Bryan Hayes & The Retrievers
Memphis, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Loaded with plenty of folk-rock charm, his Retriever debut Just a Man at times playes like a country cousin to Tom Petty, where the songs "Last Time She Smiled" and drop-dead Heartbreakers facsimile "What Is Gone" carry a slick Southern punch the Florida rocker would recognize. Yet Hayes saves a Waterboys nod for his best number, "Mississippi," which flows like a river postlude to "And a Bang on the Ear." Warmly co-produced and engineered by ex-Pawtuckets guitarists Kevin Cubbins, this 11-track entree by Hayes supplants Wildflowers for some wild cotton. - The Commercial Appeal
Produced by Kevin Cubbins and backed by guitarist Shannon Cooke and rhythm-section-to-the stars Mark Stuart and John Argroves, Hayes offers a skillful take on roots-rock and alt-country, with songs such as "Soundtrack," "Poplar Corner Road," and "Greatest Generation" boasting a lot of personal detail. - The Memphis Flyer
Songwriter and former Desoto County resident Bryan Hayes will perform at this years DAC-to-DAC 5&15k runs.
The Memphis Songwriters Association recently awarded Hayes with two Best of 2004 awards for songs "Soundtrack" and "Parts Sold Separately", both from Hayes' debut album Just a Man, which is the first offering from both Retriever Records and Bryan Hayes.
The album was recorded at Easley Studio in Memphis and Hayestock Studio in Cordova and was co-produced by Kevin Cubbins (Pawtuckets, The Lights). The CD contains 11 original songs written by Hayes, including "Don't Take My Heart," a duet with Kim Richardson. - Desoto County Tribune
By Hoss The Boss
Posted May 12, 2006
I know of at least a dozen listeners to my former radio show on Texas Radio who are in love with Bryan Hayes. And I'm on the record with this quote: "Bryan Hayes has arguably the best voice in America."
So, when he says on his his website that his new CD is "much anticipated," he ain't kiddin.
Long Hard Road will be the follow up to Hayes' first album Just a Man, which features a number of songs that HossTheBoss.com listeners have voted for in recent weeks: Greatest Generation, Parts Sold Seperately, and Just a Man.
The album was due to be out in April. So I'm guessing we'll see it any day now, and as soon as I get it, I'll make sure at least one song makes into into the station's rotation. Assuming that its available from Amazon.com, you'll be able to buy it in the HossTheBoss.com store.
Bryan, by the way, is from Memphis, Tennessee -- one of the many Memphis musicians that Corpus Christi resident, and Memphis transplant, Robert Alexander have brought to my attention in the last year or so. Thanks to Robert, Bryan will be coming back to Corpus for anogher gig at the Blue Marlin on June 8. I am definitely planning to be there! (Just hope the new CD is ready by then, dang it!)
- Hoss the Boss.com
Discography
Just a Man (2004/Retriever Records)
I Want You Bad...The Demos (2005/Retriever Records)
Long Hard Road (2006/Retriever Records)
Photos
Bio
Singer/songwriter Bryan Hayes’ music has long reflected the musical passions that inspired him growing up in small town Brownsville, TN. From his debut album Just a Man to the demo EP I Want You Bad and the new studio album Long Hard Road, Hayes has continued to explore his passion and define his distinctive voice. With Long Hard Road, Hayes has both turned up the volume and subdued the mood, reminiscent of Petty’s Wildflowers or The Beatles White Album.
On the strength of his tongue-in-check song “Parts Sold Separately”, Hayes’ 2004 Just a Man became an award-winning album (Pars Sold Separately and Soundtrack won Memphis Songwriter “Song of the Year” awards). The demo EP I Want You Bad followed in 2005, and saw the formation of Hayes’ band The Retrievers, which included co-writer Shannon Cooke and keyboardist Gee Brannon.
Long Hard Road is very much a concept album: sixteen tracks of well-crafted and well-layered emotion. It has both a charming rock side and a vulnerable acoustic side. For Hayes making the album was indeed a long, hard road. “The original title was going to be I Want You Bad. And it was very much going to be a full-band, rock record.” Line-up changes at the eleventh hour forced Hayes to re-evaluate arrangements and song production. “I remember Shannon and I hastily writing “I Don’t Need You” in the studio,” says Hayes. “After that, a lot of the songs became more stripped down.”
Hayes once again entered the studio with engineer Kevin Cubbins (Augustine, Cory Brannan, Snowglobe, The Glass) and rhythm section John Hargroves and Mark Stewart (The Secret Service, The Lights). This combination of studio all-stars and regular band members created gritty rockers (“I Want You Bad”, “Come On Get High”), yet still left room for emotional weight and clever word play (“Happy Shade of Blue”, “I Don’t Need You”).
“I knew from early on in the writing process that this was going to be a concept album. Because of this, the placement of individual songs and transitions became extremely important,” said Hayes. And a brilliant concept of hope, love, and rock and roll he has created. From the angelic choruses on “Long Hard Road” and “Give a Little Love” to the crying steel on “Land of the Free”, Hayes proves his lyrical style belongs in the striking company of John Prine, Lyle Lovett, and Robert Earl Keen.
Long Hard Road continues the journey Bryan Hayes embarked upon when he left the cover bars of Memphis, to focus on writing honest, soul-bearing music. Hayes is much wiser for the times, and his lyrics carry a new maturity. This album will raise ears, rattle cages, and recruit new faces. The road will still be long for Bryan Hayes and The Retrievers, but after this album, it won’t be near as hard.
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