David Francey Reviews and Articles

Late Edition - Velvet Rope Magazine

2012-01-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

David Francey

I’ll start my first review off like this. David Francey’s music is not something I thought I would like. I’ve either grown as a person and have developed a greater appreciation for music as a whole or his music just managed to circumvent my expectations. Either way, it’s a good thing, because David Francey is a folk musician, and that’s not normally my thing at all. The closest I normally come to folk music is City and Colour.

The album I listened to is his 2011 release, The Late Edition. As I pressed play on my iPod I prepared myself for the…the…oh wait, this is kind of nice. This would be perfect background music for drinking, or a poker night, or sitting outside at night staring at the stars while smoking a cigar at the cottage. Or maybe just something a little more low key to get you through the daily 9-5 grind. The point is, I liked it. A lot actually. His music is comfortable, reminiscent and genuine.

The Late Edition has a nice flow to it in that it sounds unified but each song can stand on it’s own. It’s got some really mellow relaxing songs like Grateful and Borderlands as well as the very rock sounding I Live in Fear (I love this track).

I also love that I can pick up hints of his accent in his singing. You really just need to listen to it to appreciate it. I may just have to go back through his other 8 albums at some point. So ya, folk music, I’ve added it to my list. I’d high-five you if I could David Francey, well done.

If you’d like to learn more about David Francey, like him going from Carpenter to musician, check out these links:

www.davidfrancey.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Francey

http://www.myspace.com/davidfrancey

cheers,

Keith

Late Edition - Hour Community

2012-01-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

"Since releasing his first album in 1999 at age 45, David Francey has released an album every couple of years or so, enjoying well deserved success in his middle age. The Scottish-Canadian singer-songwriter has won the Best Roots & Traditional Album Juno Award three times over the past decade and this new record could earn him a fourth, filled as it is with folk and country gems. Francey has a way of making you sit up and pay attention, enjoying the interesting turns of phrase he delivers in that distinctive voice and accent of his. Recorded in Nashville with Kieran Kane (banjo, guitar), Fats Kaplin (fiddle, mandolin), Richard Bennett (guitar, bouzouki) and Lucas Kane (drums), Late Edition offers plenty of good news."
for Hour Community by by Kevin Laforest

Late Edition - CBC New Brunswick

2012-01-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

"12 cuts, only 2 of them over three minutes, and he gets everything he wants into each one. These are acoustic roots numbers, tasteful and full of hooks, flavoured with fiddle, banjo and mandolin"

CBC New Brunswick, Bob Mesereau

Late Edition Review - Penguin Eggs Magazine

2011-04-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

David Francey

Late Edition (Laker Music)

OK- a new David Francey CD arrived. And again I wish I hadn’t heard any of his previous eight releases ... just so I could relive the wondrous surprise and pleasure of hearing him for the first time and instantly knowing he had claimed a place among the best of Canadian song-writers.

Francey has constantly and consistently delivered superior work with each release. This one is no exception – a terrific collection of great songs. On Late Edition he once again joins forces with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin along with guitarist Richard Bennett and Lucas Kane on drums in a recording done live off the studio floor in Nashville.

What we get from his experience in Tennessee is a lovely, melancholy-tinged, sparse, and no frills (in the best meaning of the phrase) recording that envelopes you in it’s gentle arms and never let’s go from start to finish.

From the hauntingly beautiful a cappella opening song Borderlands, through the liltingly deceiving Pretty Jackals, to the gentle closing Grateful, lovely song follows lovely song and slowly turns into a gratifying time really well spent. Late Edition is like a perfect evening, passing the time with a good old friend and a few glasses of a fine single malt, discussing love, the latest news, and life in general.

David Francey rarely disappoints with his song writing decisions and this disc is no exception – it’s a corker.

