FMI Records artist: Dave Fields - All In - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (July 1, 2014), All In, from Dave Fields and it's quite strong. Opening with Changes In My Life, a blues shaped rocker, Fields,playing most all instruments lays out a pop blues rocker with a catchy feel and blues riffs blended with modern tapping techniques making for an interesting change of pace. Voodoo Eyes is up next with more of a ballad style but with a cool rhythm. Fields again steps up with some really nice guitar riffs and key work that nicely highlights the track. Let's Go Downtown has a really happy feel and pacing march rhythm not a lot unlike what you might expect from Wet Willie or Elvin Bishop. This is a cool track with strong blues guitar riffs. Yeah, he has a better voice than my pal Crabshaw, but I ain't holding that against him. Nice track. Dragon Fly takes a much more serious approach to the music with more of an orchestral arrangement, powerful bottom and soaring guitar. Cream's (Robert Johnson) Cross Road is up next with a totally different feel. The reason that I say Cream has more to do with it sounding like an interpretation of Cream's interpretation of Robert Johnson's Crossroad Blues. With a slower pace and a heavier attack, this track has new life and modern guitar pyrotechnics yet retains a bit of the rawness of Johnson's original. Wake Up Jasper is a straight up 12 bar number along the lines of Blind Willie McTell's Statesboro Blues. Fields has a nice voice that blends well with his musical style. Breaking into a R&B track midway through, this track is one of the coolest on the release with Jeff Beck like guitar sounds and a Wilson Pickett step. Excellent! A really cool twist is a funky take on Led Zep's Black Dog! Retaining a bit of Robert Plant's senseless groans and grunts might be the easiest tip off that it's the same track it's done so nicely, Led Zep fans will easily pick it out... but it is really a new track. Not retaining the flash and flair of Page's guitar work opting instead to do it "Texas Style" this is quite a cool track. Not Gonna Let You Get Away retains that southern blues funk with a pop edge. An "Eddie van Halen" like guitar solo breaks the funk but not in a bad way. This is a cool track which nicely blends not only musical styles but also guitar styles and nice vocal work. Got A Hold On Me slides into Ray Charles territory with a touch of Stevie Ray. A cool R&B rocker with modern guitar sounds really separates this track and Fields as a whole as someone who is trying to cut his own road. Nice job! That's All Right is a groove monster with a funky beat and killer guitar riffs. Again Fields is right on vocally making this one of the nicer tracks on the release. Wrapping the recording is Lover's Holiday, an easy, acoustic number primarily featuring Fields on acoustic guitar and vocals, light percussion and backing. This is a cool little track to complete what is certainly Fields finest outing to date.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Tree Leaf Music artist: Lefty Williams Band - All In - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (August 21, 2014), All In, from Lefty Williams and it's quite good. Lefty, who gets his nickname from the amount of work he can get done on the guitar using primarily his left hand, has put together a short list of slick tracks which blend, pop, jazz, blues and R&B. Opening with Crescent, a funky jazzy track with a flavor of New Orleans, Williams shows he has a great sense of style and a strong voice. He is joined by Richie Mays (slide guitar), Steve Mays (bass), Kofi Burbridge (keys), Yonrico Scott (drums), Ethan Levitt (sax), Hardian Mendoza (trumpet) and Joseph Jenkins (bari sax). This is a tight unit with a great sound. Let It Roll On has a bit more of a laid back style with more of a southern rock flair and slide guitar/piano riffs bridging the vocal lead. You Know I Love You is a really special track. A blend between John Fogerty and Steve Winwood, this track has a beautiful and memorable melody and warm guitar work, backed by nice horn work. Definitely the best track with absolute universal airplay appeal. Coming Apart is a simple ballad, again well constructed, showing Williams' fine vocals and guitar work. Wrapping the release is You Don't Tell Me, is a rocker with a definite southern flavor but sounding fresh and not stereotypical. This is a fine outing by a strong musician and singer.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Lefty Williams' ALL IN To Be Released 8/21 Via Tree Leaf Music

                                                                                                                                          

LEFTY WILLIAMS AND TREE LEAF MUSIC

ANNOUNCE AUGUST 21 RELEASE DATE FOR ALL IN

Atlanta, GA --- Lefty Williams, Producer Ashley Dennis and Tree Leaf Music have announced an August 21 release date for the singer/songwriter/guitarist's upcoming release ALL IN.  Williams shares, "Paul Diaz and I have been friends for years. About two years ago when he heard the demos he signed me on the spot.  I could not be happier to be a part of the new label Tree Leaf Music has launched." Diaz echoes these sentiments offering, "Lefty is a uniquely talented writer and performer with wonderful, heartfelt lyrics, and amazing riff oriented guitar playing. We are blessed to be able to help him realize his musical vision at Tree."

