We'll take you home again Kathleen - new husband, new cd and, just maybe, a house in 'The hammer' in one week, kathleen edwards will debut her new album back to me, before a few million people on the david letterman show. but tonight, edwards and her band will perform at a little hamilton club that barely holds 150 people. not all young artists get to play letterman the day after their record is released. it's kind of a big deal. letterman, you see, really likes her. two years ago, letterman had her on his show twice within a few weeks to help plug her debut album, failer. after she plays letterman next wednesday, edwards has a bunch of promotional things to do in europe and the u.s. - maybe the leno show because jay likes her too - before she gets around to full-out touring. so we're privileged to have a chance to see edwards perform her new songs in a cozy little room. the rest of the world will just have to wait, even toronto. as a matter of fact she probably won't play there until late april, maybe even may. why does hamilton rate such premium treatment from this 26-year-old-ottawa-born songwriter who's besotted so many of the people who count? for one thing, edwards likes it here. she even plans to buy a house in hamilton and settle down here as soon as she finishes her big tour. of course, that may have something to do with the fact that her in-laws live here, and that her lead guitarist was born and raised in hamilton, along with her record producer and her new husband, too. actually, they're all the same person - colin cripps, who played for hamilton bands like crash vegas and junkhouse before meeting edwards. "we come to hamilton all the time," edwards says. "we have a lot of friends there and we thought it was the perfect time to come and do a show. i actually wish that we were doing two or three nights there. i just wanted to go and warm up. "we're thinking about moving to hamilton a the end of this tour. i love the hammer. i'm totally sold on it. and you don't have to sacrifice your first-born to buy a house." they've been living in a toronto apartment since getting married last august in ottawa. the wedding was quite and affair. her father has been a senior bureaucrat in several government departments, so there was a cross section of the canadian music and diplomatic corps. junkhouse alumni tom wilson and dan achen were part of the wedding party, as was blue rodeo's jim cuddy. they spent their honeymoon mixing the album with tom petty's soundman, jim scott, in a los angeles studio. so it's no coincidence that edward's new album, especially the title track back to me, rocks like petty's old band the heartbreakers. expectations for back to me are big. just over two years ago, her low-budget debut failer was released in canada with little fanfare. she sang of cheap motels, whiskey bars and trailer park shootouts. her throaty voice went down well with the mini bottles of maker's mark bourbon she sent with promotional copies of failer. some key people noticed and a few well-placed reviews, including rolling stone magazine, turned her into an overnight sensation with her songs hockey skates and six o'clock news getting play on u.s. radio. the attention landed her a spot on the lineup for the toronto sars festival, playing ahead of ac/dc and the rolling stones. everyone seemed to have an opinion about who the producer of a follow-up should be. people advised her to look for a big name. don't worry about the cost, her record company said. they'd bankroll her. edwards, however, wanted somebody who knew her music, someone who wouldn't try to make her into something she isn't. she wanted her husband, colin cripps. "my manager called me and said the record company is not happy that you want to use colin as your producer," edwards says, "and i had to have this conversation about why he should be. there's just a lot of politics sometimes in who's going to be involved. i just knew that colin was the one person i could trust." it was a relationship forged over two years ago on the road. after a while, marriage seemed inevitable. "i got proposed to in the back of the tour bus in philadelphia," edwards laughs. "hey, man, that's rock 'n' roll." so does the new album live up to expectations? if anything, back to me is superior to failer. it still features those great storytelling songs. the opening track, in state, was written as a precursor to failer's six o'clock news, setting the stage for the trailer park tragedy and confirming edwards' reputation as a sidestreet storyteller. the title track back to me rocks rowdier than anything on failer and songs like old time sake, copied keys and summerlong reveal a more personal side to her songwriting, the side that makes you want to reach through the speakers and giver her a "don't worry, kathleen" hug. cripps' production and playing are masterful. he's set down layer upon layer of intricate guitar work without taking away from the quality of edward's songs or her delivery. "colin is extremely underrated and should be a lot better known," edwards says. "but a lot of that is just time. he could be playing with anyone. i'm really lucky that he connected with me." graham rockingham hamiltonspectator.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews