This is the latest instalment in the Magnolia Sessions series, and if you know, you know. If you don’t, here’s the short version: the Magnolia Sessions are an idea from Anti-Corp Music head honcho Dan Emery, a back-to-basics concept where artists head to a Magnolia tree in Nashville and record an album outdoors. No studio trickery, no polish for polish’s sake – just songs, air, wood, strings, and time. It’s as old-school as live music gets, and that’s the point.
The results often feel like songs that haven’t just been written, but uncovered. As if they’ve seeped into the ground over years and are drawn back out through the roots. That feeling is especially strong on this collection from Chris Emmert, recorded back in 2023. According to Emmert himself, these are songs originally written for other projects and never used. Cast-offs, technically. In practice, they sound anything but.
An Ohio native, Emmert feels perfectly suited to this environment. There’s a working-person honesty running through these nine tracks – someone who hasn’t forgotten where they’re from and never intends to. Musically, it sits comfortably in all-time folk territory, and you can hear the lineage clearly — the plainspoken truth-telling of Woody Guthrie and the observational, restless spirit of Bob Dylan both loom large — but never to the point of imitation.
It opens with “Oh-I-Owe It All To You, Ohio”, which immediately grounds the record in place and purpose. From there, “Faded Colors On Paisley Print” changes the temperature completely – more lugubrious in tone, heavier in feel, yet still intimate. It’s a reminder of the power of just a man and a guitar when the song is strong enough.
“Something To Miss” is reflective, almost meditative, rooted firmly in a sense of place. It feels written for this exact setting. Then there’s “Talking Waitin’ Blues”, which leans into the great talking blues tradition — very much in the Guthrie mould — delivering lines that quietly sting. People plead for more time, only to spend that time waiting. It’s simple, sharp, and observant, and it understands that sometimes the sharpest commentary is spoken, not sung.
The record turns more inward with “Anymore”, where Emmert sings about not knowing what he’s trying to find. That uncertainty feels central to the whole album, and maybe to the travelling songwriter’s life itself. “Old State Pen” follows, and it could have stepped straight out of the Cash songbook – stark, truthful, and unflinching.
“Long Goodbye” might be the bravest moment here. Solo, exposed, and emotionally unsparing, it proves that being a single songwriter, standing alone with nothing to hide behind, is still one of the hardest and most powerful things you can do. There’s no neat resolution, no happy ending – just honesty.
By the time you reach “Madison And Main” and closing track “Belongs To Time”, the title feels prophetic. In an era obsessed with immediacy, this record feels untethered from any particular year. These songs don’t belong to 2023, or even 2026. They belong to the ages.
These nine songs might be misfits – unused, set aside, repurposed – but as everyone knows, you don’t always need the most expensively assembled squad to make something special. Sometimes it’s the misfits who go all the way. This instalment of the Magnolia Sessions is quite magnificent.
RATING: 9/10
