Music
Press
By Jeff Giles
July, 2008
[4 out of 5 stars]
His album artwork looks like an accident and his name sounds like he should be running a Chevrolet dealership in Hogeye, Arkansas, but Bill Purdy is actually a damn fine singer/songwriter – as evidenced by his debut EP, the five-song, self-released Move My Way. He bills himself as “Jack Johnson meets Dr. John,� and that falls within spitting distance of the truth, but if these tracks are a reliable indicator, Purdy has a lot more in common with rootsy troubadours like Martin Sexton. The EP offers a seamless blend of soulful ballads and breezy up-tempo numbers, all of them anchored by Purdy’s keys – he plays piano, Wurlitzer, and B-3 here – and sandpaper-coated-in-honey vocals. The songs are catchy, a little bit funky, and as warm as a Memphis night in July. If anything, Purdy could stand to scuff up the edges of his sound a bit more – his press kit tries to lump him in with artists like Johnson and John Mayer, and it’s easy to see him heading that direction, but no matter how strong the pull of the middle of the road might be, Purdy’s career will be much more interesting if he keeps hanging out in the weeds. Get busy with that full-length follow-up, please. (Bill Purdy 2008) - eat sleep drink music (esdmusic.com)
Discography
Debut EP: Move My Way
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Bio
A debut that actually feels as good as it sounds is a welcome rarity these days, but pianist and singer-songwriter Bill Purdy's independently-released 5-song EP MOVE MY WAY hits both marks with an irresistible blend of pop, rock, and blue-eyed soul. Sitting alongside modern troubadours Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer, and now Brett Dennen, Purdy's piano-based tunes are at once fresh, funky and familiar.
After paying his dues as a sideman on piano and organ in the Los Angeles blues, reggae, and Latin music scenes, (OCEAN 11, BOOGALOO ASSASSINS) Purdy moves his raspy, gritty vocal style and his catchy, original songwriting to center stage. MOVE MY WAY is a winning combination of intimate, deeply personal ballads ("Carnival", "My Kinda Blues") and rocking, playful party jams ("What You Want", "Things You Do", "Move My Way").
Purdy's writing and production favor a tasty late-sixties/seventies retro vibe, and the fat reggae and funk grooves learned as a sideman percolate throughout the record. Expect healthy helpings of the Spanish Caribbean, the country-tinged soul of Memphis, and the infectious �let-the-good-times-roll� warmth of New Orleans.
Rollicking Sunday afternoon jam sessions in Playa del Rey, CA were the inspiration for MOVE MY WAY, and the record features a cast of friends and family including bassists Jeff Roffredo (Tiger Army, The Aggrolites), Wyzard (Mother's Finest, Stevie Nicks), drummers Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, John Cale, Tom Freund), Gerald Couchman (Rita Marley), and the lead guitar of Purdy's Nashville connection, brother John Purdy.
Just when we needed it, Bill Purdy's MOVE MY WAY reminds us it ain't so bad feelin' good after all..
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