–By les siemieniuk

David Francey Interview: SXSW 2010

2010-10-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

David Francey is a Scottish-born Canadian construction worker turned successful folk singer and songwriter. He began making music in 1999 with his first CD, 'Torn Screen Door.' Since then, he has won several Juno awards and garnered positive acclaim across Canada and throughout the world. In 2009, Francey released his eighth album, a collaboration with artist Mike Ford, titled 'Seaway.' Spinner recently interviewed Francey to learn more about his music and plans for SXSW 2010.

When did you start making music and performing?

I put the first CD out in 1999, but I still worked in construction up until the second CD won a Juno in 2002. So I started in 2002 full-time.

What inspired you to make the transition from construction work to music?

My wife Beth is pretty well the reason for it, to tell you the truth. She encouraged me to make the first CD. I wrote songs for years and years and didn't perform them. I just wrote them because I had to, and felt like I wanted to. Once I wrote them, I went on to the next one, and just had no plans for them at all. [Beth] was hearing them and thinking I should be doing something with them. She kind of made things happen for me really.

And I had the great good fortune in '98 of meeting a producer from the CBC who caught us at a show and couldn't believe we didn't have a CD. So he hooked us up with a very inexpensive studio, and we did the first record. That [CD] sort of crawled across the country all on its own and got some accolades. And I realized they're not too bad -- the songs. I knew all along, but I realized they might have some legs. Then the second album won the Juno, and that sort of sealed it for me.

How would you describe your sound, in your own words?

It's very simple and stripped down. What I've always preferred is just as few instruments as you can get away with, and lyrics that matter, and a melody that might stick in your head. I think that's really all I've ever wanted to do. I've played with other musicians and filled the sound out, and it's been wonderful, but the essence of the sound is a melody that might stick, an easily singable song and lyrics that matter.

What are your musical influences?

I've had quite a few over the years. Certainly, musically, it would be most of the Canadian singer-songwriters from the early '70s. You know, Bruce Cockburn and Joni Mitchell, Willie P. Bennett and all those Canadian guys. Also, John Prine. I really admire him an awful lot and listen a lot to him. And then from Britain, it would be Planxty. I really loved the music by Planxty from Ireland. They just opened up my head to melodies like nothing else -- Donal Lunney and Andy Irvine and those guys.

What is in your SXSW survival kit?

A good book and my camera, and that's about it. I travel fairly light, or I try to anyway. When I get somewhere, I like to take a little walk around and have a look at everything.

Do you prefer the Beatles or the Stones?

Ah, jeez, well you know, I think I would have to say the Beatles, because I listened to them before I listened to the Stones. You know, I love the Stones, but I 'd say the Beatles. I think their melodies are just unbeatable.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I listen to all kinds of music right across the board, but my guiltiest musical pleasure would probably be Avril Lavigne. I hear her on the radio a lot, and I think she's really great. I just like her songs. I find myself really liking the tunes, and I'm just thinking, "I shouldn't like this," but I do.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as an artist?

I think just to make a living in this industry. That's exactly what I started out to do. And I'm not saying it's a great living. It's not exactly a lucrative world of folk music. It's just making a living, as I set out to do. I worked construction and I was making a living at that and loved it. When I switched to this, it was a big move. And lo and behold, when Beth and I set out on it, I said, "As long as [we] make a living, gorgeous, we'll be good." And sure enough, we have. And so I think making any headway in this industry at all is a bit of an accomplishment. And I had a song of mine covered for Hockey Day in Canada. It's actually the theme song for that event. That's a huge thrill in my life. I should put that one down as the greatest thrill - -having that song 'Skating Rink' picked up for Hockey Day in Canada.

Where do you draw your musical inspiration from?

Just life in general, I think. A lot of the other songs are written about the things we used to talk about at work -- you know, roofing or flooring, or whatever we were doing. I think that's why the music has had some success -- because people could recognize themselves very easily in what I was writing about, because it's what everybody's going through, really.

So it's a universal message?

