Search - Peter Bradley Adams :: Leavetaking (Dig)

Hmmmmm...

Michael T. Geiger Geigerassociates | Southern California | 02/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As with a lot of stuff produced in Nashville in the last two decades or so, production quality has gotten SO slick that there is this constant veneer of "perfect" that drives me to distraction. (An example of what I'm talking about is the difference between Twyla Paris' "True North" album and the one that followed it. I was very disappointed by the "awesome" production)Don't get me wrong, I admire and respect and even enjoy well produced music. But come on. I know nothing of Peter Bradley Adams' other solo stuff and am fairly acquainted with his work in EastMountainSouth. And it appears from just that bit exposure that his song, "So Are You To Me" is among the great "what-if" hit songs. But to production, I am very happy with the instrumental work on this record. I enjoy what the tenor guitar brings to the texture and if you like an acoustic guitar driven thing that actually has some textural interest, this is the record for you. As for the song-writing, I am frustrated with the aformentioned tune because it seems incomplete. Maybe another verse or something to do with the form of it would really send it over the top into hit song land. Not sure there. It does seem to me that he just ran out of ideas for this song and that's what we get... "Keep us" is nicely evocative.

As for the vocalism, I find his voice very one-dimensional. I don't get any real emotion from the voice, just processed, tuning-software perfection that really puts me to sleep. A lot of mushy words and dropped consonants and flat vowels that make it really hard to know how committed he is to the actual conveyance of the texts. A lot of air passing over the vocal chords which never come together to make a real resonant vocal sound. In other words, pretty boring singing. I give this record a 3 rating because it's a solo effort that comes nowhere near the interest generated by the previous efforts of EastMountainSouth. Sorry, I can't help making the comparison and then wondering why the solo effort if it's not going to be a leap forward either for his career."

Absolutely beautiful music

Van DeLisle | Chicago, Illinois United States | 08/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found Peter Bradley Adams like I find just about anyone nowadays, on myspace. And what a find! I really love Claire Small, and since it appears that she really loves Peter, I figured I'd take a chance. Wow! This album is SO nice. The opening song, The Longer I Run, is typical of the whole album, perfect folk/rock that is absolutely timeless. What is it about Nashville lately? Neither Claire nor Peter are still there but it is turning out some brilliant singer/songwriters, and it's not what you'd expect. 'Leavetaking' is a gorgeous beautiful gem.

UPDATE

I got to see PBA LIVE last night here in Chicago and he put on a great show. Just him and one other guy (Jason Goforth!) and the two of them were so good. If Peter Bradley Adams comes to your town, run don't walk to see him.

ANOTHER UPDATE

I saw Peter again this last November at the Americana Folk Festival in Nashville. And once again he was terrific. AND this time Claire was their to sing with him! Just gorgeous music.

btw.. the AFF is a fantastic one day music festival abut a 30 minute drive out of Nashville. In a state park. Great music in a great setting."

CD is wonderful, live is even better...amazing artist

Buckeye HR | Columbus, OH USA | 11/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Peter Bradley Adams with Claire Small (vocals and guitar) and Jason Goforth (harmonica, lap steel) and it was a wonderful show. He did some of this album and some of his previous Gather. Fantastic, bought this CD just after the show and Claire Small's Ledger also. Peter's vocals astounding and he plays the songs on the guitar, tuning for each song. Amazing. This is great, highly recommend."