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This is the CD that John fans have been waiting for - a studio recording that is right up there with
"California Bloodlines", "Cannons in the Rain" and "Punch the Big Guy".
"The Day the River Sang" the latest collection of new Stewart originals, again affirms John's credentials
as one of our most overlooked painters of indelible musical pictures. Using the warm, minimal brushstrokes
of his own acoustic and electric guitars, his long-time Dave Batti/John Hoke rhythm section, and occasional
wisps of keyboards, harmonica and backing voices, John applies a similarly effective less-is-more approach
to his lyrics and vocals. Now in his mid sixties, John invests the opening love song, "Baby, It's You",
with a sense of relief and gratitude a younger man might lack. But the youthful gleam in his eye is
unmistakable on the frisky "Amanda Won't Dance", the album's other lightly rocking ballad. The pull between
heart and highway is frequently felt, particularly in the lovely "Jasmine", on which John's weathered tenor
unexpectedly swoops into a sweet falsetto, the tongue-in-cheek "East of Denver" and the deeply road weary
"Broken Roses", And one would be hard pressed to find a more poignant elegy for the pre-Hurricane Katrina
Crescent City than "New Orleans", with its heartbroken piano accompaniment a la Tom Waits and Randy Newman,
whispered vocals, and lyrics that were largely written by John's wife, soulmate and sometime singing
partner, Buffy Ford Stewart.
As a special treat for online shoppers, John has autographed a limited number of copies of "The Day the River
Sang". If you are one of the first 20 people to order a copy online, we will send you one of the autographed
copies, so order one today.
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