Well, my dad was [a] working man, you know -- a factory worker -- but he had this love of poetry. He just adored poetry and Robert Burns' poetry. So I got this sense that music and poetry were worth something in the world, and I'd like to think that it still is.

Mar 7th 2010 9:40AM by Jaime Owen for Spinner Canada

David Francey: Recognition was all he needed

2010-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

First Juno award gave the singer-songwriter the courage to jump headfirst into his music career

One would assume that after winning Canada's biggest music award, a singer-songwriter might quit the day job without a second thought. But David Francey, Juno in hand, still considered whether he wanted to say goodbye to construction and carpentry work.

Francey's second album, Far End of Summer, was named best solo album in the roots and traditional category in 2002. On the way home to Ayer's Cliff in the Eastern Townships from the awards ceremony in St. John's, Nfld., Francey and his wife, Beth, did some soul searching.

"I was happy with my job. I really enjoyed the guys I was working with. I had been with the same crew for 11 years," the singer remembered during a telephone interview in advance of his Saturday Petit Campus concert, which opens this season's Wintergreen folk music series. "But I was throwing crap in a bin in December and in April I'm collecting a Juno in St. John's. It seemed incredible. I looked at Beth and said, 'Maybe we should go into music. We've just won a Juno, for crying out loud.' "

The slow but steady buzz around Francey's 1999 debut, Torn Screen Door, had already opened the door to an increasingly busy folk festival schedule. A supportive boss on the construction crew, Francey said, had been patient with the growing demands of his musical life.

But with the awards ceremony, the time had finally come for Francey, then 48. Since that fateful car ride, two more Junos and several other honours have taken their place on the household piano.

Francey, who was born in Scotland and came to Canada with his family as a boy, said he got early exposure to writing through his father's love of poetry. "He was a huge admirer of Robert Burns," Francey said. "He was a factory worker, but he could recite, off the top of his head, any number of poems. I listened seriously, enjoyed it and appreciated it. A lot of kids have it rammed down their throats with a two-by-four."

Francey dates his own first stabs at poetry from when he was 10. Some primitive songs, which he assesses as "dreadful and very derivative," came in high school, but the good news was that they acquainted him with the writing process.

At 16, Francey began hitchhiking across the country, an experience that would draw him back to the road every year for some time. "A lot of songs came out of different aspects of those trips," he said. "It's something we should all get to see. We can go the length and breadth of this country and anywhere we stop can be ours. Everything's so diverse and so beautiful in its own way. The idea of being a part of it made me feel great."

A love of his adopted country, its land and its people would stay in Francey's songwriting. But what has also distinguished his songs from those of many contemporaries is the economy of his lyrics. Lives are lived and backstories told in very few words. The Ballad of Bowser MacRae and The Chief Engineer, from Seaway, his recent collaboration with Mike Ford, are fine examples. And there's always the simple image of the torn screen door on a farmhouse, which in Francey's hands speaks volumes about the economy.

If Francey has an equivalent word craftsman in the non-folk world, it might be Ray Davies -- if Davies were less black smoke and more open spaces.

"It's what I strive for," Francey said of lyrical simplicity. "The biggest problem people have in songwriting is overwriting. It's apparent everywhere you look. I've always enjoyed people who were economical with their words, who just said what they had to say and got out. It didn't matter whether it was two minutes long or eight."

Francey's melodies, like his words, are unadorned and instantly memorable. His writing process has something to do with that: the tunes come fully formed from his head, with musical collaborators formalizing the chords. The melodies, he said, generally come naturally with the lyrics. Francey cited Red Wing Blackbird as an example. The song came when he heard one while driving, he explained, humming the tune that came to him in the car.

Not relying on an instrument, he said, frees him up to write anywhere. "It makes the songs singable," he suggested, "because they start out as sung songs before an instrument even gets near them. Maybe that's why the melodies are easily accessible."

Francey said he always knows when the final arrangement matches his tune, and when a chord shouldn't be there. "I'm a slave to melody," he said.

