ARTIST: Tony Furtado
TITLE: Bare Bones
LABEL: Funzalo Records
GENRE: Blues
TIME: 54:00 min
SIZE: 70,7 MB
RIP DATE: May-10-2005
RELEASE DATE: Mar-22-2005
WEBSITE: www.tonyfurtado.com
Track List:
01. These Chains 03:38
02. The Angry Monk / Raleigh And Spencer 06:34
03. Standing In The Rain 03:14
04. St. John's Fire / Bolinas 05:46
05. Running Down A Dream 04:28
06. Can You Hear The Rain 04:37
07. False Hearted Lover's Blues 04:11
08. Rove Riley Rove 03:39
09. Oh Berta, Berta 04:27
10. I Will / Hazel Come Home / Willow John 06:40
11. Cypress Grove Blues 06:46
Release Notes:
String-bender extraordinaire Tony Furtado is a road
dog. Playing an average of 300 live dates a year,
from the western ski resorts in the winter to the
summer festivals throughout the Midwest, through
gritty Chicago and glitzy New York, to New England
seaside towns and up and down the West Coast,
Furtado's passion is playing his music live and
bringing it out there to the people. Accordingly,
he's wooed music lovers and won fans all over
kingdom come. Which brings us to BARE BONES - a
sampling of live solo acoustic shows that Tony
recorded himself during some gigs last summer. His
extensive solo touring had left folks wanting more
of the same, and Furtado fans both new and old
started asking for a recording that captures what he
does best - play his heart out on stages in small
clubs, at large festivals and just about everyplace
in between. BARE BONES is all Furtado. The songs
here are not only performed (and most of them
written) by Tony, but also recorded on the spot and
engineered by the guitarist/singer/songwriter as
well. And talk about baptism by fire: Furtado
learned how to use the recording gear at these very
shows. Dusty Wakeman, an accomplished musician and
studio guru in his own right (Lucinda Williams,
Dwight Yoakam, Anne McCue), did the mixing and
editing at his Mad Dog Studios in LA. Dusty has
worked with Tony before, producing his records and
playing in his road band, and here again he captures
the flavor and flow of Tony's live show, letting the
performances shine through and stand on their own
without adding unnecessary studio gimmickry or
polish. What Tony played and what the fans witnessed
is what you get, and the passion and camaraderie
come through loud and clear. The songs themselves
are a great representation of crowd-pleasing fan
favorites. From Furtado originals ("These Chains,"
"Can You Hear the Rain") to traditional songs with
new arrangements by Tony ("Rove Riley Rove," "Oh
Berta Berta") to collaborations like the
Furtado/Jules Shear-penned "Standing in the Rain"
and finally, to perfectly suited covers (Tom Petty's
"Running Down a Dream," the Beatles' "I Will"), this
album is a personal nod to the wishes of his fans, a
way to re-live the live show experience which
brought them together to begin with. Furtado started
playing the banjo at about 12 years of age; by the
time he was 19, he had established himself as a
gifted musician. As he solidified his chops and
sound by playing constantly, he was also raking in
top awards for his banjo playing. But Tony started
to feel constrained by his instrument as his musical
sensibilities broadened. He wanted to write songs
that had lyrics and also wanted to try his hand at
singing them, so he applied his considerable prowess
to mastering the guitar and writing and singing his
own material. His last studio effort, 2004's THESE
CHAINS, was the product of an established artist's
conscious expansion of his boundaries, and truly a
joy to behold. BARE BONES is a reflection of Tony's
boundless enthusiasm playing music for folks and
traveling far and wide to do it. His tours have
included stints with the likes of Gregg Allman, Taj
Mahal, Eric Johnson and String Cheese Incident,
among many others. Whether or not you've seen him
perform live, you'll want to catch a performance as
soon as you can. In the meantime, check out this
recording and you'll get the next best thing to a
Tony Furtado show.