Hot Wax: Can't Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney (2024)

The late David Olney was a superlative songwriter and a natural storyteller, capable of spinning tales with an imagination the equal of any novelist or poet. A Rhode Island native who landed in Nashville by way of North Carolina and Georgia, Olney and his band the X-Rays were early pioneers of the Music City’s bourgeoning late ‘70s rock scene, recording two albums for Rounder Records. Olney launched a solo career in the mid-‘80s that resulted in better than 30 studio and live albums, his last being 2021’s Whispers and Sighs, a posthumous collaboration with singer/songwriter Anana Kaye. Olney passed away of an apparent heart attack in January 2020 while performing onstage at the 30A Songwriter Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Although Olney never received the commercial returns an artist of his talent deserved, he was well-respected by other artists and songwriters. Musical legends like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Del McCoury, and Linda Rondstadt thought enough of his skills as a wordsmith to record Olney songs like “If My Eyes Were Blind,” “Women Cross the River,” and “Jerusalem Tomorrow” while talents such as John Hiatt, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt considered him a peer. As Olney told me in an interview for my 2012 book The Other Side of Nashville, “I used to be pissed-off about not being more famous. But I got to see the world in an intimate kind of way, and that’s OK.”    

Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney

It’s been almost five years since Olney’s death and he’s been provided an honor afforded few of even the most commercially-successful of his contemporaries – a bona fide tribute album. Released by Americana label New West Records, Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney compiles 17 of Olney’s tunes on four sides of vinyl (also available on CD), performed by folks like Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin, Mary Gauthier, and Willis Alan Ramsey. Olney makes an appearance himself with the eerie, previously-unreleased “Sonnet #40,” while Executive Producer Gwil Owen, a longtime friend of Olney’s, dug up a vintage, unreleased live recording of Townes Van Zandt performing Olney’s “Illegal Cargo” in 1977 in Chapel Hill NC.

Although Olney is usually pigeonholed as a country or folk artist, as I wrote in my review of his 2014 album When the Deal Goes Down, “much like Van Zandt, Olney brings country and folk influences to his songs, but he also imbues his performances with a punk-rock intensity and attitude.” In truth, Olney brought whatever tool he needed – country, folks, blues, rock – to crafting his songs. Can’t Steal My Fire opens with Lucinda Williams’ take on Olney’s “Deeper Well,” the title track of his 1988 album for Rounder Records. Williams is a kindred spirit, a fellow musical outsider who has tasted fleeting success, and an incredible vocalist. When she sinks her teeth into a performance like she does here on “Deeper Well,” she transforms the song, this time into a powerful Delta blues dirge, her haunting vocals supported by Stuart Mathis’s otherworldly guitar playing. It’s an electrifying reminder of what a singer like Williams can do with an already great song.

By contrast, Olney’s longtime friend Steve Earle applies his own considerable vocal talents to “Sister Angelina,” a standout track from 1992’s Border Crossing album. A folkish ballad with Mexican instrumental flourishes, Earle’s nuanced performance is boosted by Jeff Hill’s engaging and exotic fretwork. It’s a gorgeous song, done right by Earle. The McCrary Sisters – unknown to me before now – take “Voices On the Water,” co-written by Olney with Gwil Owen, and apply a Gospel fervor to their performance, magnifying the lyrics and raising a joyous noise. Buddy Miller doesn’t so much interpret “Jerusalem Tomorrow” as much as he moves in and inhabits the song with a strong spoken/sung performance that focus more on the song than the singer.

David Olney 2019, photo by Scott Housley

If My Eyes Were Blind

The Steeldrivers open side two of Can’t Steal My Fire, bringing a bluegrass fury to “If My Eyes Were Blind,” also from Deeper Well. The band weaves elegant instrumentation around Olney’s poetic lyrics, creating a lush soundscape that perfectly captures Olney’s emotional original. Acclaimed Texas singer/songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey brings a bit of whimsy to his performance of “Women Across the River,” his atmospheric vocals accented by Tammy Rogers’ lovely mandolin and fiddle-play. Louisiana folkie Mary Gauthier brings a minimalist Southern Gothic vibe to “1917,” from 1999’s Through A Glass Darkly. Although she’s accompanied by subtle and subdued instrumentation, her vocals are simply mesmerizing, drawing your focus to the story so that everything else falls away.

Americana legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore kicks of the album’s third side with “If It Wasn’t For the Wind,” a co-write with Joe Fleming from Olney’s first solo LP, 1986’s Eye of the Storm. Gilmore applies his warm, high-lonesome vocals to the winsome ballad, imbuing the song with a dreaminess that is punctuated by Warren Hood’s fiddle and guitarist Rich Brotherton’s lovely guitarplay. Olney collaborated with young singer/songwriter Anana Kaye and her musician husband Irakli Gabriel on Whispers and Sighs and they return the favor with an inspired performance of “Running From Love,” Kaye’s breathless vocals adding an urgent sensuality to the lyrics while guitarist Joe McMahan fiery leads lead the song to blues-rock territory. “That’s My Story,” from one of Olney’s more obscure albums, 1991’s Top To Bottom, is provided a talking blues-styled reading by folkie Greg Brown, who brings a Tom Waits vibe to the offbeat, absurdist story.

Olney’s “Sonnet #40” is equally bizarro, a short, shocking spoken-word vamp with Olney’s studio-altered vocals accompanied by jazzy instrumentation and lyrics that surprise. Afton Wolfe is another artist unfamiliar to these ears, but his high-energy, hard-rockin’ version of “Titanic” is as steely as its namesake’s hull. With gritty vocals driven to madness by McMahan’s metallic fretwork, it’s a dino-stomp in a league with Sabbath or Zeppelin. Dave Alvin digs all the way back to the X-Rays’ 1981 album Contender for “Steal My Thunder,” the Americana pioneer transforming the song into a bluesy roots-rocker with help from the Rick Holmstrom Trio. Jim Lauderdale brings a honky-tonk authenticity to “Delta Blue,” complete with enchanting Dobro and fiddle. The aforementioned Townes Van Zandt performance of “Illegal Cargo” closes out Can’t Steal My Fire. Another great song from Deeper Well, what this 1977 live recording lacks in sonic quality it more than makes up for with pathos and sincerity.        
 