Full-time performer; City gig another stop along the road for Canadian folk troubadour

2010-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Published on August 5th, 2010

Jamie Bennett
The Western Star Staff Writer

CORNER BROOK — David Francey’s route to the top of the Canadian folk music scene has been far from typical.

Born in Scotland, Francey moved with his family to Canada when he was 12. While music was part of his life growing up, it wasn’t until after spending 20 years as a carpenter that he decided to try his hand as a musician.

Even then, Francey continued to work in construction until his debut album “Far End of Summer” was named Best Roots and Traditional Album at the 2002 Junos in St. John’s, a surprise win which prompted him to make the switch to music full time.

“I said maybe we should be doing music because we just won a Juno for crying out loud,” Francey said with a laugh recently from his home in Elphin, Ont. “So it was a leap of faith in a sense but to tell you the truth, I thought the time was right to try it. And I guess it’s worked out the right way.”

While he admits he misses the work and the friends he made while on the job, crafting songs is far less taxing on the body.

“When I was getting up on stage and maybe feeling sorry for myself for being on the road, I’d be thinking to myself ‘well, I’m not getting up in the morning and doing a couple of roofs or wheeling cement all day,’” he said. “So everything for me was a treat. The things I got to do and the people I got to meet, they were something to look forward to every day.”

Coast-to-coast kindness

Francey will get the chance to meet some local fans Tuesday when he plays a gig at the lower level of the Bar Room. The trip will be his second to the city and as someone who’s enjoyed visiting many of the country’s tucked-away corners, he said he’s looking forward to the experience.

“We’ve made it out to phenomenal places, the west coast of Newfoundland being one,” he said. “There’s also Iqaluit up there in the north, I’ve been there a few times now. I was up in the Yukon working in the bush as a young man, but it’s certainly a lot nicer to go up as a musician.

“The last time I was up in the Yukon I was staying in a really nice place and right across the road was a little mission place where we stayed the first day we got into Whitehorse looking for work. I thought ‘boy oh boy, it was a different person that walked that street,’ ... but it wasn’t, really”

A songwriter who tends to write from his own experiences, he said his eyes are always open for interesting subject matter. Francey said while the country is a vast, sprawling one, he’s noted a certain spirit that unites its citizens

“I’ve certainly met kindness from coast to coast. People have time for you here,” he said. “I find Canada’s a great country for that. People will take the time for you and they just want to help you out, more or less. It doesn’t matter where you are, you get that feeling.”

Stripped-down style

As with most of his shows, Francey said his Corner Brook appearance will feature a mix of old and new songs with an attempt to honour requests. Backed by Craig Werth and Jeff Somers, fans will note Francey’s stripped down, no-frills style.

He said the stark arrangements are a deliberate attempt to present music as simply as possible to audiences.

“I liked the Stones like everyone else but my real love was just straight ahead, folk music or singer/songwriter stuff,” he said. “When I got into recording I thought the same thing. The lyrics and the melody are the most important thing and the more you crowd it out, the less chance of those things getting heard.”

Now just eight years into his musical career and with three Junos and more than his share of critical acclaim under his belt, a modest Francey said he often has to pinch himself when thinking about the heights he’s reached.

“Every single day, I can’t believe it,” he said. “Even at these festivals, you’re sitting there on stage with Buffy Sainte-Marie and all these people you’ve known and listened to your entire life. It seems unreal when you’re up there and it’s almost humourous because you’re like ... how did I get here?

“But I’ve been really well received by everyone I’ve run in to. The audience makes you feel like you belong and the people you’re on stage make you feel like you belong there so, obviously, you do. You have to accept that at some point along the line, this is what you’re doing now. It’s a great thing and a great gift to get.”

