Luanne Hunt and Dave Ward Channel Dylan in Poetic and Powerful, “The Night He Came to Town”
By The Faulkner Review
Luanne Hunt's recording of “The Night He Came To Town” is a country/folk ballad written by Canadian songwriter, Dave Ward. The song begins with a spoken word poetry excerpt, setting the tone for the poetic lyrics that follow.
From the opening lines, there is a Dylan-esque depth to the words which seem to depict Judgement Day, or at least a vision of it: "The clouds rolled in, the rain came down, thunder roared, it shook the ground, dead men rose from all around the night he came to town...".
Luanne delivers these powerful lines with an authentic, charismatic voice, backed by acoustic guitar by Eric Uglum and electric guitar courtesy of Joe Eiffert. It also features some fine fiddle playing throughout by Christian Ward (no relation to the songwriter), who is one of Nashville's most sought-after studio and touring musicians.
The haunting lead vocal melody is what stands out most of all though, perfectly mirroring the moral gravity and apocalyptic style of the lyrics. Both Christian Ward and Joe Eiffert get to shine at certain points with succinct solos on their respective instruments.
Overall, this is a very well-written country folk song performed beautifully by Luanne. The storytelling aspect of the finest country and folk music is brought back to the fore with this release and rightly so.
Its grave and solemn lyrical message will particularly resonate with those of a Christian faith, but the appeal of this song is universal and should bring Luanne Hunt another deserved success in her long and distinguished career.