Will White: Reviews

Excerpt from
"New Radio Sampler - AcousticRainbow Bluegrass, Mountain and Old-Time Music

Artist: Will White
Song: "Mournin' Dove" - CD: Rise Above
Will returns to his childhood in Virginia and eastern North Carolina, on this mountain-soul original. His clawhammer banjo, added with the fiddle and a bowed upright bass, gives the track a spine tingling quality. The full CD (included in this mailing) mixes bluegrass, Appalachian, old-time, and old school country."

Good morning Will, Not sure how your disc came my way – usually mark down which promoter/agent sent music my way, but didn’t have anything written down for your disc. In any case, I am really glad I received! The Acoustic Revival is heard weekly on 90FM WWSP here in the heart of central WI, and your disc is a welcome addition to our collection! I usually am pretty happy if I can mark a couple of songs off an album for future play – Rise Above will have most of its songs played before the year is out! Hard to pick a favorite – but Fredricksburg 1862 is probably mine - so thanks again and please keep 90FM and the Acoustic Revival in mind when you produce more great music!
Jim Canales
The Acoustic Revival 90FM WWSP

Will White’s new album Rise Above is full of down south twang from the first banjo note in “Mournin’ Dove”, the single that airs on Village 900, to the heavy slide on the title track that closes the CD. Listening to this recording, I felt like I was sitting on a porch drinking a glass of cool lemonade. It is a solid release overall and written to perfection — every note flows with harmony. “June Bug” drops a little Steve Earle and Emily Lou Harris vibe with percussive, drop-tuned slide guitar. By the time White rolls into “I Wanna Meet Jesus” you’re hooked and he tosses it up a little with stops and starts and smooth fiddle. His music is honest and his voice is authentic —a nice change from the many processed artists of today’s music scene. The song ”I'll Never Do Time Again” has lyrics that made me burst out laughing, and shows that he can have a serious and fun side to his music — a rarity in this genre. Will White’s drawling lyrics and commitment to the blue side of bluegrass grew on me and I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys tight harmonies mixed with soulful music. You can listen to the whole CD, see some video and find other assorted trappings at his website: http://www.willwhitemusic.com/.

"Will has put out some great projects in the past few years and this one is the cream of the crop. Here is a group that can nail traditional bluegrass and yet, their music would be just as comfortable as traditional country. They present a sound from the small town and not the flash of Nashville. It's honest, pure and clean. Sweet harmonies and tight instrumentals put together with a great mix of original song material are what you can expect from Will White. His 2008 release by Widow Maker titled The Awful Truth received wonderful reviews and this album should as well. Here, Will explores the boundaries of his musical expression and goes beyond where his last album comfortably existed. Will White opened up his expression and imagination on this latest release. You too can Rise Above where tradition lives and see where it can easily flow."

"...powerhouse debut solo project...16 diverse and original compositions. It's obvious from the top that White won't be restricted to any particular genre. Opening cut Mournin' Dove launches things with a compelling melancholic feel, while tunes like the quirky June Bug and the gently romantic Firelight Waltz lighten things up delightfully as does the sunlit instrumental Backcountry. From start to finish, White's music is completely raw, authentic and roots-driven. Just as strong as the music itself are the often poignant lyrical journeys he takes listeners on as well. Fredericksburg 1862, for example, is the true story of Sargeant Richard Rowland Kirkland during the blistering Battle of Fredericksburg in the American Civil War. "His supremely humanitarian heroism marked him as 'The Angel of Marye's Heights' on both sides of the conflict," explain the liner notes. The stirring tune was inspired by the novel Cold Mountain. Other stand-out gems include the aching honesty of I Wanna Meet Jesus, the unabashed fun of Run Chicken Run and the inspiring sensibilities of I Feel Like I'm On Holy Ground."

Proving himself adept on a number of instruments throughout this debut recording — National steel, banjo, and guitar — readers may recall White as a notable and shining presence on Widow Maker’s sole recording, The Awful Truth. Born in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains, White’s southern influences permeate his songs, ensuring authenticity. Self-described as performing ‘Acoustic Americana Fusion,’ White blends mountain sounds with a folksinger’s lyrical acumen. He is a wonderful singer and musician, but making him even more impressive is the depth of his songwriting. Generously compiled, this hour-long album serves as a survey of the very best elements of modern, acoustic roots music. Firelight Waltz is a mournful tale thick with the fundamentals of classic ballads — timeless love, anticipated death, and oaths taken to heart. Baby You Put the Hurt on Me swings amidst infidelity and murder while Climbin’ and I Wanna Meet Jesus explore the gospel tradition in unexpected ways. June Bug and Mournin’ Dove will appeal to those who favour Stanley-style bluegrass with Run Chicken Run proving a lighthearted bluegrass romp. The album’s central track is the epic Fredericksburg 1862. With Byron Myhre providing deft fiddle accompaniment, White relates the true tale of a Civil War soldier and humanitarian lending comfort to injured and dying foes on a battlefield of frozen mud. With cinematic accuracy, White communicates gentle heroics in the midst of a one-sided conflict. Like the finest of those who choose to explore their art within bluegrass-friendly confines, White bridges the distance between the past and the present and reveals himself as a continually developing artist.