David Francey to perform in Prescott Park on Wednesday

2010-09-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

August 22, 2010 8:25 AM

As part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival 36th season, Canadian singer/songwriter David Francey will perform in Prescott Park as part of the River House Concert Series on Wednesday, Aug. 25. Francey is hailed as one of the top Canadian songwriters with three JUNO awards for Best Album of the Year. "Francey is the kind of performer who instantly captivates you," said Prescott Park Arts Festival executive director Ben Anderson, IN A PRESS RELEASE, "He is absolutely one of my favorite performers and I'm thrilled that we have the chance to present him as part of the festival this summer."

Returning from a recent tour of Australia, Francey has won three prestigious JUNOAwards (Canada's Grammy Award) for Album of the Year and is recognized as one of today's finest singer-songwriters. Francey brings both intimacy and energy to his performances, mixing slow ballads of everyday like with rousing anthems.

Born in Scotland, Francey's family immigrated to Canada when he was twelve. He grew to understand the people while working in Toronto train yards, the Yukon bush, and as a carpenter in the Eastern Townships. These experiences color his songwriting. David Francey currently tours with American ballad maker and multi-instrumentalist,

Craig Werth of Newmarket.

"Francey's concert was rained out last summer," said Anderson, "He still performed in our backstage tent that was packed full of people, but I had to bring him back again this year as his music needs to be experienced. He's incredible."

Seacoastonline

One Smokin' Hot Fest

2010-09-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

"Show closer David Francey offered something new — to these parts, anyway — in the form of violinist Geoff Somers, in addition to guitarist Craig Werth, adding some extra lyricism to songs capturing the wonder of childhood and chasing the often elusive magic of love and family in adulthood.

Francey’s innate ability to capture emotional truths and deliver them in that wonderful mossy voice proved to be a great pleasure as always. The audience might not have let him leave if there wasn’t a concert curfew, which the show likely surpassed anyway, going until nearly midnight."

Stephen Cooke, The Chronicle Herald

More great reviews for Right of Passage

2007-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

David FranceyRight of Passage (Laker Music)

A lot of musicians wax rhapsodic about the vagabond life; David Francey knows better. A Scottish native and Canadian immigrant, Francey has buttered his bread as a rail worker, a carpenter, an ore carrier shipmate, and a Yukon bush wrangler. He’s also won Juno Awards and has written some of the best songs you’ll ever hear. “Ballad of Bowser McCrae” and “Promised Land” are spirited sea song/Celtic hybrids; whereas “Their Wedding Day” and “Under the Portland Weather” are deeply personal observations wrapped in intimate folk melodies. “New Jerusalem” stops you in your tracks by cutting through the faux piety of murder in the name of Yahweh or Allah. Every song on this album tells you that David Francey is a plebeian poet who can make the prosaic sublime.— Rob Weir,
The Valley Advocate

David Francey
Right of Passage
Laker Music

I guess, at this point in David Francey’s stellar career, we are down to expecting near perfection delivered with each succeeding album. Well…Right of Passage delivers the proverbial goods once again. Twelve new songs and, unexpectedly, one lovely tune delivered superbly by Geoff Somers on fiddle and mandolin and Craig Werth on guitar and bouzouki. David lends a hand, by droning the shruti box.

The songs range from a lovely portrait of one Bowser MacRae, the third mate on an Algoma Central ore carrier, to a song inspired from the TV news coverage of the Middle East. All are extremely well crafted from this observant, slightly melancholic, and gentle man. He sings from the heart, and the arrangements are simple but effective. I particularly liked Stone Town a portrait of Quebec City in the rain. I’ve been in Quebec City in the rain and he nails it.

