Sam Lewis
Waiting on You
Brash Music BRH0093-2
Kick off Your Shoes, Easy Listening Country of the Finest Hue
Ooh…..this is good; this is very good indeed.
From the opening notes of 3:4 Time through to the ending of I’m Coming Home you will want to settle down, legs outstretched and let these beautiful songs just wash over you.
When I say ‘easy listening’ I mean in the vein of JJ Cale or Billy Swan; this ain’t music for Grandma’s it’s definitely for serious music fans like you and me.
Waiting On You opens with the jaunty Waltz like beat of 3:4 Time and coupled with some sharp lyrics it had me hooked me like a fish seeing a big fat juicy worm. The song was an instant winner in my house; and when I discovered that it is Will Kimbrough slicing through the airwaves with is electric mandolin I was doubly impressed.
The next few songs are all in the same lovely sleepy groove; making me imagine I sitting on a Delta porch sipping a beer as the sun sets; instead of a car stuck in traffic on the M1. That’s a special feat; I can tell you.
Only a couple of songs ever manage to get out of second gear; and that’s a good thing – Reinventing The Blues could be Justin Townes Earle singing Randy Newman and later Little Time features some beauteous Ragtime guitar breaks. Second Gear? Not really, Sam Lewis is on cruise control all the way through.
Where do I start when it comes to highlights? Two songs that melt into one are Never Again; which owes a nod in the direction of Tennessee Waltz and is immediately followed by the glorious Texas which is a genuinely great Country song, in anyone’s book. The two together make for eight and a half of the finest musical minutes you will ever spend.
Quality oozes out of every note throughout the album; and it was only after I’d played it 5 or 6 times before I read the liner notes to discover that as well as Kimbrough there are plenty of other big-hitters littered around this album; the McCray Sisters who I saw a few weeks ago at SummerTyne Festival sound like Angels when they harmonise on Waiting On You and Talk to Me. Without dropping too many names Kenny Vaughan, Darrell Scott and Martin Harley (among others) make numerous appearances too; but all they do is add extra shine to the diamond that is Sam Lewis’ words and voice.
Released – September 11th 2015
The Rocking Magpie 