Chuck Williams

...singer-songwriter Chuck Williams owes a debt to folkies like James Taylor, but he does enough on 'Lightning In A Bottle' to indicate he’s his own man. Strong songs and a keen delivery are at the album’s core. The playing is tight and lucid, and the arrangements get quickly to the point allowing Williams to get his message across. If you’re in the market for a new singer-songwriter with something to say, be sure to check him out. Simon. LeicesterBangs.co.uk 2010 - Leicester Bangs

Chuck Williams and “Lightning in a Bottle” is a tour de force in folk style songwriting and country sound. Released in 2010, this 10 track CD, his fifth studio offering, boasts over 40 minutes of introspective, folk songwriting at its finest, his latest offering clearly shows that New England can produce some top notch folk writers. Zack Kiley, Indie Music Digest, 2010 - Indie Music Digest

As I sat down to perform my dutiful task of reviewing this week's batch of CDs, I didn't dare think I'd find my future epitaph within the title of Chuck Williams new release Smart Too Late, Old Too Soon. Rarely am I moved by a record during the mundane process of removing the cellophane. However, the profound title grabbed me instantly, and my enthusiasm was only heightened once I began listening to the track and the ensuing songs throughout.

The Ohio-born, Berkshire resident has steadily been gaining critical acclaim throughout New England songwriting circles, and has even earned several awards for his finely tuned craft. Employing a voice that resembles Neil Young's with the edges rounded-off, Williams is far more than simply a folk singer. His singer-songwriter style is circuitously culled from various influences, though he does not rely too heavily on any one technique. On some tracks, Williams and his studio compatriots form tightly knit harmonies reminiscent of Peter Paul & Mary. And yet on others, the vocal and backing arrangements resemble a Blood-On-The-Tracks-era Dylan. That aside, Chuck Williams is by no means a retro-act. The recordings are fresh sounding and uniquely his own.

As alluded to earlier, the title track “Smart Too Late, Old Too Soon” is particularly potent. This haunting refrain laments the life of a solitary soul who clearly didn't live life to full potential: “Throughout his life there were seeds to sow, Something to stand back on that would grow and grow - But the only thing he left was written in this tune - He was smart too late and old too soon.”

There seems to be a proud and strong tradition of folk music speaking truth to power. Sadly, the rock world appears to no longer have the inclination to express contrary opinions on geopolitical affairs (unless you count the Dixie Chicks…and I don't). However on another song “On The Line,” Chuck Williams does just that, while broaching the topic of warfare, and more specifically the young fighting the wars of the old: “He joined in ’68 to bypass the lottery, sounded stupid then but the choice was free - didn't take long before he was upon that plane - this was the real deal, not no war game...His son left in ’03, had no lottery - His uncle told him be all that you can be - Men and women all have gone, sadly not the last - when will this world put war in the past?”

Lest I leave you with the false impression that Williams' musings are all dark in nature, I offer the closing track, “Ya Gotta Call Now,” as evidence to the contrary. With tongue firmly in cheek, Williams sings a cynical, sardonic ode to capitalism: “All of the focus is on sales to sealed - let's sell it all, it's the best deal ... on TVs, microwaves, photographic memories, stereos, gas grills, vacuum cleaners on the go, gold rings, silver rings, rings with baubles, other things…Full price, half price, two for one, ain't that nice.”

With a great deal of humility, Chuck Williams describes this, his third CD release as "just me and my guitar." Clearly Smart Too Late, Old Too Soon is so much more than that. Anyone who invests the time to absorb the minimalist musical approach with maximum lyrical content will not be disappointed - Don DiMuccio