Awaiting Redemption
Hal Ketchum
Delbert McClinton, Anson Funderburgh
Engineer: Dan Bosworth,
Producer: Stephen Bruton
Curb Records (USA), 1999
1 CD
Catalogue #: 77948
EAN: 0715187794825
UPC: 715187794825
You save: 20%
Personnel: Hal Ketchum (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Jason Wilber (acoustic & electric guitar); Stephen Bruton (electric, slide & wah wah guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Anson Funderburgh (electric guitar); Delbert McClinton, Teddy Roddy (harmonica); Steven Conn (accordion); Kevin McEndree, Mike Utley (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Keith Carper (bass, background vocals); Chris Nieto (drums); Chris Searles (percussion); Malford Milligan, Sir Harry Bowens, "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, Judy Tagt, Tracy Bartelle (background vocals).
Principally recorded at The Castle and Woodland Studios, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
Musicians who bought Hal Ketchum's 1998 album I SAW THE LIGHT may have noticed that the songs seemed to divide into two types: pop/country fare and grittier, more soulful numbers. That's because the soulful numbers were originally part of a completely different album, which Ketchum recorded in Texas in 1997. A rawer, rootsy album, called HAL YES, was never released. Re-titled AWAITING REDEMPTION, the album features five of the songs that seemed so out of place on I SAW THE LIGHT, but seem to find their perfect context on this disc.
Ketchum displays a bluesier, more emotional side on AWAITING REDEMPTION, stretching his voice until, at times, it becomes almost unrecognizable. This is especially true of the funky title track, as well as the slow-burning "When Blue Was Just A Color," which features burbling wah-wah guitar part courtesy of Ketchum's producer/co-writer Stephen Bruton. Other standouts include the wistful "Days of Wonder" and the excellent, yearning "Lonely Ol' Me." Aside from the beautiful writing and performances, the album is also a fascinating document of Ketchum's search for artistic fulfillment--a search that has paid off in spades.
Tracklist
Delbert McClinton
A journeyman roots musician who'd put in nearly five decades in the music business by the turn of the millennium, Delbert McClinton's take on country and blues only improved with age. Cutting his chops as a touring and session man in the 1960s for various blues and R&B strutters, McClinton developed his own distinct approach in the '70s that incorporated soul and blues into a standard country framework, and at its best helped to define the "road house" style. He continued to record into the '90s and 2000s, collaborating with legends such as B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt.
