By: David Schultz

It may not be the first image that comes to mind when somebody brings up Woodstock but Richie Havens’ chanting of “Freedom,” while he improvised due to the need to fill time, set the tone and mood for the entire three day festival and in the years since, has become one of his most identifiable songs. One of the original New York City Greenwich Village folkies, Richie Havens has remained true to singer-songwriter roots, his voice always one to sing out in protest. On Nobody Left To Crown, his latest studio album, Havens adds to his already impressive legacy, a steadfast reminder of the need for hope and optimism under any circumstances. Havens’ fast-paced strumming still recollects hippies reveling in the Woodstock mud and his voice continues to rise up in protest over the injustices of the day. More than forty years have passed since the release of A Richie Havens Record and despite the passing of time, the 67-year-old singer doesn’t update his sound for the modern day; Nobody Left To Crown could have come from any era.

The politics on Nobody Left To Crown are understated but not mired in complex symbolism or indecipherable metaphor; it’s not hard to miss Havens’ message. It would be naïve to think the leader on high that is the subject of “Fates,” “(Can’t You Hear) Zeus’s Anger Roar” and the title track is anyone other than George W. Bush but the subtlety of the wordplay allows the songs to serve as eloquent scorn to any failed politician. In line with the folk ideals, Havens’ hasn’t transformed himself into a cranky old man. He still sings calmly and passionately of a better tomorrow. To a larger extent it works, although Havens soothing voice turns some songs into folk lullabies with “Hurricane Waters,” a nuanced Katrina rebuff, sounding a bit like a Michael McDonald leftover.

While there are a couple covers, Nobody Left To Crown is very much an album of new material, although critics of his open tuning style may take umbrage to calling anything Havens does as new. Only someone with Havens’ solid pedigree and rich, distinctive voice could get away with an acoustic cover of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” In Havens’ wizened hands, The Who classic retains every ounce of its revolutionary fervor and in reducing it to its essence. Havens not only provides a reminder that Townshend’s saber-rattling anthem of cynicism is at heart a wonderful folk protest song, he also brings a Sixties idealism into the modern age and reestablishes himself as a relevant voice of protest.

Labels: Richie Havens