Customer Reviews

Thin Places

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was blown away by the several live performances of Randall Bramblett as a member of the Steve Winwood live band I witnessed since 1997. I have bought all of his albums and cannot recommend him enough - everything is excellent, music, lyrics, musicianship. He is a fantastic musician and composer that deserved to be discovered.

Put on "Thin Places" and then drive away in your car. You'll be transported to another dimension, reflecting on oh so many aspects of life. One word of advice: his songs are more appreciated if you have lived a little. Teens need not apply.

I hope he will tour the West sometimes, because I would love to hear his own compositions live.

Randall Bramblett's follow up to "No More Mr. Lucky" continues that excellent streak that brought "End of the String" & "Disappearing Ink." "Thin Places" begins with Davis Causey's great electric lead and Bramblett's passionate vocals on "Nobody's Problem," "The angel's arms are full of holes." "Playing Card" is an excellent tune with Shawn Pelton's hot drums keeping double time, "I'm just an old soul peekin' thru a hole in the wall." The track currently riding high in my personal top ten is the classic "You Can Be the Rain." Bramblett's exquisite songwriting skills amalgamating melody & lyric, the razor sharp band and his stunning vocals all collide, "Lookin' for a poem in the water stains on the floor, I'll be waiting here where the sky is clear, you can be the rain against my window." Bramblett slows down for the midtempo "Comin' Round Soon" blowing out a soulful sax for a touch of the blues, "As soon as I get it all planned out right, I'm gonna live a long & sinful life." Bramblett wails on the Hammond B-3 on "Black Coat," "There's nothing left to do but laugh & feed the angels, give 'em what they want in the February sun." Bramblett sounds like a stone-bleached Dylan on the tender "Confident Thieves," "These mudtrack boots are full of rain & nails; the dark fills in where the light has failed; neon dirt is turnin' red as blood; you can see your story written in the mud." "Chet Baker" is another excellent track with Bramblett's world-weary vocals, "I walk outside where the avalanche leans always ready to wipe this landscape clean, just a shrug of the shoulders where the tears should be." The CD concludes with the soulful midtempo "I Don't Care." "Thin Places" highlights a musician at the top of his game as a writer & singer. Bramblett's musicianship has always been stellar as his tours with Steve Winwood & the Allman Brothers would attest. His lyrics fill with images of rain, angels and the holes within souls. Enjoy this set and pick up "Mr. Lucky" too if you missed it! Bravo!

If great entertainment always leaves you wanting more, then this qualifies as magnificent. You don't want this incredible sojourn of songs to end. Randall, longtime guitarist Davis Causey and friends, old and new, have crafted a masterpiece of exquisite musicianship swirling around eloquent and thought provoking lyrics, it is easy to lose yourself in this one. Didn't think it was possible to keep topping previous efforts, but Randall has done it again. Heartily recommended!

It seems to become increasingly difficult to find something new worth listening to. You can find great lyrics weighed down by mediocre melodies, just aural doodles to soak in the poetry or you can find soul-shaking but lyricless jazz/blues fusion that takes you away but leaves you nothing to ponder when the tune is through.

Randall Bramblett is more than a breath of fresh air; he's pure oxygen for the nearly asphixiated. <u>Thin Places</u> and <u>No More Mr. Lucky</u> are both superb discs with intelligent, insightful and thought-provoking words doused in excellent, free-flowing though complex rhythms and musical arrangements. The great horn playing and guitar licks are meshed perfectly into beats that are perfect for the songs.

<u>Thin Places</u> grows on you with every listen. As for lyrics, I would put Randall Bramblett on a par with Guy Clark and that is high praise, indeed. The music pulls from many sources, skillfully blended into haunting, driving or laid-back melodies perfectly suited for the lyrics each is mated to.

I cannot recommend this CD enough. The music samples cannot do it justice, but this is one you will want to keep and hear again and again.

