Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
His songs reflect common experience with uncommon compassion and insight. - RICHARD FOX
The world is a better place because David Bailey’s music is in it!
- JANA STANFIELD
You can’t hear and experience him without walking away a changed person. - Rev. Charles Hasty
WOW! David’s work is poetry put to music, like gentle rain on my soul - LAURIE BETH JONES
A magical mix of folk wisdom humor and the intangible something that comes from his incredible life story. listening is like having a rocking chair on his front porch at twilight, and hoping that the sun never sets
- Mary Waite
The LIVE CD is absolutely awesome. One of the most sincere, moving, real, and honest performances I've ever heard. Thanks is hardly enough to say but it's all I can say... Jim, Talkeetna, Alaska
- Jim
Among the best recorded acoustic guitar I’ve heard!
- Lloyd Baggs, President, L.R. Baggs Company
- Lloyd Baggs
Uplifting, warm, & honest.
- - Bob Sherman
“manages to inspire and direct without crossing that fine line.”
- Music reviews
Death. We know we all have to confront this fact of life at some point in our lives. But through luck, grace, chance, karma, or whatever, we rarely have to face it front and center so early in our years, and we secretly harbor the hope to pass on swiftly and painlessly after a long and fruitful life. But if it's pronounced that our lives will shortly end, how would we react? Would we create to the fullest, seek to fulfill long lost dreams, insure that our families knew of our love for them, attempt death-defying activities, consume ourselves with mind-altering substances to blunt the pain of the cold, hard truth? A myriad of options are there for the choosing.
david m. bailey, a survivor of brain cancer that's currently in remission, has selected the creative route, issuing his fourth release in as many years. An introspective collection of life-appreciative truths and observations, the grist for his songwriting mill remains the small, quiet, seemingly insignificant but too often overlooked moments and thoughts that get lost in this rush we call life.
Highlighted by its pleasing chorus, "Summer Song," opens the release with bailey employing an analogy comparing the clear comfortable conditions brought on by the literal arrival of summer and the figurative dissipation of inner personal murkiness. The chorus goes:
"...There's a song that I sing
and a dance that I dance
every time that I get the chance
I lift my eyes to the skies
year after year
when I realize the clouds have disappeared..."
Backed by gentle piano and offering a breezy rhythm, "Swan Song," is a quiet reminder that we never know which moment will be our final one. bailey cautions:
"...Any word you speak could end up as your last
Everybody knows that you can't change the past
You can burn a bridge, burn a book
break a heart with a certain look
lose your hat when the wind is strong
but you can never change your swan song
so sing it out, sing it strong
sing it well, your swan song"
The most intriguing cut is "The Painter and the Poet." The song's protagonists debate which has the greater value--a painting or a poem? The painter opens by asking the poet if a picture is truly worth a thousand words? The poet responds that black and white might be worth a hundred, color possibly twice that much. The painter advances that the Mona Lisa could never be put into words. The poet counters with the desire to know all the things daVinci heard. Eventually an artistic duel is proposed--pen versus brush--to be decided by a jury of peers. A painting and a poem are created but before the judging can take place, the young son of one of the judges begins singing and shrinks the debate down to size:
"...Everything is beautiful--I love the color of the rain
I love the sound of the sky that covers up the pain
Everything is beautiful--I love the things that we can share
I love that love has many faces, I love that love is everywhere..."
"What the Rainbow Sounds Like" is a nature-based reverie. bailey closes it with:
"...When the angel asks what you are seeking
and tells you you should feel no fright,
that's what the rainbow sounds like"
A reply to a question of his meaning of faith, "So Much More," ends with these thoughts:
"...If you can touch the tender side of timeless,
when it's something you've never felt before
If you can taste the fruit before it blossoms,
then you've found faith-faith and so much more..."
The interesting "If I had Another" lays out what bailey would do with his life if he had one week, one day, one hour, one minute or one second remaining to live.
There's a fuller sound on many of the cuts than in bailey's past releases, thanks to multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Rosser's integration of multiple instruments, along with bailey on his usual acoustic guitar. bailey has continued his gentle and sometimes provocative insights with this offering. This is his best yet.
bailey on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, is assisted by Joe Ebel on violin; Chris Rosser on percussion, guitar, keyboards, bass, recorder and background vocals; and Lynn Rosser, Anne Lalley, Jimmy Landry and Josh Lamkin on background vocals.
Track List:
• Summer Song (4:02)
• The Hard Way (3:31)
• Swan Song (2:51)
• The Painter and the Poet (6:41)
• What the Rainbow Sounds Like (3:20)
• Hey! (3:07)
• She's Got Style (3:10)
• So Much More (3:56)
• On a Day Like Today (3:31)
• Only Love (1:51)
• Life (3:07)
• If I Had Another (3:37)
• Already (3:18)
All songs by david m. bailey.
