ROBERT BRADLEY'S BLACKWATER SURPRISE
''STILL LOVIN' YOU''
NOVEMBER 11 2003
37:52
1 /All I Wanna Do
Robert Bradley/4:15
2 /I Thank You
Isaac Hayes / David Porter/3:15
3 /Still Lovin' You
Robert Bradley/3:07
4 /When You Love Something
Robert Bradley/4:33
5 /Pretender
Robert Bradley/4:48
6 /Anna
Robert Bradley/3:17
7 /Virginia
Robert Bradley/3:21
8 /Don't Take Your Love Away
Robert Bradley/4:04
9 /Work It Out
Bernard Allison / Robert Bradley/3:08
10 /Hollywood
Robert Bradley/4:04
REVIEW
By Richie Unterberger
What Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise dishes out on Still Lovin' You, to beg an unasked-for pun, is hardly surprising. It's more accomplished if unspectacular soul-rock, much in the style of his prior album, New Ground. The songs are sung with an engaging weariness, while the band stews together soul, roots rock, and bits of blues and funk to craft a 1970s-like soul sound, though more rock-oriented than much commercial '70s soul. "All I Wanna Do" and to a lesser degree "Still Lovin' You" are uncharacteristically slick, in a rather '70s sweet Philly soul way, and Bradley sounds more at ease with the more languid, down-home grooves. Some of his better efforts in that direction are "When You Love Something," which has a yearning arch slightly reminiscent of old soul staples like "When a Man Loves a Woman"; "Pretender," which has the sorrowful quality of some of the Band's work; and "Hollywood," in which a bluesy lope informs reflections on getting swallowed up by Tinseltown.
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.
''STILL LOVIN' YOU''
NOVEMBER 11 2003
37:52
1 /All I Wanna Do
Robert Bradley/4:15
2 /I Thank You
Isaac Hayes / David Porter/3:15
3 /Still Lovin' You
Robert Bradley/3:07
4 /When You Love Something
Robert Bradley/4:33
5 /Pretender
Robert Bradley/4:48
6 /Anna
Robert Bradley/3:17
7 /Virginia
Robert Bradley/3:21
8 /Don't Take Your Love Away
Robert Bradley/4:04
9 /Work It Out
Bernard Allison / Robert Bradley/3:08
10 /Hollywood
Robert Bradley/4:04
REVIEW
By Richie Unterberger
What Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise dishes out on Still Lovin' You, to beg an unasked-for pun, is hardly surprising. It's more accomplished if unspectacular soul-rock, much in the style of his prior album, New Ground. The songs are sung with an engaging weariness, while the band stews together soul, roots rock, and bits of blues and funk to craft a 1970s-like soul sound, though more rock-oriented than much commercial '70s soul. "All I Wanna Do" and to a lesser degree "Still Lovin' You" are uncharacteristically slick, in a rather '70s sweet Philly soul way, and Bradley sounds more at ease with the more languid, down-home grooves. Some of his better efforts in that direction are "When You Love Something," which has a yearning arch slightly reminiscent of old soul staples like "When a Man Loves a Woman"; "Pretender," which has the sorrowful quality of some of the Band's work; and "Hollywood," in which a bluesy lope informs reflections on getting swallowed up by Tinseltown.
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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