First printed in Buddy Magazine, January 2015 issue

Wade Bowen, Wade Bowen, Independent release

Real and romantic, Wade Bowen’s latest, self-titled, 12-song CD is as savvy as it is self-assured. It’s this recognized country artist’s 7^th release in his 14 years of fronting his own band. And, definitely, his masterpiece — so far.

Although Bowen is a songwriter of strength in his own right, as experience has proven, he collaborated with others on many of these songs and included a couple on which he didn’t pen a period.

While Bowen’s duet with Guy Clark, “To Live Is To Fly,” on his previous album “The Given” will always fit him like a crown, the co-written “West Texas Rain” on Wade Bowen sparkles as the jewels in that crown. Bowen said in a previous interview with Buddy Magazine that he was working with several folks in Nashville on this project. One of those was songwriter Travis Meadows, who has contributed hits for national artists Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. Meadows said he has been a Wade Bowen fan for some time, and when he got the invitation to co-write with Wade, it was a certainty he would say ‘yes.’ “We tossed ‘West Texas Rain’ around for a while. In fact, it was a totally different song at first, before we got on the right path. But we finally got going in the right direction, then we just let it become what it was trying to be.”

A highly individual song, “West Texas Rain” could easily have been adapted from a 12-stepper’s personal inventory. “I’ve been a… strain on my mama’s heart… a drunk… a dreamer… a preacher… a sinner. I’ve got secrets and stories, old shoebox memories…” It also has vocals added by Vince Gill.

Bowen, with or without co-writing, has a gift for imagery. “Welcome Mat” compares the ways of a broken heart to the dirt left on that 2×3 foot rough rug outside the door. “I laid my life down just to have your love, but you just wiped your feet and left me in the dust… you were walking all over me.” And on “Long Enough To Be A Memory,” the country crooner lays out lonely, “I’m just a stranger in a strange town. Where the stars are the same and the sun beats down. It was kind enough to give me all I need, and I just hope I stay long enough to be a memory.”

And, in keeping with Bowen’s constant touring work ethic, he cut “Honky Tonk Road,” with other road warriors Cody Canada, Randy Rogers, and Sean McConnell adding their vocals into the mix.

Meadows, himself a songwriter award-winner, said, “Wade is a great writer and a trust artist.”

Wade Bowen will be at the multi-artist, multi-venue The Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in early January. His non-traveling Texas fans will be treated to shows in mid-January, and to keep up with his tour, go online to WadeBowen.com

— Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

Cody Shaw & The Rhythm Boys

“Electico”

Independent Release

If you’ve ever been to a Cody Shaw & The Rhythm Boys’ show, you know just how much fun goes on there. When you listen to their latest CD, Eclectico, the fun continues. This new 10-song project includes three songs from their earlier EP, and delivers seven new songs with the variety, talent, and charm that is The Rhythm Boys. The arrangements on these songs are in perfect balance with Cody Shaw’s voice and lyrics and the occasional background vocals. Shaw’s voice shines and smiles in “Dance The Night Away,” where you can conjure up a mental picture of him dancing on stage, as he always does; turns completely melancholy on “Portsmouth,” and teases on “Jolly Truck Stop,” a ditty that opens with CB sounds that completely set the tone for the song. Then, on “Walk On” and “I’m Lonesome,” from the previous EP titled Lonesome that same singer turns crooner with a sadness that few artists can ever attain. Then, one can visualize the trail hands’ campfire and tumbleweeds in the background on “Cowboy’s Moon,” which has some soft harmonica added. And speaking of instrumentation, there’s no greater guitar picker than Ben Shaw, Cody’s dad, who lays down some notes that match the emotion of Cody’s voice. Bass player Chris Booth’s harmonies, along with others added to the recordings, add depth and atmosphere. Randy Burch is a gentle giant on drums, and Nick Ghanbari’s steel guitar and keyboard fairly soar through it all.

The new CD for the lover of really good music, no matter the genre.

This CD is available on ITunes, Amazon, and at all their shows.

For more information, go online to: CodyShawandtheRhythmBoys.com

Courtesy photo

By Sean Mitchell Weiss, of Van Alstyne and Austin

Artist: Lecrae

Album: Anomaly

Label: Reach Records

Grammy nominated and award-winning artist Lecrae comes in strong with his 7th full-length album, Anomaly. From early 2005, with the release of his first album, Real Talk, we have been able to see Lecrae grow as an artist and a person in life. Lecrae has always been a very transparent artist and is not afraid to make his emotions public in his songs.

In the song “Fear,” Lecrae really shows his thoughts that most biblical men think about around the age that he is around. It also, at the end of the 3rd verse, serves as a reassurance to many of his friends and enemies that his life and his music are still focused all around Jesus.

If you’re not a normal Lecrae fan or you have just heard about him, you get two chances really to hear about where he came from and a brief history of his childhood to teenage years in the songs “Good, Bad, Ugly” and “Wish.” His ability to tell a story has always gotten better and better throughout the years, but he really shines in showing almost a different side of him that most people may not know about. Along with always looking at himself in the mirror, he is never afraid to show a mirror to the world by performing the songs “Welcome to America” and the hit single “Nuthin.” In “Welcome to America,” he points out the lifestyles of three different people involved with America. In “Nuthin,” he talks to the mainstream hip hop artists, saying that they are only talking about how much they have or what they can get because they have the money. They never talk about how people can build themselves up or how they can turn to know God. “They don’t talk about the pain; they don’t talk about the struggle. How they turn to the Lord when they ran into trouble.” He even is not afraid to hold up a mirror to the people in his own faith.

On the track “Dirty Water,” Lacrae is really encouraging some humility to those in the Christian faith, those who do something good then glorify themselves because of what they did.

Lecrae really shines on his mid-tempo songs like these because he is able to connect with people in a way that sounds amazing. He is able to write a love letter to his wife with “All I Need Is You” or even give a great description of the concept of the album with the song “Anomaly.” In the song “Broken,” he tells of the feeling of brokenness that most people experience in life. It is a call out to God for help and really caries that anthem feeling and can leave you with major goose bumps.

To sum it up — this album is near flawless with amazing flow, professional and deep lyrics. There are a few songs that stand out on their own, but they defiantly sound much better in the context in the album as one whole package. It’s thought provoking, eye opening, and it even has a couple of bangers that keep the album entertaining while making it inspirational.

Lecrae as a person is going to be a huge person to help make moves for the kingdom in the future and he is starting again with this album.