Savant Some More

The Tallest Man On Earth became my favorite musician roughly a year or so ago. His rough, unique vocals, his impossibly imaginative and autumnal lyrics, and his insatiable finger-picking all leave me with blasphemous thoughts: Does this man rival Dylan in musical prowess?  Dylan, of course, was - and will forever be - an icon.  He is timeless, and his lyrics resonated with a generation desperate for humanity in the midst of a Cold War context, fueled by failing war efforts halfway across the world.  Dylan brought people home with a strand of social politics woven into his songs, and also cut to the heart of personal relationships with epics like Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, and It Ain’t Me Babe.  And, of course, his electric transition revolutionized folk and an entire American following. 

But the nagging, nearly heretical question remains fixed in my brain.  This second album from The Tallest Man On Earth solidifies his stranglehold on American folk music, a fact pregnant with irony when one finds that Kristian Matsson, the real name behind the moniker, is a Swede - born and raised.  A more assured, more confident Matsson emerges from this second album.  His vocals on the song I have chosen to post, Love Is All, nearly shake hands with the Gods by around 2:15.  His lyrics are still profound, and reveal a writing technique that operates with one foot on the ground and the other dipping its foot into a pool of insightful, seasonal absurdism.

Dylan wrote (and still writes, for that matter, but to a lesser degree) with a finger on the pulse of American social sentiments.  The Tallest Man writes with ink from the clouds, penning our dreams in a way I have yet to hear from any other artist.  Both are lyrical geniuses, and I think the jury will always be out.  In fact, perhaps the ‘vs.’ question is unfair to begin with.  Too many factors play into the nature of each artists’ unique skills that comparing them would be to lose sight of what they both offer - a way to both forget and to remember the troubles and the truths of this world.  

I leave you in the grace and presence of our humble folk future: The Tallest Man On Earth.

Best,

Joe