Artist:   Luther Russell
Song:   "Rise & Shine"
Album: Repair
Label:   Ungawa Records
Year:    2007

The Freewheelers never got much past the first rung, but to their fans the Portland band meant a lot. Luther Russell was their leader, so he obviously meant the most. After several solo albums, Russell really gets it right on Repair. Of course, it cost him a marriage to write these songs, so only he knows if it was worth it. For the listener, the album is a perilous peek inside a world of hurt, a place that feels like the end is the only way out. Russell’s voice is slightly shredded, but it also has a reserve of strength behind it that hints he’s going to get through the worst of it. “Rise & Shine” is that moment when life feels like one more promise might make everything all right-- when a heroic act will do the trick—but disaster is clearly inevitable. And that’s the good news which starts the album. Musically, every song feels like it was written during Portland’s rainy season, and a raincoat could come in handy when listening to them. Producer Ethan Johns makes sure there aren’t any unnecessary intrusions; some tasteful strings here and there but nothing to avoid confronting what Russell is going through. As for a happy ending, it just isn’t meant to be. Luther Russell makes Paul Westerberg seem like Howdy Doody, with Clarabell the Clown nowhere in sight.