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

I was privileged to have known David Olney, and to have seen him perform a number of times – more than enough to stand in awe of the man and his music. A singular talent, Olney’s skills as a lyrical storyteller are unequalled in popular music, and his ability to perfectly capture the human condition in the unyielding amber of song is his legacy. As shown by the 17 songs on Can’t Steal My Fire, Olney was a hell of a wordsmith, and it’s because his work drew so deeply from the entirety of American music that it is truly timeless and open to endless interpretation. Can’t Steal My Fire provides a wonderful introduction to David Olney, and will motivate more than a few first-time listeners to dig into his rich and varied catalog of music…for which they’ll be suitably rewarded. Grade: A+ (New West Records, released August 27th, 2024)

Buy the album from Amazon: Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney

Also on That Devil Music: Gwil Owen talks about David Olney & the Can’t Steal My Fire LP

The Reverend’s tribute to Olney on the Rock and Roll Globe website

Q5: Gwil Owen talks about David Olney & the Can't Steal My Fire LP (2024)

Nashville musician Gwil Owen was a longtime friend and collaborator with David Olney and the Executive Producer of the recently-released tribute album, Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney. The Reverend pitched a few questions to Owen about the album via email:

Q1. How did Can’t Steal My Fire come about?
David was my closest friend and we had many conversations about the fact that he probably wouldn’t get true recognition until he was dead and gone. One night we played a show together and met Regina McCrary. After she left Dave said, “we should get the McCrary Sisters to cut one of our songs.” I said, “what song of ours would they cut?” and Dave said, “Voices on the Water!” I always remembered that conversation and it was an honor to make that wish come true. When he died, I realized that I was the logical person to make this record and his family agreed.
 
Q2. How did you choose which artists to include, and did they select the songs they performed?
David spent a lifetime on the road, so he got to know a lot of his fellow songwriters, and I knew that he was greatly admired in that circle. I mostly focused on those that I also knew personally, as it made it a lot easier. Steve Earle, Dave Alvin, Mary Gauthier, and R.B. Morris all knew which songs they wanted to do, so of course I agreed to all of those; I chose most of the rest.
 
Q3. Were there any artists who you wanted to include on the album but couldn’t get?
The first artist who agreed to be on the record was John Prine. Tragically, he died of COVID just a month later, before he had a chance to record his track. 2020 was a year of heartbreaks. I spent a good while talking with Tom Waits’ people; he loved the tracks I sent him and set up a Zoom meeting with his record label. I thought for sure we had him, but in the end it didn’t work out. There’s also a never-released Johnny Cash version of “Jerusalem Tomorrow” that I couldn’t manage to pry out of Rick Rubin’s hands.
 
Q4. How would you describe David Olney’s music?
Dave was a master storyteller; he could work all the necessary elements into a song so skillfully that you never noticed the enormous amount of information he was giving you. Listen to “Illegal Cargo” for example. He also had a tremendous imagination; he thought of approaches and points of view that would never occur to most writers. Telling the story of the Titanic from the perspective of the iceberg is probably the most famous example of that. Just as important as all his technical skill and creativity was his tremendous empathy. He really cared about people, and that big heart of his is beating loudly throughout every single one of his songs.
 
Q5. What would you like listeners to know about Olney?
He made about 20 albums in his lifetime and there are great songs on every one. If you like this record, I encourage you to check out the songs as sung by the man himself.

Buy the album from Amazon: Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney

Also on That Devil Music: Can't Steal My Fire album review

Anarchy In The Music City! The Other Side of Nashville's Musical Pioneers

Since the early 1960s, Nashville has been known worldwide as the "Music City" for its robust country and gospel music industries. For over 40 years now, Nashville has also been home to a thriving hotbed of rock, blues, rap, and Americana music. "The Other Side of Nashville" has grown from a few makeshift bands playing original songs and scraping for gigs into an internationally-respected scene that has attracted creative immigrants from across the globe.

Anarchy In The Music City! is an oral history of the origins and evolution of Nashville's alternative music scene as told by the pioneers that made the music. Using artist interviews culled from the pages of Rev. Keith A. Gordon's critically-acclaimed book The Other Side of Nashville, this illustrated volume includes conversations with both well-known music-makers like Jason & the Scorchers, Webb Wilder, Tony Gerber, David Olney, and Chagall Guevara as well as regional cult rockers like Tommy Womack, the Dusters, Donna Frost, and Aashid Himons, among many others.  

The “Reverend of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Rev. Gordon has been writing about rock and blues music for 50 years. A former contributor to the All Music Guide books and website, and the former Blues Expert for About.com, Rev. Gordon has written or edited 25 previous music-related books and eBooks, including Blues Deluxe: The Joe Bonamassa Buying Guide, Planet of Sound, The Other Side of Nashville, and Scorched Earth: A Jason & the Scorchers Scrapbook.

Buy an autographed copy for $14.99 directly from the Reverend:

 

Prefer to buy from Amazon.com? Here's a link to the print version of Anarchy In The Music City! (also available as a Kindle eBook)

Anarchy In The Music City! The Other Side of Nashville's Musical Pioneers

Since the early 1960s, Nashville has been known worldwide as the "Music City" for its robust country and gospel music industries. For over 40 years now, Nashville has also been home to a thriving hotbed of rock, blues, rap, and Americana music. "The Other Side of Nashville" has grown from a few makeshift bands playing original songs and scraping for gigs into an internationally-respected scene that has attracted creative immigrants from across the globe.

Anarchy In The Music City! is an oral history of the origins and evolution of Nashville's alternative music scene as told by the pioneers that made the music. Using artist interviews culled from the pages of Rev. Keith A. Gordon's critically-acclaimed book The Other Side of Nashville, this illustrated volume includes conversations with both well-known music-makers like Jason & the Scorchers, Webb Wilder, Tony Gerber, David Olney, and Chagall Guevara as well as regional cult rockers like Tommy Womack, the Dusters, Donna Frost, and Aashid Himons, among many others.  

The “Reverend of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Rev. Gordon has been writing about rock and blues music for 50 years. A former contributor to the All Music Guide books and website, and the former Blues Expert for About.com, Rev. Gordon has written or edited 25 previous music-related books and eBooks, including Blues Deluxe: The Joe Bonamassa Buying Guide, Planet of Sound, The Other Side of Nashville, and Scorched Earth: A Jason & the Scorchers Scrapbook. 

