Chris Ronald
Timeline (Independent)

Talk about progress! Chris Ronald’s first two releases showed a Vancouver singer-songwriter with a solid, gentle talent. Third time’s the charm, however, as Timeline shows off an artist more than ready to break out of the good-for-a-local-guy bag.

Part of the evolution must involve hooking up with producer John Ellis, who adds his outstanding guitars, dobro, banjo, and mandolin to tunes that deserve that variety of sound. There’s even a bluegrass-breakdown “Entr-acte (The Sneeze)” that includes all those, plus Mike Sanyshyn’s fiddle, along with Rob Becker on upright bass and drummer Pat Steward’s nifty brush work. Some numbers are as spare as the jazzy “Twenty Little Stars”, which features the leader on ukulele, with melodic punctuation from Steve Hilliam’s clarinet. He goes old-school country on “The Mountaineer” and more commercially current with “Cold Light of Day” and other tunes later in the disc. Graeme Coleman’s piano anchors the radio-friendly “Final Throes”, which also features relaxed backing vocals from Deanna Knight and Melissa Bandura.

Elsewhere, the English-born singer-guitarist’s debt to classic folk-rock is clear, with subtle influences from James Taylor and Paul Simon; the latter is quoted directly on “The Busker”, about all those guys and gals you breeze past near subway stops and liquor stores. You can hear the U.K. side more clearly, with hints of Ralph McTell and Dougie MacLean on the elegiac title tune, which shows off his un-pushy literary skills.

Just nominated for songwriter of the year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Ronald possesses a keenly luxuriant voice matched with immaculate songcraft and a superb sense of tonal variety. The CD package’s nifty mid-century-modern design adds to an offering that is certainly among the year’s very best, local or otherwise.