. And who are we to argue with that? This album may be the model elixir we require as we emerge – much like cicada Brood X singing their plaintive songs of love – from the pandemic.