The Backing Singer by Bobby Long – An EP Review
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"I’ve been listening to anything Bobby Long has to offer since I picked up my copy of Dirty Pond Songs at his first show here in Nashville three years ago. Over the years, he has proven to be prolific and exceptionally profound, but his latest offering, The Backing Singer, goes above anything he’s ever done before. Because I added the EP to my iTunes immediately, I often cycled through tunes from previous albums and EPs while listening, and the differences between past records and his new EP are immediate, but not jarring.
The first thing I noticed the moment She Wears Green began is the gentle touch. Violin introduces the first strum of the guitar, both foreshadowing the subject matter beautifully. If we can expect anything from Bobby Long, it’s that he will cut cleanly with his lyrics, pain present but soothed by the warmth of his voice. The addition of the violin, contributed by Jack Dawson, is an inspired touch. It presents a whole new dimension of Long’s songwriting and calls to mind Irish folk music. His backing vocalists are a cushion, an accompaniment – never partners, merely support.
The partner is, in fact, the violin. The legato lines are often in contrast to the finger picking at which Long is so adept, but they are performed with a rasp that echoes the voice perfectly. Throughout the entire album, there is no better backing singer. On the title track, we see even more of the songwriting mastery. Opening gently in minor, there is a very melancholy feel, but it eventually opens up to the more hopeful major key. When he might have pushed too hard, Long instead remains tender, never overdoing the vocals. It seems a personal song for him, and he treats it as such." Read more...
By: Jennifer Barry | October 12, 2011
Awaiting The Flood |
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BOBBY LONG - OCTOBER 6, 2011
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Bobby Long performing at the audiotree music studios in Chicago. View on site.
By: Audiotree Live | October 6, 2011 |
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