Buy an autographed copy for $14.99 directly from the Reverend:

 

Prefer to buy from Amazon.com? Here's a link to the print version of Anarchy In The Music City! (also available as a Kindle eBook) 

Short Rounds: Peter Case, The Fortunate Few, David Olney & Anana Kaye, Sour Ops, Joe Strummer & The Thieves

New album releases in 200 words or less…

Peter Case – The Midnight Broadcast (Bandaloop Records)
Singer/songwriter Peter Case is a walking contradiction – he’s a rocker, a folkie, a bluesman, and a power-pop pioneer! Over the course of an acclaimed career spanning five decades, Case has created an unassailable body of work largely by defying expectations and following his restless muse. The stunning The Midnight Broadcast stands apart from the crowd, however…a concept album, of sorts, the performances here recreate the sort of late-night, static-ridden, AM radio broadcast one used to hear on clear-channel stations like Nashville’s WLAC while driving cross-country. As such, Case pursues a rich American musical menu that places songs like the lovely folk-pop ballad “Just Hanging On,” which wears its pastoral piano and strings like a comforting cape, alongside obscure covers like Dylan’s country-blues gem “Early Roman Kings” or Sleepy John Estes’ “Oh the Morning/President Kennedy,” delivered as a reverent Gospel-tinged blues dirge. The Band’s “This Wheel’s On Fire” is reinvented as a sort of Delta blues ballad while the great Memphis Minnie’s “Bumble Bee” is an electrifying showcase of Case’s six-string skills. In this digital day and age, The Midnight Broadcast sounds like a station from another planet, but there’s a lot to like here for the folk, blues, or Peter Case fan. Grade: A   BUY! 

The Fortunate Few – The Fortunate Few: The Rock Opera (9 Dog Records)
The “rock opera” was the foundation on which 1970s-era prog-rock was built. Although the concept album has long since fallen out of favor with the instant-gratification generation, it still comes out of hiding now and then to deliver a magical musical experience. Such is the case with the Fortunate Few’s The Rock Opera. The creation of Nashville rock scene veteran Price Jones, who wrote and produced the album and enlisted a talented band (including the stellar talents of guitarist Stan Lassiter), The Rock Opera is a Phillip K. Dick-worthy cyberpunk tale of a future where children are a consumer commodity, designed in a lab on spec. Following the protagonist, Jonnie, from conception to her teenage years, the song-cycle provides an analogy not only for reckless adoption but also for angst and alienation. Musically, The Rock Opera is more rock than prog, with Lassiter’s imaginative fretwork a welcome addition to the narrative. Notably, Jones doesn’t sing these songs (although she’s a great vocalist), relying primarily on the talented Ryan Greenawalt and Talisha Holmes for the main male and female characters, respectively. Holmes, in particular, is an incredible find, but the entire band breathes life and energy into Jones’ heady conceptual masterpiece. Grade: A   BUY DIRECT!    

David Olney & Anana Kaye – Whispers and Sighs (Schoolkids Records)
Legendary Nashville singer/songwriter David Olney left this mortal veil a little more than a year ago, leaving behind a musical legacy of better than two-dozen recordings that displayed his enormous skills as a wordsmith and underrated compositional talents. The posthumous Whispers and Sighs is Olney’s swansong, and a hell of a goodbye at that. Recorded in collaboration with young singer/songwriter Anana Kaye and her musician husband Irakli Gabriel, accompanied by Olney’s usual group of talented friends, Whispers and Sighs is a wonderful showcase for Olney’s erudite lyricism and eclectic instrumental sensitivities. Olney’s sonorous voice is balanced nicely by Kaye’s dulcet tones, and the band delivers on Olney’s artistic vision, from the baroque “My Favorite Goodbye” and the fierce folk-rock of “Lie To Me, Angel” to the charming “Why Can’t We Get This Right?” and the rocking “Last Days of Rome.” With the mesmerizing “The Great Manzini (Disappearing Act),” Olney passes the torch onto the next generation much as he took the mantle on from Townes Van Zandt. The song revels in nostalgia, a poetic ode to love and loss and memories, written and sung by a master. Whispers and Sighs cements Olney’s legacy as a songwriter and artist without peer. Grade: A+   BUY!

Sour Ops – X (Feralette Media)
Gonzo sonic sculptors spray-painting your eardrums with joyous noise, Sour Ops roar out of Nashville with X, their sophomore effort. Imagine Cheap Trick on a diet of gamma radiation and razorblade flapjacks, or the love child of Iggy Pop and Paul Westerberg, and you’ll have Sour Ops’ musical blueprint. Clocking in at roughly 30-minutes of scalpel-sharp, pulse-quickening git-rock, songs like the clattering “There She Goes,” which pairs a rough-grit sandpaper groove with stinging, chiming fretwork, or the power-pop gem “I’m An Animal Too” shudder out of your stereo speakers like a cold wind. The muscular “Contagious” offers tight-as-a-fist rhythms and snotty. punkish vocals while “I Want You Around” is a twangy country-rocker with weepy pedal steel (and better than anything Music Row will release this year). “Out of Place” is a reckless basher with explosive drumbeats, throbbing bass lines, altered melodic vox, and livewire guitar. Every song here crackles with arcane energy and reverence for the holy trinity of Chuck, Bo, and Elvis as brothers Price and Mark Harrison and fellow travelers Tony Frost and George Lilly revel in a Bacchanalian feast of music-making. Gleefully imposing electro-shock rock ‘n’ roll therapy for your soul, X marks the spot! Grade: A+   BUY DIRECT!

Joe Strummer – Assembly (Dark Horse Records)
Resurrected by his son Dhani, the first new release by George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records is this Joe Strummer collection, Assembly. Strummer performed and recorded with a number of bands after the Clash’s break-up, including the Mescaleros and the Pogues, and also put hours of solo performances down on tape. Assembly could have easily been twice the length and not scratched the depth of the man’s enormous talents, but the album’s 16 tracks cover a lot of ground nonetheless, from familiar tunes like the Mescaleros’ “Coma Girl” and “X-Ray Style” to previously-unreleased live versions of “Junco Partner (Acoustic),” “I Fought the Law” and “Rudie Can’t Fail.” To be entirely honest, however, I prefer the 2018 release Joe Strummer 001, which was overseen by Strummer’s widow and offers two discs crammed with material, 32 songs in total, including a dozen previously-unreleased tracks, music from the 101ers, the Mescaleros, Latino Rockabilly War, and the Pogues, as well as movie soundtrack work and solo recordings. There’s a bit of overlap between Assembly and Joe Strummer 001, so while I’d recommend the double-disc set, Assembly may be worth buying if only for the three unreleased songs (depending on your level of rabid Strummer fandom). Grade: B+   BUY!  

