Product DescriptionPaul Burch, Nashville s honky-tonk auteur and a writer of unmistakably modern but instantly classic songs, releases his newest album, 'Fevers' on Plowboy Records. Backed by his redoubtable band the WPA Ballclub, Fevers reveals the side of Burch heard most often on stage intense, unbridled, and full of bravado. Produced with multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin (Jack White, Buddy Miller, Third Man Records) and recorded at Burch s analog Pan-American studio, Fevers is a riveting and haunting mix of honky-tonk, string-band blues, and bop grooves that defies easy categorization.
Fevers includes 10 Burch compositions, including the first single `Couldn't Get a Witness,` along with two covers: `Ocean of Tears,` originally by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and `I'm Going to Memphis,` which was originally released on the Alan Lomax's 'Blues in the Mississippi Night.' The songs range from lyrical ballads like `Melancholy Baby,` which combines harmonium and violin into an unearthly string section, to a startling reimagining of the folk classic `Cluck Old Hen,` which conjures a sandstorm howl of chanting feedback with the very same instruments.
First formed at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville, the WPA Ballclub will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. The group spearheaded Nashville s Lower Broadway Revival, and members include some of Music City's most forward thinking and innovative musicians.
Born in Washington D.C., Burch was first singled out when his 1996 debut, Pan American Flash, was named Amazon.com s #5 Best Country Albums of the 90s and was described by Billboard s Chet Flippo as 'extraordinary...establishing Burch as a leader in marrying country's roots tradition with a modern sensibility.'
Critics have praised Burch s albums as 'music that sounds thoroughly modern but completely unlike contemporary country' (USA Today) and Entertainment Weekly has called him "a modern day Jimmie Rodgers." The UK s Uncut Magazine has awarded each of Burch s past three albums a five star rating saying: No one makes records like this anymore.