So, all in all, another terrific effort from Mr. Francey. Did you really expect anything different? Les Siemieniuk, Penguin Eggs

Right of Passage

2007-04-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

"Right of Passage is his finest work to date...another step in David Francey's journey as one of Canada's finest singer-songwriters.” Jan Vanderhorst, Just Us
Folk

Right of Passage **** David Francey (Laker Music) He's bound to stumble at some point, isn't he? But so far, Canadian folkster David Francey has hit the bull's eye every time he's headed into the studio. Right of Passage, the two-time Juno winner's newest collection, finds Francey spinning economical, evocative tales about turning points in life: leaving places, finally telling your girl you love her, confronting the ultimate turning point of death. For the most part a quiet, reflective album, it's rooted in the everyday, the songs' spare imagery that of rain, a garden gate, Quebec City's old stone walls. Francey, as always, excels at narrative, his warm Scottish burr welcoming the listener into his own life and that of his characters. Guitar, fiddle and restrained backing vocals are among Francey's accompanists.” Patrick Langston, Ottawa Citizen

“Thirteen short songs about life's transitional moments - written, for the most part, during his recent summer gig crewing on a Great Lakes ore carrier - bear all the Francey watermarks: lyrical economy, harmony-inducing melodies, wry humour with a hint of melancholy, intimate vocal performances and tasty accompaniment. This is classic Francey - personal, evocative, a work of considerable beauty” Greg Quill, Toronto Star

Carols for a Christmas Eve

2006-12-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

"Carols for a Christmas Eve [is a] a soothing and heartwarming collection of traditional favourites." Greg Quill, Toronto Star

"As usual, most of the Christmas CDs are more so-so than ho-ho, but for the winter winners, check out the following albums...Carols for a Christmas Eve (David Francey). Gather round the Victrola for a timeless take on sing-alongs, done gracefully by pianist Kathryn Briggs and Scottish-Canadian folk star David Francey. In the liner notes, Francey says he had a love for singing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing as a youth. Clearly, he still does.
Brad Wheeler, the Globe and Mail

One voice, one piano: so uncluttered are the arrangements of these 14 carols that at first they sound wrong. But don’t reproach two-time Juno-winning folksinger David Francey for that. Blame instead music programmers who inundate radio stations, malls, you name it with bombastic versions of what are, at heart, elegantly simple songs of praise and celebration. Francey and his pianist, Kathryn Briggs, find joy and wonder in carols like The First Noel and Silent Night. They also find the drama and what could be more dramatic than redemption? in The Holly and the Ivy, I Saw Three Ships and Good Christian Men Rejoice. Recorded at the Old Town Hall in Almonte, Ontario, the album does exactly what the liner notes promise: leaves enough space that we automatically jump in and sing along. Patrick Langston, the Ottawa Citizen

"..you'll love this minimalist recording of David's favourite carols...designed to be sung along with. If you've been singing along for years on auto-pilot, without really thinking about the lyrics, this rendition will give you cause to really experience the meaning of the words to old chestnuts like Good King Wenceslas and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Penguin Eggs

"Have you ever spent a Christmas out on a farm, in a 100-year-old house filled with joy and good cheer, while the whole family warms themselves around the hearth as that musical uncle of yours sits at the piano and sings his way through a songbook of Christmas carols? ...the music would sound very much like this album does, with Francey's vocals accompanied by Kathryn Briggs's piano."
Vue Weekly

“Francey's Carols for a Christmas Eve is a classy testament to the holidays” “Carols for a Christmas Eve is a fancy-free stroll through some of the season's best-loved eggnog complements. Simple arrangements of Kathryn Briggs' piano and Francey's strong voice… make the disc a warm reminder of the beauty of the music, sans bells and whistles.”
Shawn Conner, the Vancouver Courier

On Carols for a Christmas Eve. “The Toronto folksinger gently keys into the Christmas spirit with the help of pianist Kathryn Briggs…
Yule Love: The combination of his earthy voice and her delicate touch.”
DARRYL STERDAN, SUN MEDIA