The Thieves – Catfish Karma: The Lost Demos 1987-88 (Rambler Records)
Nashville boasted of a number of great bands during the 1980s but none, perhaps, were as overlooked and undervalued as the Thieves. Comprised of singer/songwriter Gwil Owen, guitarist Bart Weilburg, bassist Kelley Looney, and drummer Jeff Finlin, the Thieves had one foot in rock ‘n’ roll and the other in the Music City’s honky-tonk sound years before such blending of genres was called “Americana.” The band’s 1989 semi-indie release, the Marshall Crenshaw-produced Seduced By Money, is a gem waiting to be rediscovered by the hipster crowd; Catfish Karma is a compilation released by Owen and consisting of the band’s early demo recordings. Featuring only four tracks that made their way onto Seduced By Money, the new disc stands well on its own. Holdovers like the Dylan-esque “From A Motel 6” or the rockabilly-tinged “Pick A Number” are rawer and, if memory serves, edgier than the album versions, but unreleased tracks like the melodic “The Night Gives Me Strength,” which veers onto power-pop turf, or the funky, strutting “Rabbit Town,” with shimmering guitar, display the band’s enormous talents and creative vision. My fave? “The Hard Way,” a fierce slab o’ rust-belt rawk that sounds like Nashville’s version of the Iron City Houserockers. Grade: A   BUY DIRECT!

# # #

Bonus Video!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:

Short Rounds, December 2020: Dave Alvin, Blue Öyster Cult, Shemekia Copeland, Coyote Motel, The Fleshtones, Little Richard, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Midnight Oil, The Pretty Things, Walter Trout, and Brown Acid: The Eleventh Trip

Short Rounds, October 2020: Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, The Hangfires, Kursaal Flyers, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Toots & the Maytals, and Crawling Up A Hill

Short Rounds, May 2020: The Burrito Brothers, Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau, Webb Wilder, Lucinda Williams, and X

Short Rounds, April 2020: Datura4, Dream Syndicate, Drivin’ N’ Cryin, Bryan Ferry, Game Theory, and Supersuckers

Archive Review: David Olney's The Stone EP (2012)

Nashville’s David Olney is one of the city’s truly underrated musical treasures…forget Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw and all that Music Row pap, ’cause while they may be selling more records they’re not, at heart, true storytellers. They simply take clichéd words cranked out by some Music City songwriting assembly line and imbue the material with a modicum of personality. By contrast, Olney is an old-school wordsmith in the Townes Van Zandt tradition, mixing folk and blues with roots-rock in spinning tales that shoot straight for the heart of the human condition.

Olney’s second mini-album, The Stone – following last year’s Film Noir EP and released in time for the Easter holiday – is a six-song EP providing a unique accounting of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Olney revisits three older songs on The Stone, providing his previous creations with new interpretations, adding three new songs to complete his insightful personal take on “the greatest story ever told.” What makes Olney’s version here so mesmerizing is that each song takes a different lyrical view of Christ’s resurrection, the story told, in turn, by a con man, a donkey, a murderer, and a soldier.

David Olney’s The Stone EP

David Olney photo by John Halpern, 2006

The Stone opens with “Jerusalem Tomorrow,” Sergio Webb’s classical-styled guitarplay weaving a beautiful tapestry of sound behind Olney’s rich, sonorous spoken word vocals. This is the con man’s tale, originally appearing on Olney’s 1989 album Deeper Well and later recorded by Emmylou Harris. An intricate first-hand tale of Christ’s ministry, it’s a prelude, of sorts, of the story to follow. Another older song, the largely-forgotten “Brays” from Olney’s 1995 album High, Wide and Lonesome, offers the perspective of a lowly donkey who feels like a stallion after carrying a humble Jesus on his back. “Blessed am I of all creatures, blessed am I of all beasts,” sings the donkey in Olney’s haunting voice, the lyrics accompanied by producer Jack Irwin’s ethereal orchestration, which creates a fascinating musical atmosphere.

One of the EP’s new compositions, “Brains” is a funky blues romp fueled by Olney’s growling vocals and fluid harmonica playing. Told from the perspective of a policeman looking to find out “the brains of the operation” behind Jesus and his disciples, with a sly reference to Judas on the side, it’s an unlikely but effective way to recount the story, and probably the most playful song on the EP. David Roe’s subtle bass lines and Irwin’s nuanced percussion lay down a solid foundation beneath Olney’s voice, the lyrics calling to mind every cop-show cliché you’ve ever seen on TV, delivered with tongue only partly in cheek. Seemingly referring to the last supper, “Flesh and Blood” is a more traditionally folk-oriented performance, with Olney’s droning guitar-strum providing a counterpoint to his warm vocals, a bit of Woody Guthrie-styled harmonica complimented by Webb’s piercing guitar tones.

The last of the old tracks, the amazing “Barabbas,” originally appeared on Olney’s 1999 album Through A Glass Darkly. A central character in the Christ narrative, the thief Barabbas had his death sentence commuted by Pontius Pilate while Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. Astride Webb’s strident classical fretwork, Olney tells his rambling tale of Barabbas’s imprisonment with Jesus and subsequent freedom, the thief later questioning his release and traveling across the land to tell his tale which, in itself, represents a form of spiritual redemption. Irwin lays in mariachi-styled horns in places, their odd dissonance adding nicely to the overall vibe of the story while Webb’s intricate and beautiful guitar playing is simply breathtaking.

The Stone ends with “A Soldier’s Report,” the tale of Christ’s resurrection told in the somber voice of a confused and troubled soldier present at the crucifixion and charged with guarding the tomb of Jesus. Above Webb’s insistent and sometimes discordant fretwork, with a few cacophonic blasts of horn thrown in, Olney unfolds the soldier’s shame at discovering that Christ’s body had disappeared, and his subsequent misgivings about the future that the mysterious event portends. It’s a powerful performance, Olney closing out The Stone with an open ending that invites further musical examination.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

David Olney is not a Christian songwriter, per se, nor does he frequent religious themes often, but when he does address matters of faith, he does so with the same intelligence and in the same thought-provoking manner as every song he pens. With The Stone, Olney has successfully wrestled with difficult religious mythology, adding his artistic voice to the history of the tale with no little majesty and grace. (Deadbeet Records, released March 20, 2012)

Review republished courtesy of Blurt magazine...

