ROBERT ELLIS
''PHOTOGRAPHS''
2011
42:18
1 /Friends like Those/4:07
2 /Bamboo/3:32
3 /Cemetery/6:58
4 /Two Cans of Paint/4:37
5 /Westbound Train/4:07
6 /Comin' Home/3:03
7 /What's in It for Me?/4:23
8 /I'll Never Give Up on You/3:36
9 /No Fun/3:14
10 /Photographs/4:41
All Tracks By Ellis
Ryan Chavez /Drums, Vocals (Background)
Jason Cooper /String Arrangements
Kelly Doyle /Guitar (Electric)
Hannah Dremann /Violin
Derek Dunivan /Vocals (Background)
Robert Ellis /Arranger, Drums, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Piano, String Arrangements, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
George Fontaine /A&R
Christine Kim /Cello
Geoffrey Muller /Bass
Rachel Sandman /Violin
Leslie Sloan /Vocals (Background)
Will Van Horn /Banjo, Pedal Steel
Rainey Weber /Viola
Review
by William Ruhlmann (AllMusic)
Texas singer/songwriter Robert Ellis is not shy about citing his influences, name-checking "Lefty [Frizzell], Willie [Nelson], Hank [Williams], and Townes [Van Zandt]" in "Comin' Home," a song on his second album, Photographs. In keeping with the disc's nostalgic tone, Ellis has nearly divided it into two sides like an old LP, in musical and thematic terms. On the first five songs, he creates restrained arrangements based on his gently picked acoustic guitar, singing specific, confessional lyrics in a wispy country tenor. After two tunes devoted to the subject of friendship ("Friends Like Those," "Bamboo"), he traces the beginnings of a relationship on "Cemetery" (where, ominously, it is consummated) and "Two Cans of Paint" (in which housekeeping is set up). A transition is effected in "Westbound Train," as, halfway through, Ellis builds up a traditional country arrangement with drums kicking in. The second part of the CD is full of such band tunes, the sound harking back to the 1950s of Frizzell, as Ellis describes the deterioration of the love story he began earlier. He, it seems, drinks; she, he thinks, cheats. The traditional sound gives the words a more generalized tone and even undercuts them somewhat, however. "No Fun," for instance, is set to a honky tonk hoedown that belies its vindictive lyrics. Meanwhile, as a singer Ellis has built up to a George Jones-like belt, the better to give his words a more universal context. Photographs thus has it both ways as an intimate singer/songwriter effort and a tribute to the country music Ellis reveres.
Biography
by Andrew Leahey (AllMusic)
Before signing with New West Records in early 2011, country songwriter Robert Ellis made a name for himself in Houston, Texas. Inspired by the country, folk, and bluegrass records he’d heard while growing up in southern Texas, Ellis began playing shows around the city, eventually landing a Wednesday night residency at a local venue called Fitzgerald’s. His audience grew as a result of those weekly shows, nicknamed "Whiskey Wednesdays" for their rowdy nature and half-drunk clientele, and Ellis earned more fans on the strength of his self-released debut, The Great Rearranger. One of those converted fans was George Fontaine, Sr., president of New West Records, who signed Ellis in 2011. Photographs was released that summer, mixing acoustic folk songs with uptempo country numbers. The album was selected by American Songwriter as one of its Top 50 albums for that calendar year. Ellis toured the United States and Europe before relocating to Nashville. His more eclectic sophomore album, The Lights from the Chemical Plant, was recorded there and produced by Jacquire King; it was issued in February of 2014.
OFFICIAL SITE
''PHOTOGRAPHS''
2011
42:18
1 /Friends like Those/4:07
2 /Bamboo/3:32
3 /Cemetery/6:58
4 /Two Cans of Paint/4:37
5 /Westbound Train/4:07
6 /Comin' Home/3:03
7 /What's in It for Me?/4:23
8 /I'll Never Give Up on You/3:36
9 /No Fun/3:14
10 /Photographs/4:41
All Tracks By Ellis
Ryan Chavez /Drums, Vocals (Background)
Jason Cooper /String Arrangements
Kelly Doyle /Guitar (Electric)
Hannah Dremann /Violin
Derek Dunivan /Vocals (Background)
Robert Ellis /Arranger, Drums, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Piano, String Arrangements, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
George Fontaine /A&R
Christine Kim /Cello
Geoffrey Muller /Bass
Rachel Sandman /Violin
Leslie Sloan /Vocals (Background)
Will Van Horn /Banjo, Pedal Steel
Rainey Weber /Viola
Review
by William Ruhlmann (AllMusic)
Texas singer/songwriter Robert Ellis is not shy about citing his influences, name-checking "Lefty [Frizzell], Willie [Nelson], Hank [Williams], and Townes [Van Zandt]" in "Comin' Home," a song on his second album, Photographs. In keeping with the disc's nostalgic tone, Ellis has nearly divided it into two sides like an old LP, in musical and thematic terms. On the first five songs, he creates restrained arrangements based on his gently picked acoustic guitar, singing specific, confessional lyrics in a wispy country tenor. After two tunes devoted to the subject of friendship ("Friends Like Those," "Bamboo"), he traces the beginnings of a relationship on "Cemetery" (where, ominously, it is consummated) and "Two Cans of Paint" (in which housekeeping is set up). A transition is effected in "Westbound Train," as, halfway through, Ellis builds up a traditional country arrangement with drums kicking in. The second part of the CD is full of such band tunes, the sound harking back to the 1950s of Frizzell, as Ellis describes the deterioration of the love story he began earlier. He, it seems, drinks; she, he thinks, cheats. The traditional sound gives the words a more generalized tone and even undercuts them somewhat, however. "No Fun," for instance, is set to a honky tonk hoedown that belies its vindictive lyrics. Meanwhile, as a singer Ellis has built up to a George Jones-like belt, the better to give his words a more universal context. Photographs thus has it both ways as an intimate singer/songwriter effort and a tribute to the country music Ellis reveres.
Biography
by Andrew Leahey (AllMusic)
Before signing with New West Records in early 2011, country songwriter Robert Ellis made a name for himself in Houston, Texas. Inspired by the country, folk, and bluegrass records he’d heard while growing up in southern Texas, Ellis began playing shows around the city, eventually landing a Wednesday night residency at a local venue called Fitzgerald’s. His audience grew as a result of those weekly shows, nicknamed "Whiskey Wednesdays" for their rowdy nature and half-drunk clientele, and Ellis earned more fans on the strength of his self-released debut, The Great Rearranger. One of those converted fans was George Fontaine, Sr., president of New West Records, who signed Ellis in 2011. Photographs was released that summer, mixing acoustic folk songs with uptempo country numbers. The album was selected by American Songwriter as one of its Top 50 albums for that calendar year. Ellis toured the United States and Europe before relocating to Nashville. His more eclectic sophomore album, The Lights from the Chemical Plant, was recorded there and produced by Jacquire King; it was issued in February of 2014.
OFFICIAL SITE
2 comments :
Thank you and have a nice weekend !
Greetings Frank
Thanks, SuperBillie 1.
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