The First Set - Live From Folk Alley

2006-12-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

"David Francey deserves a rest. What with his prodigious output of 4 amazing albums, in the last 6 years, it’s not surprising that he has put out a live album. Everyone eventually does – or if not - a greatest hits album.So, on the night of November 11, 2005 at the 39th annual Kent State Folk Festival, WKSU’s Jim Blum and his crew captured a lovely slice of David’s performing life. An evening set of nine songs accompanied by Shane Simpson on guitar and vocals. If you’ve never seen David live, the inclusion of the full introductions to each of the songs showcases his self-deprecating sense of humour and give some insights as to where the songs came from.It’s a wonderfully recorded piece of work. Nothing new and not a greatest hits collection by any stretch, Live from Folk Alley is just a lovely digitally preserved moment in the stellar career of one David Francey." Les Siemieniuk, Penguin Eggs Magazine

The Waking Hour

2006-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

"…his best album to date. The songs are strong and the musicianship is exquisite. Just another brilliant CD to add to his collection of great works"
Chopper MacKinnon, Canadian Spaces on Waking Hour

"The Waking Hour is so good it borders on spooky"
Brent Raynor, Now Magazine

Dave Terpeny, KyndMusic Editor on The Waking Hour
With a calm and assuring voice that is reminiscent of folk legend Cisco Houston, politically-tinged lyrical poetry reminiscent of folk legend Woody Guthrie and multi-layered contented strumming and picking reminiscent of folk legend Mississippi John Hurt it comes as no surprise that Canadian David Francey is, well, a folk legend.
In fact, he’s won numerous Juno awards (Canadian Grammy) and has been covered by artists like Del McCoury and James Keelaghan. But that’s not all. The magic of this album is how he manages to blend elements of traditional Scottish folk music, rural American music and a deep sense of wisdom seamlessly together. So why haven’t you heard of him before?
Well, my thought is that because you weren’t ready to hear of him yet. You see, David creates an amazing sense of place in his music and lyrics and sometimes those places aren’t pleasant. And sometimes he challenges you to think, to open your eyes and to believe in what you see. In short, the humble spirituality that comes through his music is not always easy to handle. You have to be in the right place.And if you are in the right place, you will hear an amazing collection of 13 songs that deserves and, in fact, needs to be treasured.

"(David Francey) shows his earthy, tradition-minded nature on "The Waking Hour", burning with the quiet grace and intensity of a young Bruce Cockburn" Jonathan Takiff, Philadelphia Daily NewsThe Waking Hour This is a really good CD. The first song, "The Waking Hour", is the best single of the year. The song is just amazing.
Benjamin Paul host of Alive, You are!

“what a relief … to hear something purer, simpler, more...folk… David Francey's album, The Waking Hour” “ Francey writes songs that feel like they've been sung a million times in a million places by a million voices. And I trust they will be.”
Judith Edelman , Puremusic

Seemingly out of nowhere, middle-aged David Francey burst onto the roots music scene five years ago with a stunning debut CD. Two more releases both netted him Junos for best roots/traditional albums by a solo artist. With those credits on his résumé, Francey headed to Nashville and recorded this gem with the Dead Reckoners – Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin – providing rootsy, off-the-floor backup. Observing the scene in Montreal’s Berri Street bus station, or a small town in Ohio on the anniversary of 9/11, or the media reportage on the day of Timothy McVeigh’s execution, Francey creates compelling song-vignettes. There’s a bluegrass flavour to Wanna Be Loved and Tonight In My Dreams while Badlands is cast in an old-time country vein. **** Mike Regenstreif, the Montreal Gazzette on The Waking Hour

The Waking Hour wins Penguin Eggs Magazine's 2004 Album of the Year award

The Waking Hour is nominated for Canadian Folk Music Award - Contemporary Album of the Year

The Waking Hour is nominated for a JUNO in the Roots and Traditional - Solo category

Skating Rink

2006-12-21T07:24:00.000-08:00

“…so Canadian you can practically hear the snow falling”
Food and Drink on Skating Rink

"This album is stunning…"Skating Rink" is a superb collection of 13 magnificent songs. Les Siemieniuk for Penguin Eggs