The Rev's Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Albums of 2018

Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead, people, it’s just thriving on the fringes of pop culture while a mess of young and old artists alike are banging the gong and getting it on. The following ten albums listed below aren’t necessarily the “best” of 2018 but rather those that were my favorite releases for the year and spent the most time on my stereo. I’ve also listed another ten albums that almost, but not quite made the cut but, truth is, any of these albums would make a great addition to your music library. Check out the Rev’s lists of favorite archive/reissue and blues music albums from 2018 while you’re here!

Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers – More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows (Schoolkids Records)
Joe Grushecky’s More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows is an entertaining, exciting work that takes full advantage of the Houserockers’ immense musical chemistry – forged by decades of hard knocks and a shared faith in the religion of rock ‘n’ roll – to create a wonderful collection of songs that rock recklessly but pump the brakes when needed. Reunited with his longtime band after a handful of solo albums, Grushecky displays a renewed fervor and commitment to rock music as both soapbox and as a catalyst for social change. With More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows, Grushecky delivers a career milestone, outdoing himself once again.   BUY!

Tom Guerra – American Garden (Casa del Soul Records)
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Guerra is a veteran musician that’s been toiling in the shadows far too long while lesser talents grab the spotlight. American Garden features a high-octane blend of guitar-driven classic rock and blues music with Guerra’s smart (and often timely) lyrics paired with a clamorous soundtrack that reminds of similar rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky. Tom Guerra’s American Garden is a solid collection of muscular, no-frills, old-school rock ‘n’ roll.   BUY!

Handsome Jack – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Alive Natural Sound Records)
Buffalo NY area “boogie soul” power trio Handsome Jack have one foot in the blustery hard rock sound of the ‘70s and the other in the guitar-driven British blues explosion of the ‘60s; the band’s raw, immediate garage-rock worldview builds on the past while looking defiantly towards the future. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is the band’s sophomore effort and it’s a real fine barn-burner, Handsome Jack the real thing, a switchblade-toting gang of ‘Rust Belt’ blues-rock thugs demanding your time, money, and attention.   BUY!

Peter Holsapple – Game Day (Omnivore Recordings)
The voice of the revered power-pop outfit the dB’s, Peter Holsapple hasn’t released a solo album in 21 years (since 1997’s Out of My Way), but he climbs back in the saddle effortlessly with the gorgeous, shimmering Game Day. Holsapple’s deft songwriting chops and emotive vocals have always fueled his band’s best material, and with his second solo effort, he dials up the intensity to eleven. Holsapple plays nearly every note on the excellent Game Day, making it a true “solo album.”   BUY!

Howlin Rain – The Alligator Bride (Silver Current Records)
A damn fine rock band, Howlin Rain nevertheless brings a soupçon of its previous Americana-styled twang to the songs on The Alligator Bride, their fifth album. Infusing deceptively complex tunes with elements of the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and even Joe Walsh, The Alligator Bride provides a shining display of frontman Ethan Miller’s songwriting chops and the band’s immense instrumental skills. There are a lot of echoes of the past in these grooves and the album’s wonderfully-balanced musical dynamics make it sound like it’s 1975 all over again.   BUY!

Willie Nile – Children of Paradise (River House Records)
Longtime Willie Nile fans won’t be disappointed by the more topical material on Children of Paradise, most of which is delivered with a rock ‘n’ roll spirit. In spite of the album’s frequent lyrical vision of a world in flames, Nile closes out the song cycle with the hopeful, pastoral “All God’s Children.” The song offers salvation through faith in our fellow humans and (unspoken) the power of rock ‘n’ roll to transcend life’s indignities. Nile’s simple plea of “sing for the angels, sing for the sinners, all of the losers one day will be winners…” provides a ray of light piercing the darkness that has enveloped our society. You can ask of nothing more from the true artist.   BUY!

David Olney – This Side or the Other (Black Hen Music)
Singer/songwriter David Olney has been making music in Nashville for over 40 years, and the humble, talented scribe has been exploring the depths of folk, rock, and country music just as long, breaking through genre barriers years before anybody coined the “Americana” term. This Side or the Other, Olney’s debut for Steve Dawson’s Black Hen label, proves to be a snug artistic fit, the like-minded Dawson producing and adding his considerable six-string skills to the songs. Olney’s poetic wordplay, intriguing story-songs, and world-weary vocals put him in a class by himself, the man’s talents transcending mediocrity to deliver the truly magnificent with This Side or the Other.   BUY!

Shuggie Otis – Inter-Fusion (Cleopatra Records)
When everybody else in popular music is running, lemming-like, in a single direction, Shuggie Otis is veering off towards left field. For his first studio album in better than forty years, the songwriter responsible for soulful gems like “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information” delivers a mostly-instrumental set guaranteed to blow your  mind. A buffet of rock, soul, funk, and jazz, Inter-Fusion is a breathtaking collection of virtuosity, proof that Otis has lost none of the chops, imagination, or innovation that made him a legend in the first place.   BUY!

Sour Ops – Family Circuit (Feralette Records)
Contrary to conventional industry wisdom, rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead – and Sour Ops proves my point with the delightfully raucous Family Circuit. Price Harrison and his musical gang take their obvious cues from the legends of classic ‘70s and ‘80s rock but manage to provide this original material with a contemporary spin via their imaginative songwriting and skilled instrumentation. In addition to Family Circuit, Sour Ops also released a fab 12” single this year comprised of “Photograph” and “Mind Like Glue,” two of the album’s best tunes and a safe bet for vinyl collectors looking for cheap thrills.   BUY!

The Textones – Old Stone Gang (Blue Elan Records)
The Textones’ Carla Olson put the original band back together for another shot at the brass ring, and their first new album in 30+ years sounds like they never really left the game. The band’s pioneering hybrid of rock, country, and a touch of soul (i.e. ‘Americana’) is much in evidence here and the Textones’ Old Stone Gang offers a lot of twang and bang for your buck. If you didn’t know them back in the ‘80s, you owe it to yourself to discover the band today.   BUY!

Honorable Mention: Arthur Buck’s Arthur Buck; Crack the Sky’s Living In Reverse; The Damned’s Evil Spirits, Alejandro Escovedo’s The Crossing; Graveyard’s Peace; Wilko Johnson’s Blow Your Mind; King Crimson’s Live In Vienna; King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Gumboot Soup; Uriah Heep’s Living the Dream; Barrence Whitfield’s Soul Flowers of Titan.

