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Press Release
I
WANTED TO FLY
Sandy
Reay & Friends
a
review by Jon
Chandler
So, while America tunes in each week to watch extravagant
productions aimed at creating flamboyant “stars”
who have plenty of moxie but absolutely no soul, there are
hundreds of singer/songwriters (if not thousands) who fly
under the radar, plying their trade with purity and intelligence.
It’s a true pleasure to discover one.
Sandy
Reay is a fixture in Colorado’s acoustic music scene,
playing upright bass and singing in venues ranging from dusty
watering holes to elegant amphitheaters. She’s also
an exquisite songwriter. Several years ago, she shared the
lyrics to a song entitled Sandstorm
From Sedona with me, and I was struck by her lyrical integrity
and insight. Well, actually I was struck by how fun the lyrics
were.
When I heard the jazzy-swingy recorded version, I was surprised
and delighted at how Sandy had taken a western theme, rejected
its minor-chord stereotype and given it a new, intriguing,
and yes, purely western aspect. Her vocal is answered by Bill
Barwick’s thundering bass warbling, a flute twitters
around the edges, and the whole thing works.
On this CD, she lends several of her songs to lead vocalists
who do them justice. From the opening track (I
Wanted to Fly), with Christy
Wessler singing like Emmylou [Harris] in her prime, the songs are captivating and ultimately interesting.
The good time folk song blast from the past of Already
Gone features an iconic vocal from Bob
Turner and has the listener unconsciously looking for
the car keys, ready to hit the road. Sandy’s songs rank
with those penned by many of the best western songwriters…Chris
Wall comes to mind. I love Red
Shoes, and I love Car
Full of Collies. I’m humming Maybe
This Time as I write. In the spirit of full disclosure,
I also love my harmonica part on One
Lonely Rider. But that’s just my opinion. |
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A collection of
Americana songs about traveling through space and time featuring
a variety of styles and musicians |
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Colorado Sandstorm Music announces the release of "I
Wanted to Fly," a CD collection of songs that incorporate
different aspects of traveling through space and time, including
leaving and being left behind.
This CD includes performances by many well-known Colorado
artists, including Ernie
Martinez (Dakota Blonde, Jon Chandler & the Wichitones), Hannah
Alkire (Acoustic Eidolon), Bill
Barwick (Western Music Association 2009 Male Vocalist
of the Year), Jon
Chandler, Jim
Ratts (Wild Jimbos, Jimmy Ibbotson, John McEuen, Sam Bush), Sandy
Reay, Michi
Regier, Peter
Schwimmer, B.J.
Suter, Bob
Turner and Christy
Wessler (Nashville Star 2008 Regional Finalist).
Produced by Ernie
Martinez and recorded by Jim
Ratts at Raven Studio, Englewood CO, this 14-song, 46-minute
CD features 7 songs written by Sandy Reay, and 7 songs co-written
by Reay and her friends. She lives near Monument
CO.
It is the first independently-released CD by Colorado Sandstorm
Music, based in Monument CO. |
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One
Lonely Rider was an alternate in the 2008 Walnut Valley
Songwriters Showcase.
Already
Gone, Sandstorm
From Sedona, Hitchhiker, and State
Line Cafe were selected for inclusion on the 2007
and 2009 Colorado
Bluegrass
Music Society compilation CDs.
The Yampa Valley Boys, Ernie
Martinez, and Bob
Turner recorded and released Already
Gone, and One
Lonely Rider. |
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Colorado Sandstorm Music