I don't know where to begin, insert any superlative of your choosing. It will apply. This is a brilliant collection of songs by one of the finest musicians I personally have ever heard. If you like "real" music,do yourself a favor and get ready to be blown away by this record. It keeps getting better and better with each listen, and although I came to Mr Bramblett's music later than I should have, I'm making up for lost time and will be a lifelong fan. Don't wait, buy it now!!!

Randall is without a doubt America's most underrated singer-songwriter. According to my humble opinion he's right up there with people like John Hiatt and James Tayor. And he's a respected multi-instrumentalist as well...playing with Sea Level from '77 till '80, Widespread Panic and Steve Winwood among others. But most important the man writes pure magic!!! Great lyrics (thoughtfull, at times spiritual words....food for the soul), great melodic songs that you keep singin' over and over again when you've heard them, great musicianship and his voice is a real treat too. All of his releases on New West Records: No More Mr. Lucky, Thin Places and Rich Someday are highly, highly recommended. People, give Randall Bramblett a chance, you won't regret it for a sec...

I had never heard of Randell Bramblett until I picked up on him by way of Geoff Achison (great blues guitarist from down under). I saw them together at the Handlebar in Greenville, SC and to say I was blown away is an understatement. Randell sings, plays guitar, keyboards and sax - all very well. Has great phasing in his songs, and his voice i, while not the strongest I have heard, it fits his style and songs like no other. Listen to the second cut on this CD - Playing Card. I dare you to try playing this just once - I put it on repeat for about 30 minutes and never tired of it. Bottom line, Randall is a "must see" if he comes to your neighborhood, and this CD is a "must buy". BTW, Geoff A. and Randell B have a great duet CD release (Live at The Attic)- also a "must buy".

I just want to add an "AMEN" to the thoughtful and eloquent praise the previous reviewers have lavished on Bramblett's "Thin Places". This is one hell of an album and Bramblett is one hell of a musician, songwriter, and vocalist. You can't go wrong with any of Bramblett's albums because the entire body of work is masterful. But from my point of view, "Thin Places" has been his best and it became my favorite.

A few years ago a friend who knew my musical proclivities kept bugging me to spend some time giving Randall a serious listen. When I finally did, I was driving from Raleigh up to central Virginia and this album stopped me in my tracks. About half way through this CD, I was so blown away I literally had to pull off the road.

Since then I've seen Randall and his band at every opportunity and collected everything of his I could get my hands on. His reputation for throwing down first class live performances at every show, no matter how small the audience, is well deserved. Don't be off put if you see he's in your area playing to a small crowd in a small venue. Go to the show! I promise you'll leave feeling you were at a big time concert and in the presence of major league talent. This even holds true for his solo acoustic gigs. He's so consistently at the top of his game I'm even tempted to guarantee the cost of your ticket (but hey, we're still in a recession so I don't think I'll go THAT far just yet). And keep an eye out for Randall's upcoming 'solo' album, "The Meantime" due out in March 2010. I've had the privilege of getting a hold of an advance copy. It is quite different than anything RB has recorded so far...and it is unequivocally stunning. Like "Thin Places," this new one has become one of my top tier albums of all time. "The Meantime" is so good that it is even beating out "Thin Places" as my favorite RB album.

So do yourself a favor, go see Randall live and if you want you can tell him I sent ya!

According to Celtic traditions and lore, spots where this world and the realm of the spirit come close together are "thin places." In these places, time may also shift so that one connects with the future or the past.

Randall Bramblett, who consistently turns out thoughtful, well-crafted music, surely had this notion in mind when he wrote the songs on this recording. Too few songwriters seem to be able to write music that reflects the perspectives and experience of leading one's life and growing older without sounding sappy or preachy. Mr. Bramblett does, whether he focuses on a spiritual trajectory or earthbound spiral.

His use of color and imagery throughout his lyrics creates interesting contrasts: "layin' in the sun with a black coat on"; "neon dirt is turning red as blood"; planting flowers in the cold black dirt." Put another way, he says a lot with few words, e.g., "everybody lost in the morning news."

Though he eschews trends or fads, he manages to sound relevant and up-to-date. The recording quality is excellent and his supporting cast sound comfortable and smooth throughout.