The Will White Trio appears at The Matchbox on Oct. 2.

Donald Teplyske is a local freelance writer who contributes a twice-monthly column on roots music; visit fervorcoulee.wordpress.com for additional reviews. If you know a roots music event of which he should be aware, contact him at fervorcoulee@shaw.ca

Dear Will,
Greetings to you from a quite Wintry Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.

I've often heard an album called a "project" and sometimes thought this was something of an extravagant term, but in the case of your new album it is a very apt description! This is a truly remarkable album, rich in musical styles and dense in lyrical content. The "Fredericksburg 1862" song, for example, is a truly overwhelming piece of music and I am now, as a result, quite conversant with this extraordinary event in your history. It reminds me somewhat of an event during the First World War in, I think, Christmas 1916 or thereabouts when fighting was suspended for twenty-four hours and the ally and German soldiers met in "No-man's Land", in between the barbed wire and deep in mud, and exchanged chocolate and photos of each other's wives, girlfriends and children, then, next day, resumed slaughtering one another.

On my show this Monday night from nine Eastern Time I'll be playing two tracks from the album...I particularly wanted to play your delightfully yet all too accurate song about corporate crime and its many advantages. The line "more bucks for your bang with a suit and a pen" took me straight back to Woody Guthrie's "Pretty-boy Floyd" "They don't rob you with a six-gun, they rob you with a fountain pen" and it is, clearly, done much more efficiently these days than ever before! Anyway, it's a funny and terrific song. I think I'll also be playing your haunting "November Waltz". Congratulations on a mighty piece of work. I very much appreciate your sending the new album across; hope it goes tremendously well for you.

Geoff Morris
WALL-TO-WALL BLUEGRASS
worldwidebluegrass.com
Monday nights from nine
Friday evenings from six
E. D. T.

Dear Will:

This project is everything you said it would be. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, all braided together in a solid musical package. In all of the 64 minutes, the listener was fed a myriad of acoustical musical styles that blended together beautifully. While listening you never knew what was going to happen next. I really liked the anticipation. The thought provoking songs were superb, & the varied musical accompaniment fit in extremely well. Thank you for enclosing the words for all of the songs. As with many projects there are songs that you enjoy but you have no idea what the words were & you wish that you could follow or sing along. I played a majority of the songs & I received many requests to play them again. I think you have a winner on your hands. We really loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for sharing this fine project with us,

Cordially,

Al Shusterman
KCBL Radio
Backroads Bluegrass
Sacramento, California

Will,
Don't know how you found us but glad you did. Like "I'll Never Do Time Again" "Run Chicken Run" and that one you call "Another heavy one" Cut #11 "Her Soul It Does Not Fade". We're suckers for the ones that rip your heart out, so that one (#11) goes on playlist and on report.

Again, Thanks for the hard copy. So many people think a download e-mail is doing their job. It isn't. It's just cheap and going through the motions. I wonder if it really gets results or the person hustling it tries to make you think it does. Besides you only threw a little money away with those guys if you use 'em.

WAGS is live radio, real people in real time, playing country, indie country, bluegrass, americana, from CD, LP, 45's, and yes some 78's, and reporting to New Music Weekly for the country format and Roots Music Association for Americana.

Thanks,

Jim Jenkins
Owner/Gen Mgr
WAGS Radio
Bishopville, South Carolina
wagsradio@sc.rr.com

We just received your new CD Rise Above, and I wanted to take a moment and express my thanks and appreciation. The tracks have a refreshingly raw sound. I just added Mournin' Dove (instant favourite) to our playlist. We also really like Wild Flower and Run Chicken Run.

Best Regards,

Earle Thompson
Programming Assistant
CKMO Radio-Village 900
Victoria, British Columbia
Streaming on line at Village900.ca

"...a really strong collection of songs...some of which are destined to be jam session classics..."

David Ward
Host and Producer
The Afternoon Edition
Monday through Friday, 3 - 6pm
Calgary, Alberta
www.ckua.com