Van Eaton and Friends
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Van Eaton & Friends: Blood on the Ground
Written By Nelson at :A Fifty Cent Lighter & A Whiskey Buzz
I have vowed in 2009 to make Knoxville artists a larger part of the music I cover here at A Fifty Cent Lighter & A Whiskey Buzz. Luckily, Knoxville keeps giving me great new music and great new artists to write about. I have another new one for you today.
About a month ago, I noticed that Dennis Double (co-host of WDVX's Writer's Block program) seemed to be pretty worked up about a new CD he had heard that week from a local songwriter named Van Eaton. He was passing out copies to everyone at the station (except me), and excitedly sharing the songs on Writer's Block. I'd hear Dennis talking to other people at the station about the copies he had given them and hear them give their enthusiastic reviews back.
A few weeks ago, I finally got a copy for myself and figured out what everyone else was so excited about. Blood on the Ground from Van Eaton & Friends is a solid Americana album that branches out from strong bluegrass roots to deliver a group of songs that bring a little polish to the traditional back porch picking session.
Speaking of pickers... I should probably mention that the "And Friends" who play on the album include Ronnie McCoury, Robbie McCoury, Jason Carter, and Alan Bartram of The Del McCoury Band. Eaton first crossed paths with the band when he wrote the title track to their 2003 album It's Just the Night, and was able to enlist their services for his debut effort. Even with such bluegrass luminaries on board... it's Eaton's songs that take center stage throughout.
On his myspace page, Eaton describes his music as, "Americana with a Gospel soul and a Bluegrass heart," and it's true that his songs do draw heavily from both southern music traditions. It's also important to note, however, that Blood on the Ground is not strictly a bluegrass album or strictly a gospel album. There's more going on here as well.
In "The Fire Room," the protagonist of the song finds solace in prayer, but he may be doing so for the wrong reasons. He lived his life with a stone cold heart, let the Devil control his idle hands, and fell to temptation at every turn. Now, at the end of his life (and the end of his rope), he turns to the Father he never counted on before for a last minute pardon. It's up to the listener to decide if the narrator has truly repented.
The album's title track tackles the subject of war with a brutal honesty not often found in bluegrass circles. This time, the narrator is a soldier who has lost friends and has blood on his own hands. He is charged with being a hero, but knows all too well the dangers his bravery exposes him to.
This is one great AMERICANA CD.
- CD Review by: Nelson Gullett
VAN EATON & FRIENDS "Blood On The Ground" (Van Eaton)
(5 *****)
originally from the site http://www.ctrlaltcountry.be/
If you are a newcomer on a disc of excellent new music and that is noticeable, then you really have the good stuff here. And that is from Knoxville , TN. active singing songsmith Van Eaton! What he and his friends Robbie and Ronnie McCoury, Jason Carter, Alan Bartram, David Ferguson, Bobby Wood, Stu Bassore, Robert Richards and Leroy Troy do on "Blood On The Ground" is in our humble opinion, simply the best out of what we in the first three months of 2009 are going to hear. This is Americana with a big capital A! Bear-Strong melodies and beautiful texts govern in the musical universe Van Eaton. And if you call this Americana with a bluegrass touch ( or if would you rather call it bluegrass Americana ) , that absolutely does not matter. This is just as much inspiration gemusiceerd that you almost immediately will be blown away. What concerns us is already this is a quasi certitude for our year-end list of 2009, get "Blood On The Ground".
Van Eaton & Friends
CD Baby
http://www.eyetunemusic.com - Ctrl. Alt Country ezine in belgium
DE 10 BESTE ALBUMS VAN HET MOMENT ACCORDING TO CTRL. ALT. COUNTRY!
1- BUDDY & JULIE MILLER “Written In Chalk”
2 - ANTJE DUVEKOT “The Near Demise Of The Highwire Dancer”
3 - ISRAEL NASH GRIPKA “New York Town”
4 - THE FLATLANDERS “Hills And Valleys”
5 - VAN EATON & FRIENDS “Blood On The Ground”
6 - WILLIE NILE “House Of A Thousand Guitars”
7 - WAYNE HANCOCK “Viper Of melody”
8 - BRIGITTE DE MEYER “Red River Flower”
9 - LEONARD COHEN “Live In London”
10-JEFFREY FOUCAULT “Shoot The Moon Right Between The Eyes”
?
