It's hard to know where to start. Not because I've got a little tiny bunch of records to talk about but because there's a lot to talk about. So I decided to present you one of my recent discoveries. Ladies & Gentlemen, here is Rich Mahan !
This guy has just released his first record called "Blame Bobby Bare" in the beginning of this year. It's a country/rock'n'roll style CD full of good songs. Produced by Brian Harrison with a lot of talented musicians at his side, like the famous harmonica player P. T. Gazell or the pedal-steel player Roby Turner. Those guys know how to make a good song to sound amazingly. Just listen to "Rehab's For Quitters" or the way harmonica lines sound on "The Hills Of South Dakota" to understand how they emboss the harmonies.
There's a kind of 70's spirit in this music and it's not so surprising to find Bekka Brammett (former member of Fleetwood Mac) singing in this album on a very bluesy "Favorite Shirt". We could talk about a neo-vintage style.
Thus, as you may figured out with the record title, this work is a wink to Bobby Bare (a famous country singer who started his successful career in the 60s) and the way he shaped the Rich's vision of country music. Indeed, his father was a huge fan of this country singer, listening him a lot at the family home. Rich Mahan couldn't avoid to deeply meet that music. But as I said early, there's also a lot of Rock'n'Roll in the tracklist, starting with the first song "Math".
If classic country still to be a reference, that's a modern work we got here. It's deeply anchored in its own time, never going on the cliché side. First and well done record for Rich Mahan. We just can hope to see others to come.
Official Website : http://www.richmahan.com/
Official Website : http://www.richmahan.com/
