ROBERT BRADLEY'S BLACKWATER SURPRISE
''ROBERT BRADLEY'S BLACKWATER SURPRISE''
SEPTEMBER 17 1996
41:48
1 /Bellybone
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/4:26
2 /Comin' Down
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/3:29
3 /California
Robert Bradley/3:32
4 /Shake It Off
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/3:01
5 /Once upon a Time
Robert Bradley/3:20
6 /Trouble Brother
Robert Bradley/4:10
7 /Way Back
Robert Bradley/3:33
8 /Governor
Robert Bradley/4:42
9 /Burn
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/2:35
10 /After You Love
Robert Bradley/4:20
11 /For the Night
Robert Bradley/4:40
Jimmy Bones /Organ
Robert Bradley /Organ, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
Johnny Evans /Saxophone
Jeff Fowlkes /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Ed Hawrysch /Organ, Wurlitzer
Kid Rock /Guest Artist
Andrew Nehra /Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Percussion, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Michael Nehra /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Thom Owens
Robert Bradley was a Detroit street singer for years before he was convinced to enter the studio by a group of young alternative rockers. The resulting album, Blackwater Surprise, is indeed surprising -- an effective collaboration between a blind blues musician and a sympathetic Detroit rock trio. The band wisely decided to stay in the background and let Bradley do his thing -- namely, improvising blues and soul shuffles and stomps in his extraordinary voice. On paper, the music sounds simple, but there's unexpected depth -- there are shades of gospel, soul, Motown and hard rock on the album, and a string section appears on a handful of cuts. Most of the album consists of first takes, and the music has an infectious, spontaneous feeling that is exhilarating. It may have taken Bradley a long time to enter the studio, but this unique record was worth the wait. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.]
BIOGRAPHY
By John Bush
An anachronism in the world of late-'90s rock & roll, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise consists of the group's namesake, a wizened Detroit street singer, plus three relatively fresh-faced alterna-kids as a backing band. Robert Bradley was born in Alabama, but gained musical experience and spirit by singing as a child at The Alabama School for the Blind, playing his acoustic guitar at coffeehouses, and piano in Baptist churches. He had spent several years in Detroit by 1994, performing occasionally on the street just to be heard, when guitarist Michael Nehra, bassist Andrew Nehra, and drummer Jeff Fowlkes (formerly in the Detroit band Second Self) overheard Bradley through an open window while rehearsing for a new project. After listening to Bradley sing for an hour, they invited him up to the studio to record several acoustic songs, then invited him to become their vocalist. 
The Nehra brothers' production experience (with Detroit locals Majesty Crush) helped out the group while recording their debut album, 1996's Blackwater Surprise. The band's eccentric background and energetic live show -- almost gospel in feel -- gained them many fans on frequent club dates as well as arena shows opening up for the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Widespread Panic, and Maceo Parker. Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise also did well on alternative radio and VH1. Keyboard player Tim Diaz joined up as well prior to the band's sophomore effort, 2000's Time to Discover. In 2002, they released New Ground, followed in 2003 by the softer, piano-based record Still Lovin' You. The next year Bradley starred as fictional bluesman Otis McClanahan in the HBO film Lackawanna Blues, also contributing to the soundtrack, and in 2006 the live two-disc album What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington came out, which was recorded during a 2005 concert at the Indiana city's club the Bluebird, one of Bradley's favorite venues.
''ROBERT BRADLEY'S BLACKWATER SURPRISE''
SEPTEMBER 17 1996
41:48
1 /Bellybone
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/4:26
2 /Comin' Down
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/3:29
3 /California
Robert Bradley/3:32
4 /Shake It Off
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/3:01
5 /Once upon a Time
Robert Bradley/3:20
6 /Trouble Brother
Robert Bradley/4:10
7 /Way Back
Robert Bradley/3:33
8 /Governor
Robert Bradley/4:42
9 /Burn
Robert Bradley / Jeff Fowlkes / Andrew Nehra / Michael Nehra/2:35
10 /After You Love
Robert Bradley/4:20
11 /For the Night
Robert Bradley/4:40
Jimmy Bones /Organ
Robert Bradley /Organ, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
Johnny Evans /Saxophone
Jeff Fowlkes /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Ed Hawrysch /Organ, Wurlitzer
Kid Rock /Guest Artist
Andrew Nehra /Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Percussion, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Michael Nehra /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Thom Owens
Robert Bradley was a Detroit street singer for years before he was convinced to enter the studio by a group of young alternative rockers. The resulting album, Blackwater Surprise, is indeed surprising -- an effective collaboration between a blind blues musician and a sympathetic Detroit rock trio. The band wisely decided to stay in the background and let Bradley do his thing -- namely, improvising blues and soul shuffles and stomps in his extraordinary voice. On paper, the music sounds simple, but there's unexpected depth -- there are shades of gospel, soul, Motown and hard rock on the album, and a string section appears on a handful of cuts. Most of the album consists of first takes, and the music has an infectious, spontaneous feeling that is exhilarating. It may have taken Bradley a long time to enter the studio, but this unique record was worth the wait. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.]
BIOGRAPHY
By John Bush
An anachronism in the world of late-'90s rock & roll, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise consists of the group's namesake, a wizened Detroit street singer, plus three relatively fresh-faced alterna-kids as a backing band. Robert Bradley was born in Alabama, but gained musical experience and spirit by singing as a child at The Alabama School for the Blind, playing his acoustic guitar at coffeehouses, and piano in Baptist churches. He had spent several years in Detroit by 1994, performing occasionally on the street just to be heard, when guitarist Michael Nehra, bassist Andrew Nehra, and drummer Jeff Fowlkes (formerly in the Detroit band Second Self) overheard Bradley through an open window while rehearsing for a new project. After listening to Bradley sing for an hour, they invited him up to the studio to record several acoustic songs, then invited him to become their vocalist.
The Nehra brothers' production experience (with Detroit locals Majesty Crush) helped out the group while recording their debut album, 1996's Blackwater Surprise. The band's eccentric background and energetic live show -- almost gospel in feel -- gained them many fans on frequent club dates as well as arena shows opening up for the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Widespread Panic, and Maceo Parker. Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise also did well on alternative radio and VH1. Keyboard player Tim Diaz joined up as well prior to the band's sophomore effort, 2000's Time to Discover. In 2002, they released New Ground, followed in 2003 by the softer, piano-based record Still Lovin' You. The next year Bradley starred as fictional bluesman Otis McClanahan in the HBO film Lackawanna Blues, also contributing to the soundtrack, and in 2006 the live two-disc album What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington came out, which was recorded during a 2005 concert at the Indiana city's club the Bluebird, one of Bradley's favorite venues.
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