The sessions were Produced and Mixed by Ashley Dennis who also represents Williams as management. Williams reflects, "Once we started working together we realized that we think the same way, and share a lot of the same ideas. So we would get into the studio and I would say 'this song needs..' and he would finish my thought and vice-versa. With the new partnership having yielded such immediate and successful results, and with his knowledge and experience working with some of the top artists in The World I was often asking for advice and he was always willing to offer guidance.  In an effort to take this to another level, it seemed like a logical step to hire him to manage me." Dennis adds, "Lefty always impressed me.  His great musicianship and work ethic exhibits that he has found his true Passion.  He always is having fun when he plays.  I was super busy and not looking for any new projects, but one night at a local Jam he hosted in Atlanta he convinced me to listen to some rough ideas of songs he had been working on.  Man, I was blown-away!  I felt a real connection to the songs, and went right to work staying up almost all night in my home studio, mixing the roughs, and plotting a course to build the songs into something huge and wonderful just like Lefty's personality.  When you get to know him - huge heart, wonderful guy to be around, truly inspiring. The next day I called Lefty, advising I can make something happen with these songs for sure, but if we are gonna do it, we have to be 'All in.'  No skimping, do it right, or don't do it at all. Lefty agreed, and with hard work and some favors from great people, the demos turned into a deal with Tree Leaf Music / Paul Diaz, and subsequently recording and mixing at the amazing, world renowned Treesound Studios.  I feel like we accomplished our Mission - good, honest, soulful, heartfelt music from the gut performed by men of flesh and bone with instruments of wood and steel.  I can't wait for the rest of The World to hear and enjoy the great talent that is Lefty Williams."

Lefty Williams has established a respected and endearing reputation as a great rock guitarist and songwriter through the age-old adage of building an audience one fan at a time.  Over the last decade, this legion of supporters has grown exponentially with purity.  His songs have real depth and power.  They are more than just catchy pop numbers that speak to the heart about issues of life and the experiences we all share in the passage of life.  His playing is reminiscent of Jimmy Page, Dickey Betts and Eric Johnson, while at the same time frequently receiving comparison to the great lineage of Georgia reared guitarists that include Robert Cray and Duane Allman.  With the release of ALL IN, and a new relationship with Tree Leaf Music, his future continues to thrive.

Williams released his first CD, BIG PLANS in 2006.  It was produced by John Keane (REM, Widespread Panic), who said, ”Lefty’s sound is a compelling combination of honest, heartfelt lyrics and masterful rhythm and blues muscle."  His next offering SNAKE OIL, issued in 2008, was nominated for Album of the Year by the Homegrown Music Network. His latest ALL IN marks the start of a new alliance with Tree Leaf Music.  The songs are soulful, and exhibit an artist wherein the fact that Williams has only one hand should be nothing more than an afterthought.  The vocals are reminiscent of Plant, Redding and Allman in their expressiveness.  Lyrically, The track "Crescent" captures a story of meeting a girl on a train headed to New Orleans, loosely based on his wife Rayanne taking Williams on a birthday trip on the Crescent Line.  With "You Know I Love You," he pays tribute to his wife on their 10th anniversary and shares, "She puts up with me being on the road all the time, and I wanted her to know that I know we can make it through anything that life throws at us."  "Let It Roll On" is simply a happy song about waking up in a good mood, while "You Don’t Tell Me" is the antithesis as Williams reveals, "I wrote this song in the middle of an argument with my wife."  He continues, "I was ironing my clothes and I was going over the argument in my head. I have always been fond of saying “You don't tell me...I tell you” I'm not sure where it came from but I've said it for years. So when I said it to myself it occurred to me that everybody knows what it's like to go through a break up. At some point everyone wants out of a relationship. Even though I wasn't considering leaving my wife, I decided to write a song about breaking up with someone but not being mad at them, just over it."

Blues stalwart Tinsley Ellis, who played on SNAKE OIL, once shared, "I was knocked out by Lefty the first time I heard his music. I just knew that I had to seek him out and hear more of his stuff. He is a veritable triple threat on certainly guitar, but also as a soulful vocalist and clever songwriter. The fact that he is out there winning over fans one at a time with his nonstop touring schedule is definitely something that I can relate to.”  And with the success he now enjoys, Williams remains humble.  He reflects, "I do not aspire to sell out arenas or be on the cover of Rolling Stone. I will be perfectly happy playing in theaters and touring all over the world. My biggest hope is to get out of the van and into a bus and be able to make a comfortable living playing my guitar. I want to take care of my family, my band members, and the people on my team to the best of my abilities. And, I want to connect with my audience on a deeply personal level that allows me to make life-long fans." If karma plays a part in the existence of humankind, Williams has a lot of good coming back his way as he enters the next chapter of his career with the release of ALL IN.