Short Rounds: Gene Clark, Kinky Friedman, David Olney, The Posies, Boz Scaggs & Southside Johnny (2018)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Gene Clark – Gene Clark Sings For You (Omnivore Recordings)
Upon leaving the Byrds, Gene Clark was just another hippie muso struggling to get a record deal or, at a minimum, make some much-needed cash from his songs. Gene Clark Sings For You rescues the long-lost acetate of song demos recorded by the talented singer/songwriter in 1967; the uniformly high quality of these songs makes one wonder why Clark wasn’t signed to a label deal earlier. Featuring Clark’s honeyed vocals and skilled fretwork, songs like the lovely “On Her Own,” the Dylanesque “Past My Door,” and the folkish “One Way Road” would have made a strong foundation for a full-length album. Omnivore’s long-anticipated release of these recordings includes an acetate provided to the Rose Garden with five fine Clark-penned tunes, including the bluesy “Big City Girl” and the electric rocker “Doctor Doctor.” Providing another essential piece to the singer’s growing legacy, Gene Clark Sings For You is an important find. Grade: B+   BUY IT!

Kinky Friedman – Circus of Life (Echo Hill Records)
The first album from Texas wordsmith Kinky Friedman in over 40 years finds the country singer/songwriter in fine form, stiletto-sharp if seemingly subdued somewhat by age. Friedman’s voice and lyrics are weathered by a lifetime of experience, with rowdy country songs like “A Dog Named Freedom” and “Zoey” showcasing his intelligent wordplay even as they display hard-won wisdom. “Copper Love” is twangy folk tune while the somber “Jesus In Pajamas” is the sort of witty story-song with which Friedman earned his reputation. Sounding much like Guy Clark did at this stage of life; Friedman is accompanied by some fine musicians, talents like Texas Tornado Augie Meyers, guitarist Joe Cirotti, and his friend and longtime band member, pianist “Little Jewford” Shelby. Friedman’s masterful Circus of Life gazes lovingly upon the past, with songs haunted by years of regrets and emotions felt acutely by the talented, too-often underrated Pagliacci of Texas music. Grade: B   BUY IT!

* If you're a Kinky Friedman fan and haven’t read Mary Lou Sullivan’s excellent Everything's Bigger In Texas: The Life and Times of Kinky Friedman well, bunkie, here’s your chance...

David Olney – This Side or the Other (Black Hen Music)
Singer/songwriter David Olney has been making music in Nashville for over 40 years, and the humble, talented scribe has bene exploring the depths of folk, rock, and country music just as long, breaking through genre barriers years before anybody coined the “Americana” term. This Side or the Other, Olney’s debut for Steve Dawson’s Black Hen label, proves to be a snug artistic fit, the like-minded Dawson producing and adding his considerable six-string skills to the songs. Backed by the cream of the Music City – folks like Justin Amaral, Fats Kaplin, and the legendary Charlie McCoy – Olney spins somber tales of romance and betrayal, loss and uncertainty above a gorgeous soundtrack. Olney’s poetic wordplay, intriguing story-songs, and world-weary vocals put him in a class by himself, the man’s talents transcending mediocrity to deliver the truly magnificent with This Side or the Other. RIYL Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, or James McMurtry. Grade: A   BUY IT!

The Posies – Dear 23 (Omnivore Recordings)
One of the great overlooked bands of the ‘90s, avowed Big Star acolytes the Posies took Alex Chilton’s ‘60s-bred power-pop sensibilities and blew the sound up large for the grunge decade. This approach left the band woefully out-of-date at the time, but their music became timeless as a result. Dear 23 is the first of Omnivore’s reissues that will restore the band’s amazing three-album major label catalog. The album’s British Invasion influences and charming songwriting – courtesy of the band’s Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow – is ready-made for the tuneless 21st century, its original ten tracks wonderfully melodic, with the duo’s gorgeous vocal harmonies, and whip-smart, insightful lyrics. The two-disc Dear 23 reissue tacks on another 27 cool songs, mostly-unreleased obscurities, studio outtakes, and demo recordings sure to tickle the fancy of the hardcore fan while also revealing the band’s often-circuitous creative process. RIYL Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet and, yup, Big Star… Grade: B+   BUY IT!

Boz Scaggs – Out of the Blue (Concord Music, vinyl)
Boz Scaggs began his career as a bona fide bluesman, and his 1970s-era hit LPs like Slow Dancer and Silk Degrees offered some of the best blue-eyed soul you’ll hear. As such, Out of the Blue is more of a return to form for the singer than anything less. Scaggs brought talents like guitarists Doyle Bramhall and Charlie Sexton into the studio to record this fine set of spirited originals and inspired cover songs. Scaggs croons his way through Bobby Bland’s R&B classics “I’ve Just Got To Forget You” and “The Feeling Is Gone” while originals like the jaunty honky-tonk blues of “Little Miss Night and Day” show that the singer has a lot of gas left in the tank. A curious cover of Neil Young’s “On the Beach” is transformed into a bluesy dirge that proves, almost 50 years after his classic debut album, Boz is still the boss. Grade: B   BUY IT!

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes – Live From E Street (Leroy Records/MVD, vinyl)
I’m a huge mark for anything connected with Bruce Springsteen, which initially led me to Southside Johnny Lyon in the mid-‘70s. The Springsteen/Southside connection runs deep and spans decades, so it’s no surprise that SJ and the Asbury Jukes would record a set of Springsteen songs. Live From E Street is a four-track vinyl EP featuring four Bruce originals recorded at a private party in Asbury Park. The obscure “Jack of All Trades” (from 2012’s Wrecking Ball) is somber and reflective but the rowdy “Cover Me” is provided an emotional edge by Lyon’s soulful vocals and the Jukes’ blasting horns. The menacing “Murder Incorporated” is an unabashed rocker with R&B undercurrent while the strutting “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” is a fine, funky jam. The 12” EP is pricey considering the sparse content, which could have fit on 7” or 10” wax at half the price, but the performances themselves are priceless. Grade: B+   BUY IT!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, July 2018: The Damnation of Adam Blessing, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Howlin’ Rain & the Rockers OST
Short Rounds, May 2018: Brinsley Schwarz, Eric Corne, Roger McGuinn & Shuggie Otis
Short Rounds, April 2018: Catfish, Jimmie Vaughan Trio, King Crimson & Memphis Rent Party

New Music Monthly: August 2018 Releases

Wow, if the new releases trickled into the stores throughout July, the month of August opens the floodgates. New albums from blues singer Shemekia Copeland, alt-rockers Robert Poss (Band of Susans) and Interpol, Rich Robinson's the Magpie Salute, metal up 'n' comers the Oh Sees, White Denim, and the Lemon Twigs will tax any fan's finances. Throw in a live album by Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul and archive releases from the Hampton Grease Band, Crack the Sky, the Posies, Status Quo, Bob Marley and many more and August is guaranteed to break the bank!

