Why Tom Paxton Deserves the Grammy.

Looking for the Moon is new for the prolific Tom Paxton. Few performers have the ability to stop your heart as this legend has for decades. In The Same River Twice he describes a couple who promise to return yearly to a mountain retreat. The sadness is overwhelming when you realize that only one of them will be back next year. The song of wanderlust, Looking for the Moon, is the album’s title. The lead character is on a train, but his mind is elsewhere. Paxton’s poetry is such that we become the person on the train, as we recall our own missed opportunities. There are bright moments too. Life in the Key of C is a road song about friends who travel the country with music connecting each destination. It becomes easy to remember your favorite festival and your best journey. By the way, a mandolin is just the right sized instrument for the passenger to play while the driver sings along. Paxton is up for a Grammy for 2003 for this CD. He’s going against Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and the late Warren Zevon among others, so his chances are slim, but in this reviewer’s opinion, he’s already won.