Sacred River
Sacred River is The Nelson Brothers 3rd studio album. The album is produced by Steve Lowe, Matt Hay and the Nelson Brothers. Mixed by Cam
Hot country with a twist The Nelsons, Brits Steve and Simon, esoteric, country-tinged songwriters and elegantly rootsy performers, first came to notice well over 20 years ago with their album HOMETOWN which appeared on the Round Tower label, also home to myriad misfits such as Tom Russell and Katy Moffatt. Since then they’ve only released one other album, the sublime PLACES IN THE HEART, yet over the past few years, three CDs and many spellbinding live performances they’ve been consolidating as the musical force behind Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern’s eclectic pop-rock-folk-country-call-it-what-you-will combo Sadie And The Hot Heads. Here, with considerable aplomb, they unite past and present. SACRED RIVER started life as their second album before label and money woes saw it shelved. Now, though, they’ve retrieved the early tapes and used them as the basis of a reborn work, augmented by members of their current band (some members, not least inventive drummer/percussionist Terl Bryant) who do double duty as Hot Heads), Steve’s rich, growling voice sits over Simon’s dazzling, thoughtful electric guitar breaks as well as his bouzouki, mandolin and sitar. The pair’s tuneful songs – the sad yet uplifting title track, the spirited Riding On The Back Of A Whale, the hazy European jazz of Paris 1923 – merge into a rich stew of country, pop and more, laced with fiddle and accordion, not as way-out as their work as Sadie but still pushing the boundaries. Beguiling and thoroughly inventive. Nick Dalton www.nelsonbrothers.co.uk