If we wrote about it here on the site, there will be a link to it in the album title; if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money in the Reverend's pocket that he'll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock 'n' roll ecstasy!

AUGUST 3
Gene Clark & Carla Olson - So Rebellious A Lover   BUY!
Shemekia Copeland - America's Child   BUY!
Ronnie Davis & Idren - Come Straight   BUY!
Electric Light Orchestra - Secret Messages [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Hampton Grease Band - Music To Eat   [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
James House and the Blues Cowboys - James House and the Blues Cowboys   BUY!
Winston Jarrett & the Righteous Flames - Jonestown   BUY!
Robert Poss - Frozen Flowers Curse the Day   BUY!

AUGUST 10
The Gladiators - Presenting the Gladiators   BUY!
Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul - Soulfire Live!   BUY!
The Magpie Salute - High Water I   BUY!
Walter Salas-Humara - Walterio   BUY!

AUGUST 17
Blue October - I Hope You're Happy   BUY!
Thee Oh Sees - Smote Reverser   BUY!

AUGUST 24
Alice In Chains - Rainier Fog   BUY!
Crack the Sky - Crackology   BUY!
Crack the Sky - Living In Reverse   BUY!
Neil & Liam Finn - Lightsleeper   BUY!
Interpol - Marauder   BUY!
Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood - With Animals   BUY!
The Lemon Twigs - Go To School   BUY!
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Kaya [40th anniversary edition]   BUY!
The Posies - Frosting On the Beater [deluxe reissue]   BUY!
White Denim - Performance   BUY!

AUGUST 31
Angel - Angel: The Casablanca Years [box set]   BUY!
The Band - Music From Big Pink [50th anniversary edition]   BUY!
Alice Cooper - A Paranormal Evening at the Olympia Paris   BUY!
Amos Lee - My New Moon   BUY!
Nick Mason - Unattended Luggage   BUY!
David Olney - This Side or the Other   BUY!
Status Quo - Down & Dirty at Wacken   BUY!
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Karma For Cheap   BUY!
Various Artists - The Soul of Baltimore: The Ru-Jac Records Story [box set]   BUY!

Album of the Month: It's another hard call, but in a month crowded with great music, I'm going to go with Shemeka Copeland's America's Child album. One of the top two or three best blues singers in the business today, Copeland returned to Nashville to record America's Child with talented producer and guitarist Will Kimbrough and a cast of great singers and musicians like Emmy Lou Harris, John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Al Perkins, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Cropper, and more. Although Copeland veers close to Americana territory on a couple of songs (and does so well), America's Child is pure-D blues, Copeland mixing socially-conscious tunes with bluesy romantic moments, calling on the talents of skilled wordsmiths like Kimbrough, Prine, Gauthier, John Hahn, Kevin Gordon & Gwil Owen, among others. She even delivers a fiery take on the Ray Davies' Kinks classic "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." 

CD Review: David Olney's When The Deal Goes Down

You may not have heard of singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Olney and, if not, that’s your loss, and your soul is that much poorer for it. While young flash-in-the-pan indie rockers a third of his age grab blog headlines and barrels of virtual ink on the web, Olney has quietly been building a catalog of some of the most impressive music ever created on this spinning orb.

When The Deal Goes Down is as good – if not better – than anything Olney has done to date, partially because the guy’s a true blue talent whose muse seemingly never shuts up, and partly by his decision to bring Nashville blues guitarist Mark Robinson into the fold to play on, and co-produce the album. The inclusion of Robinson’s immense talents adds another dimension to Olney’s enormous musical palette, and he puts his co-producer to good use playing alongside longtime musical foil Sergio Webb – one of the most spectacular six-string talents on the planet who you’ve also never heard of – as well as his band of usual suspects, skilled musicians capable of breathing life and energy into Olney’s creations.

David Olney’s When The Deal Goes Down

Olney opens When The Deal Goes Down with a bang, the title track a shady entreaty that sets the stage for the songs that follow, the singer setting down the rules with the almighty, a sort of prayer set to an energetic soundtrack propelled by Justin Amaral’s vigorous drumbeats and spotlighting the six-string talents of Webb and Robinson. The song leaves more questions behind than it answers, but it’s an up-tempo romp that Olney gets to really work out on, his defiant vocals more demanding than pleading. By contrast, “Little Bird (What I Do)” is one of those densely atmospheric, almost eerie folk-blues analogies that Olney excels at, his somber vocals perfectly matched by Webb’s elegant fretwork and Tomi Lunsford’s angelic backing harmonies.

The laid-back vibe of “Soldier of Misfortune” takes on an exotic air thanks to Webb’s intricate guitar lines, but it’s Olney’s gift for wordplay and his sonorous vocals that drive the romantic tale into truly emotional territory. Jen Gunderman’s delicate piano fills emphasize the lyrics, while Robinson’s acoustic guitar adds welcome texture to a truly enchanting performance. Olney’s cover of Australian folk-rock guitarist/songwriter Bill Jackson’s wonderful “Something In Blue” fits like a glove, Jackson’s lyrics displaying more than a little Olney influence, and Olney’s performance here honoring the song nicely. The song takes on a Western lilt with Webb’s banjo plucking and Olney’s acoustic fretwork, while Olney’s mournful vocals are matched perfectly by Robinson’s expressive, bluesy solo, which rides low in the mix alongside Amaral’s lively percussion. 

Scarecrow Man

The opening lyrics of Olney’s “Scarecrow Man” describe a coming storm, and that’s exactly what the song sounds like…the fearful, silent calm before the thunderclaps and the falling curtains of rain. The song sits on the edge of a knife blade throughout its entirety, Olney’s forceful vocals slowly reeling out a tension-filled, tragic tale while the percussion rumbles and the guitars strike like lightning behind the menacing vocals and the swelling danger. You just know that somebody’s not going to get out of this story alive. “Why So Blue?,” on the other hand, is a smoky ballad that emphasizes Webb’s weeping lap steel guitar and Amaral’s even-handed brushwork, the song’s rhythmic foundation held down by Daniel Seymour’s underrated and often understated bass lines. Robinson throws in some scraps of guitar for effect, and the result is a jazzy little vamp that would be equally at home in 1954 as it is in 2014.