(18 april 2009) - Ctrl. Alt Country in belgium
1
The Flatlanders
Hills And Valleys
New West
2
Israel Nash Gripka
New York Town
Self rel.
3
Buddy & Julie Miller
Written In Chalk
New West
4
Dan Baker
Outskirts of Town
Self rel.
5
The Mystix
Down to Shore
Mystix Eyes Rec.
6
Slaid Cleaves
Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
Music Road Rec.
7
Eilen Jewell
Sea of Tears
CRS
8
Bob Dylan
Together through life
Columbia
9
Jim Byrnes
My Walking Stick
Black Hen
10
Eric Brace & Peter Cooper
You Don’t Have To….
Corazong
11
Ad Vanderveen
Faithful to Love
Sonic Rendezvous
12
Drew Nelson
Dusty Road to Beulah Land
Waterbug
13
Wayne Hancock
Viper of Melody
Bloodshot
14
Naomi Sommers
Gentle As The Sun
American Melody
15
Van Eaton & Friends
Blood on the ground
Self rel.
16
Richard Shindell
Not Far Now
Signature Sounds
17
Brigitte DeMeyer
Red River Flower
Self rel.
18
The Deep Dark Woods
Winter Hours
Black Hen
19
Justin Townes Earle
Midnight At The Movies
Bloodshot
20
JJ Cale
Roll On
Rounder
21
Po'Girl
Deer In The Night
Po'Girl Music
22
Danny Schmidt
Instead The Forest Rose To Sing
Red House rec.
23
Paul Benoit
Bluebird
Stray Dog Music
24
Antje Duvekot
The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer
Black Wolf
25
Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs
The Only Thing That Matters
Big Bubba Dog
- Euro Americana Chart
see the at
http://www.tcmnradio.com/far/
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FAR charts are compiled from reports sent in by actual DJs with freeform (i.e. no playlists) radio shows on public, college and community stations round the country (and world). Each of them lists the six albums they took most pleasure in playing, one of which can be their Album of the Month (designated by a * and their initials).
- 3rd Coast Music Magazine
Discography
"BLOOD ON THE GROUND" CD (2009) Eyetune Music
Photos
Bio
Influenced by the infamous Muscle Shoals Sound along with Elvis, Townes Van Zant, Hank Sr and more, Alabama born, Van Eaton, found his love of music at a young age, but didn't approach the music industry as a career until much later in life.
Always a songwriter, he started that age old process of writing songs and recording the demos. As interest in his writing grew, and having gone into the studio with such luminaries as Nanci Griffith's famed Blue Moon Orchestra, Pat McInerney, Ron Della Vega, Clive Gregson and more, one of his demos caught the attention of Bluegrass chart topper, Del McCoury. From that recording, McCoury found the title to his new CD “Its’s Just the Night” which was released in 2003 and became the biggest selling Bluegrass album of that year.
With this success Van was invited to the Butcher Shoppe studio in Nashville,Tennessee to record again. Joined by friends and reknown musicians, Ronnie McCoury, Robbie McCoury, Jason Carter, Alan Bartram, Bobby Wood, Leroy Troy, Stu Bassore and Robert Richards, Van Eaton's new release, "Blood On The Ground" was born and boasts 11 original songs and one written by acclaimed poet/musician Jake Berry! Produced by Daviid 'Fergie' Ferguson of Johnny Cash fame, this cd already has critics and fans talking.
5 Stars ! Best We've Heard In 2009. Americana with a capital "A"
A Phenominal Americana/Bluegrass/Blues Cd Altcountryforum.nl The Netherlands
"This is AMERICANA music the way it should be...brutally honest lyrics, sizzling hot playing and something to say...destined to become a classic." Tony Butler-intergraph, Huntsville AL.
“When you start with songs this good, the rest is easy. Van is wonderful to work with and we look forward to doing more soon."-members of The McCoury Band
"On the first play, listeners started calling in asking where they could purchase the cd. The response has been 100% positive. Clearly this cd is something people want to hear more of." -Dennis Double, Co-host, Writer's Block. Knoxville, TN
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