Tim Gartland – Truth
Tim Gartland – Truth
Format: CD
Label: Taste Good Music
Release: 2022
Release date: March 18, 2022
‘TRUTH’ was recorded at The Rock House in Franklin, TN and produced by Grammy Award winner Kevin McKendree. Joining Gartland on the album are Kevin McKendree (Delbert McClinton, Brian Setzer) on keyboards, electric rhythm guitar and background vocals.
Kenneth Blevins (John Hiatt) on drums, Steve Mackey (Delbert McClinton, Wallflowers) on bass. Holding down the guitar chair is Robert Frahm (Blues Warriors).
Ray Desilvis adds acoustic slide guitar and background vocals. Bryan Brock provides percussion and last, but not least, Top Ten finalist on NBC’s “The Voice”, Wendy Moten on background vocals.
The twelve songs on the album, blending blues/soul/roots rock and country, were all written or co-written by Tim Gartland, and were recorded in just two days to capture the intimate, immediate and natural sound of a group of great musicians creating music in a terrific sounding live room.
The album’s lead track, “Don’t Mess With My Heart” (co-written with Pat Gartland) is a Rolling Stones-like rocker with a message to his woman to be more sincere with her affections. “When we’re two, things are cool/When you’re gone, I’m just your fool/Love ain’t a light you can turn off and on”.
The socially relevant soul groove “The Thing About The Truth”, co-written with Karen Leipziger, shines a light on the importance of embracing truth. “The promises you never kept should have been a clue/The web of lies and half-truths I should have seen right through/Seeing what you wanted me to I wanted to believe/Smoke, mirrors and sleight of hand designed to deceive”.
The vintage rhythm and blues song “Cloudy With The Chance Of Blues” (co-written with McKendree) finds a man who regrets his role in a romantic break up and is convinced than the weather is conspiring against him to teach him a lesson. And on Tim Gartland/Ray Desilvis’ “One Love Away”, he encourages lonely listeners that are trudging through their life, that love, and all its promise may be right around the corner.
The music on TIM GARTLAND’s TRUTH is a culmination of a lifetime dedicated to the craft of writing and playing roots/blues music that began when Gartland entered his teens. Seeing Muddy Waters in concert in his home state of Ohio at age 13 proved to be a life changing experience that would inspire Gartland to learn the blues on the harmonica and begin his musical journey.
Upon moving to Chicago after graduating college, Gartland immersed himself in the Chicago roots/blues scene. He studied with famed harmonica player, Jerry Portnoy (Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton) and played with such greats as Bo Diddley, Carey Bell, Big Jack Johnson and Pinetop Perkins. Gartland has been deeply influenced by the “greats” –Little Walter for his harp playing, Ray Charles for his interpretation of a song, Willie Dixon for his songwriting.
As Gartland gained a more in-depth knowledge of songwriting, he came to understand that if roots/blues music was going to stay relevant in today’s world, the songs had to tackle contemporary subjects. “The blues is essentially a genre in which the singer is having a cathartic experience. If you write about themes that are meaningful to your experience, you will create something new.” says Gartland.
After moving to Boston in 1989, Gartland became a key player in the Boston blues circuit. In 1998, he was a finalist in the Boston Blues Challenge Competition. He made frequent appearances at regional and national blues festivals as well as guest artist appearances with the top tier musicians in this talent rich area.
Tim Gartland embarked on his solo recording career with the release of his debut album, Looking Into the Sun, in 2011. The Boston Globe stated “the bluesman is a true triple threat performer, equally accomplished as an emotive vocalist, eloquent harmonica player, and evocative songwriter”. Also in 2011, Gartland became a published author, writing an instructional book for the harmonica entitled “The Talking Harmonica”.
Gartland released his second album Million Stars (2014) to critical acclaim. Living Blues Magazine wrote “…he has developed into a skilled song writer…his reputation of a superb harmonica player is well justified…His vocals convey a rich tone and texture…with a richness and resonance that is thrilling throughout”.
Tim Gartland relocated to Nashville, TN in 2015. He became an active member of the Nashville Songwriters Association and was honored to be named to their “ones to watch list”. He is now actively playing, recording and writing in “Music City”. In 2017 he was invited to perform at the prestigious “Harmonica Blues Summit” in Nashville.
His album If You Want A Good Woman (2017) reached #1 on the blues charts on Air Play Direct. Rambles music wrote “Its as if he’s dug down through all blues’ roots rabbit holes and found a way to keep the music’s spirit intact and yet let it breath afresh, in a manner of one who is at once a committed carrier of the tradition and a subtle, transformer of it”.
Gartland released his fourth solo album, Satisfied in 2019. The ten original songs on the album, blending blues/soul/roots rock and country, were all written or co-written by Tim Gartland. Again, the album received unanimous critical reviews and significant airplay.
In 2021, Tim Gartland published a songbook entitled “50 Best Songs” with lyrics and music to his songs. He continues to actively perform and record his original music throughout the United States. Gartland’s song “Don’t Make More Trouble” was featured on the Nashville affiliate of NBC as part of a story on the rise in the crime rate in the city and across the country.
And now it’s time for TIM GARTLAND’s TRUTH. It promises to be his best work ever. “You can’t hide the truth forever/It eventually comes out…Facts are facts/There’s no spinning that/That’s the thing about the truth”
Website: https://www.timgartland.com/
