Album Notes

Evening in Paris
Chuck Suchy
Little Bluestem Records Catalog #: LBR 103
UPC #: 607241010324
Format: CD * Suggested List Price: $15.99
Genre: Folk, Country, Americana
p c 2004 Little Bluestem Records
4845 20th Avenue
Mandan, ND 58544 USA
701/663-7682
Chuck Suchy
Evening in Paris
"A man with a rich wide-open-spaces voice." - Boston Globe
Folksinger, farmer, songwriter, storyteller...a man
who many describe as the "Voice of the Upper
Great Plains"...CHUCK SUCHY returns with a
stunning new CD filled with vivid musical pictures
of life (past and present) on the American prairie
that will deeply resonate with listeners everywhere!
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID ABOUT CHUCK SUCHY
"If he's not one of the great American songwriters, I don't know
who is." - Rod Kennedy, founder of The Kerrville Folk Festival
"His mature voice hovers over the Great Plains like heat ripples
above summer blacktop. This is country music with its fingers in
the soil and its heart heading down the highway on an old Indian
motorcycle." - Gary Joyner, Acoustic Guitar Magazine
"One of the great undiscovered treasures of contemporary
American folk music... a refreshing divergence from the trend..."
- Rich Warren, Midnight Special, WFMT Chicago
"...natural grace inspired by love of the land...an acoustic
opportunity to drift away to a simpler lifestyle..."
- Folk Roots Magazine (UK)
"... an unerring ear for sounds of the prairie...sounds like my greataunt
and -uncle's Iowa farmhouse smelled - hard-soap/fresh
bread/tractor grease......."
- Jim Tarbox, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Publicity/radio servicing: chucksuchy@msn.com www.chucksuchy.com
ABOUT "EVENING IN PARIS"
With this marvelous new recording (his fifth CD) Chuck Suchy takes his songcraft and artistry in
an ever broader array of directions and dimensions. At first glance the themes are the same -
reflections and observations on his Great Plains homeland (where life there has been and where
it has gone), recollection of youth and its fancies (as in the title song and its aromas of dimestore
perfumes and mohair), the irrevocable and inevitable passing of the generations ("Grandma's
Bones," "Watching Wyoming") and his trademark meditations ("Diminishing Winds," "Matter of
Faith"). Yet on closer examination this great recording has the feel of a corner being turned... a feeling
of growth and movement toward a higher place. And while the instrumentation and production is
much the same as on his previous fine CDs, there is an ever-increasing richness, complexity and
mellowing to his music both lyrically and melodically as one would find with the finest wines.
Evening in Paris ultimately is a celebration of basic human experience and, though rooted in the
American Great Plains, will strike a resonance with listeners in all locales and walks of life.
TRACK LISTING: 1. Evening In Paris 3:43 * 2. Watching Wyoming 6:04 * 3. Kenny Rainbow 3:37 * 4. Diminishing Winds 5:01 *
5. Money In This Town 3:19 * 6. Woman From Some Dream 3:10 * 7. On the Banks of the Old Cannonball 5:01 *
8. Ancient Voices 4:29 * 9. Hold Me 3:56 * 10. Cool In the Shade 4:02 * 11. Grandma's Bones 2:35 * 12. Matter of Faith 3:54
PERSONNEL: Produced by Peter Ostroushko * Guitar, vocals - Chuck Suchy * Mandolin, fiddle - Peter Ostroushko *
Bass - Joel Sayles * Dobro, Steel guitar - Joe Savage
ABOUT CHUCK SUCHY
"...one of the shining lights of the Upper Great Plains folk scene." - Gaynor Johnson, Crossroads Magazine
Chuck Suchy (pronounced soo-key) is the real thing - one of the foremost musical voices of the
American Great Plains. A working farmer, born and raised and at home in the blue hills along the
Missouri River south of Mandan, North Dakota, Chuck Suchy has a love for making music that goes
back to his childhood. Throughout his youth and young adult life, he found time to perform in the
area's halls, clubs and lounges, singing and playing guitar and accordion. In 1982 a major event
occurred when an acquaintance gave him a tape of Canadian troubadour Stan Rogers singing his
classic Field Behind The Plow. "It was at that moment" Suchy says "that I realized that the life I was
immersed in was worthy of song." He began writing his own ballads and songs, slipping them into
his performances and it was soon obvious that he was on to something quite unique - sensitive
and honest portrayals of contemporary American farm life, but from an insider's point of view.
In the decade since, Chuck has continued to write, sing and record songs evoking and extolling the
Great Plains region and lifestyle. His themes have expanded over the years to include human relationships,
spirituality, motorcycles, and even sailing. The Plains have seen a lot of change over this
time, including farm crises, loss of population, and a major restructuring of the agricultural economy.
Chuck remains an astute observer of it all and his songs chronicle not only the events, but the emotions
and feelings that accompany such upheaval and change. His music and stories speak to
everyone - urban and rural - because laughter, love, loss and gain are common human properties.