Olney swerves onto blues-rock turf with the raucous “Roll This Stone,” the song picking up a sort of 1990s Bonnie Raitt groove with its deep rhythms and Robinson’s slinky slide-guitar licks. Olney’s vocals here are gruffer and grittier than anywhere else on the album, growling and barking their way above the mix as the band lays down a muscular, but not overpowering rhythmic backdrop. The lovely “No Trace” brings Olney back to more familiar territory, the song’s Spanish flavor enhanced by Gunderman’s subtle accordion riffs and the singer and Webb’s intertwined acoustic guitars. It’s a gentle ballad that displays one of Olney’s more wistful set of lyrics and world-weary vocal performances.

When The Deal Goes Down ends with “Big Blue Hole,” the song itself a complete 180-degree turn from the opening track, and one of the odder entries in Olney’s extensive songbook. Lyrically, it sounds more than a little like a Tom Waits screed, Olney’s seemingly stream-of-consciousness lyrics alluding to the finality of oblivion, delivered above a cacophonous soundtrack that is scrubbed to a rough grit by Webb and Robinson’s serrated-edge guitars. Olney’s vocals become surprisingly kinetic as the singer name checks talents like Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain above an instrumental abyss, concluding that “heaven ain’t nothing but a big blue hole.” It’s a powerful, moving performance and a heck of a way to close the album.  
   

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

The bottom line is that David Olney is the true heir to Townes Van Zandt, a thoughtful and thought-provoking songwriter and mesmerizing performer that wears his hard-won experience like a badge of honor. Much like Van Zandt, Olney brings country and folk influences to his songs, but he also imbues his performances with a punk-rock intensity and attitude.

Young songwriters would do well to listen up, because Olney puts all of you wannabe whippersnappers to shame with the vision and storytelling insight that only a grizzled veteran of four decades in the trenches can bring. It’s a testament not only to Olney’s talent but his enduring muse that some 20 albums into a career spent flying beneath the mainstream radar, he can deliver a musical tour de force like When The Deal Goes Down and hold his head up proudly! (Deadbeet Records, released July 8, 2014)

Buy the album from Amazon.com: David Onley's When The Deal Goes Down

CD Preview: David Olney’s When The Deal Goes Down

Nashville singer/songwriter David Olney is one of the city’s unrecognized geniuses, an incredible talent that has continued to crank out incredible records for better than 30 years now to nearly universal critical acclaim, but only a modicum of commercial success. If there was any true cosmic justice on this spinning, careening cat’s eye marble of a planet, Olney would be feted as the artist he is and heaped with gold coin and silver while Justin Bieber would be shuffling fries at the Whataburger.

On July 8th, 2014 Deadbeet Records will release Olney’s latest certain masterpiece, When The Deal Goes Down. The album was produced by Olney and guitarist Mark Robinson, another enormous Nashville talent, and was recorded at Guido’s Studios South in the Music City. When The Deal Goes Down offers a dozen new literary tales set to an Americana soundtrack, and features the talents of some of the city’s best instrumentalists, including longtime Olney musical foil, guitarist Sergio Webb.

When The Deal Goes Down offers up Olney’s usual blend of dark humor and intelligence, the track list ranging from the comedic “Mister Stay At Home” and “Servant Job,” to the tragic “Scarecrow Man,” the songs looking long and hard at the soul of man. Of the album’s title track, Olney says in a press release for the album, “I thought it might be helpful to God if I told him (or her) what I wanted from him (or her). God answered with a lightning bolt that just missed my head. What a kidder!”

Olney co-wrote several songs on When The Deal Goes Down with his longtime collaborator, songwriter John Hadley, including the song “No Trace,” among others. “I pictured it in Africa,” he says, “but it could also apply to West Virginia. Or anywhere in North or South America. Or the land of Canaan. Or the planet Earth. You get the idea…” Olney will tour in support of the album, but hometown fans can celebrate the release with a free in-store show and CD signing at Grimey’s Too/Howlin’ Books (1702 8th Avenue South) on July 8th, and a full CD release show at The End in Nashville on Wednesday, July 9th.

A songwriter without peer, Olney has had material recorded by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Lonnie Brooks, and Steve Young, among too many others to list, and he has released better than 20 albums during a storied career that now spans four decades. In 2013, Olney’s song “Postcard From Mexico” was featured in the ABC TV series Nashville. It will be interesting to hear the collaboration between Olney and Robinson on When The Deal Goes Down, and the album is now available for pre-order on Olney’s website. 

David Olney Tour Dates: 

 

07/08/14 @ Grimey’s Too/Howlin’ Books In-Store Show & CD Signing, Nashville TN
07/09/14 @ The End (CD Release Show), Nashville TN
07/17/14 @ Machinery Row (solo show), Great Falls MT
07/18/14 @ KGLT-FM Presents Live from the Divide (w/Sergio Webb), Bozeman MT     
07/19/14 @ Waterworks Art Museum (w/Sergio Webb), Miles City MT
07/20/14 @ The Murray Bar (w/Sergio Webb), Livingston MT
08/02/14 @ Musical Heritage Center @ Fiddle & Pick, Pegram TN
08/06/14 @ Music City Roots, Franklin TN
08/20/14 @ The 5 Spot, Nashville TN
08/27/14 @ The 5 Spot, Nashville TN
09/03/14 @ The 5 Spot, Nashville TN
09/09/14 @ Public Library Concerts (w/ Marshall Chapman & RB Morris), Nashville TN
09/10/14 @ The 5 Spot, Nashville TN
09/17/14 @ Idaho Songwriters Assoc/Sapphire Room (w/Sergio Webb), Boise ID
09/20/14 @ Challis Arts Council Presents (w/Sergio Webb), Challis ID
10/25/14 @ Huntington Hill Concert Series (w/Sergio Webb), Rochester NY
10/26/14 @ East Village House Concert Series (w/Sergio Webb), New York NY
11/01/14 @ Balsam Mountain Inn (w/ RB Morris & Brennen Leigh), Balsam NC
12/12/14 @ Pinetop Mystics Presents (w/Sergio Webb), Nacogdoches TX
12/13/14 @ Red Dragon Concert Series, Baton Rouge LA