- Kevin McArthy
"One More Day", David's third album, is his one of his most sophisticated efforts yet. The songs come alive with believable characters, varied and interesting themes and melodies, and the production is gorgeous. David's classically influenced guitar style and gentle, sincere voice take a central place in his arrangements with electric guitar, drums, keyboards and violin tastefully incorporated into the mix creating a radio friendly, even danceable soundscape. Production credits go to Donny Holcomb of Sacred Ground Studios, where David has recorded all of his work. - Pete Mealy
Discography
PEACE (1997)
david's first solo release, with its masterfully spun lyrics and exquisite guitar passages, struggles with questions of life and death, and rejoices in the
chance to begin anew.
LOVE THE TIME (1998)
david broadens his sound with some additional instrumentation and vocals on his second solo album. this fine collection of songs speaks to us of gratitude, love, and -- most of all -- hope.
ONE MORE DAY (1999)
david's optimistic third album reminds us to treasure the moments we have and to love passionately. From the simple wisdom of It Shines to the complexity of Letting Go, this album surprises us with its diversity, and joyfully invites us to join in the chorus of its title song.
LIFE (2000)
In his sunny, sanguine fourth release, david’s guitar talents are wonderfully complemented by rich instrumentation and background vocals. embrace this remarkable celebration of life.
LIVE (2001)
david's long-awaited live concert double disc album was two years in the making and is a compilation of performances from across the nation. This is david at his best – alone on stage with his guitar, along with the wit, wisdom and narrative that make his concerts so compelling. It starts with the story of a headache and ends with a blessing. In between is a night full of unique insights on life as seen through the eyes of a true survivor.
LOST & FOUND(2001)
david's exuberant sixth album captures us with a new energy, allowing us to lose ourselves in the lushness of the title track, reflect on the bittersweet tenderness of Thank You, or simply sing with abandon to By My Side. These passionate songs of joy, peace, and reconciliation urge us to find a piece of ourselves in their stories and to recognize glimpses of God in the ordinary moments of our lives.
COFFEE WITH THE ANGELS (2002)
The culmination of years spent honing his craft since his first solo release, david’s seventh album definitively displays his versatile voice, his tremendous grasp of a wide range of musical styles, and his sheer enjoyment of creating a song. On his most ambitious and exciting project yet, the singer-songwriter reassures us that although the rhythm and rhyme change with each new day, the rock-solid message of steadfast love is ever the same.
RUSTY BRICK ROAD(2003)
released a week after winning the 2003 Kerrville NewFolk songwriting competition, david's newest project is a huge fast of melodies and messages
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
david’s story is one of tenacious faith and gentle passion. On July 4, 1996, doctors told david he had a malignant brain tumor and would be dead by Christmas. david left his corporate career and returned to his first love of songwriting and performing, with a goal of sharing the hope on which his life depended. Seven years, eight albums, 39 states and hundreds of concerts later, david, his songs, and his passions are alive and well.
The son of Presbyterian missionaries, david spent his childhood in Beirut, Lebanon. He learned his first chords from his seventh grade English teacher, then went on to study classical guitar. david soon began writing his own songs and made his first recording a year later. The Lebanese civil war forced him to complete high school in Germany where he spent his weekends as a street musician; during these years he also formed a small ensemble that toured throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In college, he played extensively in an original acoustic duo, but then put his guitar away and entered corporate America. Ten years later, following his diagnosis, david returned to the stage in what has become a dynamic and growing solo career.
david’s songs are reminiscent of folk legends like James Taylor and Cat Stevens, though he also points to the work of Kahlil Gibran and J.S. Bach as being influential in his writing. Strong melodies and intricate finger picking set a perfect backdrop for his warm baritone as he delivers keen and witty insights about his favorite topics: time, faith, hope, love, and dreams. Hailed as a “prophet with a guitar, ” david pens lyrics that resonate with surprising depth and clarity among audiences of all ages, keeping his music both universal and timeless.
david’s story has been featured on CBS News/48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Fox/Health, Family Health channel, and NPR; articles about him have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. He was a 1999 Kerrville NewFolk finalist and 2003 Winner; His recordings have received many other songwriting awards. Yet it is alone with his audiences where david finds his greatest joy: from Beirut to Budapest, from Pittsburgh to Portland, and on hundreds of stages in between, he has inspired and entertained thousands of listeners. In churches, conference centers and coffeehouses, david challenges all of us to live passionately and to treasure the beauty of each new day.
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