"The third album ["Skating Rink"] from the Juno-winning carpenter-turned-songwriter is something of a tour de force, a collection of 13 reflective pieces that contain countless compelling observations, yarns, confessions, hopes, dreams and regrets, all wrung from lives, homes and landscapes that are hauntingly familiar, undeniably Canadian." Greg Quill, The Toronto Star
"…lyrics that are elegant, spare and chilling"
Jerome Stueart, The Yukon News on Skating Rink

Skating Rink by David Francey awarded a JUNO (the Canadian Academy of RecordingArts and Sciences - CARAS - award) in the Best Roots and Traditional Album - Solo category

Skating Rink by David Francey voted 2003 Album of the Year
Penguin Eggs, Canada's Folk, Roots and World Music Magazine

Far End of Summer

2006-12-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

"Far End of Summer, a brilliant collection of original folk music" Peter Cooper, The Tennessean, Nashville TN

"Torn Screen Door, David Francey's debut release, filtered slowly - mostly by word of mouth - out across Canada… It brought with it, instant credibility. Far End of Summer now follows that wonderful, irresistible initial recording…Once again his lyrics, and the lovely melodies he writes, reach into your heart and stay there. He really has the uncanny knack of writing pithy songs that you end up humming to yourself and thinking about long after you've first heard them. David is a true folk singer in the best sense of the word. Each [of his songs] is a little miniature masterpiece of understatement, yet brimming with insight and emotion. If Torn Screen Door heralded David Francey as a fresh new Canadian voice, Far End of Summer proves he truly belongs."
Les Siemieniuk for Penguin Eggs

Far End of Summer by David Francey awarded a JUNO (the Canadian Academy of RecordingArts and Sciences - CARAS - award) in the Best Roots and Traditional Album - Solo category

Far End of Summer by David Francey voted 2001 Album of the Year
Penguin Eggs, Canada's Folk, Roots and World Music Magazine

Martin Kemp, Calgary Record
"In an age when society seems to be moving at a pace faster than time itself, it is refreshing to come across an album that brings the frantic tempo of life down a few notches. With a beautiful simplicity, David Francey's sophomore release [Far End of Summer] is just that, a non-complicated offering of stirring harmonies, acoustic instrumentation and finely crafted lyrics."

Robert Reid, The Kitchener Record
"David Francey seemed to come out of nowhere when he released Torn Screen Door in 1999. Although the album was hailed by critics everywhere, good old-fashioned word-of-mouth made Francey one of the most exciting traditional folksingers around. Far End of Summer offers 15 songs that pick up where Torn Screen Door left off. In fact, the second album is a seamless continuation of its predecessor."

Gregory R. McGuire, The Antigonish Casket
"His [Francey's] songwriting reveals the love of the country that so often marks a first generation immigrant, and the individual tunes reflect a clear fascination with the diversity of this country and its people. With Far End of Summer, Francey has produced a collection of tunes that hold up very well to repeat listening. This is one of those albums where I find the tunes running through my head even after the CD is over. Francey seems to have absorbed the best of the folk tradition in his very bones, and his vocal stylings are perfectly suited to the music."

Torn Screen Door

2006-12-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

Vic Bell, the Nickelodeon, Calgary, Alberta
"David Francey's Torn Screen Door CD is one of the very best albums I've heard in the last year. I've found words and melodies from the album going through my head again and again. Find it and buy it...you won't regret it."

Chris Darling, host of Us Folk on Torn Screen Door
"One can hear his Scottish roots in his vocals, but what you will also hear are songs so well crafted that you will swear they are part of "the landscape " of human experience that have been a part of acoustic folk legacies since songs were first uttered/performed."

In their review of "The Best Music of 2000", CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera named Torn Screen Door the best folk/roots album of the year.

“…songs that go straight to the heart and stay there… Rich Warren for Sing Out! Magazine on Torn Screen Door