CLAYTON DENWOOD: Sunset On The Highway

Clayton Denwood

Sunset On The Highway

© 2001 LittleWheelMusic SOCAN (676868116223)

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Newest record produced by Joe Dunphy. A heavy-duty dose of folk-rock songwriting with plenty of musical & lyrical commentary... Backed up by some of the finest players in Canada.

tracks

1 Only You
2 Sunset On the Highway
3 Sorry(if I Love You...)
4 King of His Hometown
5 Make Me Whole
6 Real Thing
7 Sanctified
8 Work
9 Downstream
10 Home

notes

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Perpetually (& these days somewhat redundantly) being called a 'New Dylan', perhaps the heaviest comparison there is in the world of singer/songwriters, and definitely something to be taken with a grain of salt (or sand...) the release of his newest record "SUNSET ON THE HIGHWAY" proclaims (no wait, trumpets) that this little dude from Canada has found that weird & wonderful place where great traditions & a personal vision are fused...
From the majestic opening track "ONLY YOU" to the gypsy-blues closing number "HOME", Denwood combines a deep lyrical gift with the musical support of some of the finest & brokest players of his generation...Originally from Toronto, Canada, Denwood spent his early years in Toronto & Montreal before heading south to the legendary town of Woodstock NY, where he was able to polish and develop his roots appearing on stage & studio with the likes of Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko & the other members of the legendary rock group, The Band while also appearing on the same bills with NRBQ, Joe Henry, Dave Van Ronk, Paul McMahon(CDBaby artist!)& Chris Smithers...NYC venues included The Bitter End,CBGB's,The Baggot Inn & Downtime...
Seven years later, after being most unceremoniously thrown out of the United States for some kind of illegal alien rap (read the Gary Alexander article...) & back in his hometown, Denwood hooked up with Juno-winning producer Joe Dunphy (TriContinental w/ Lester Quitzaw, Bill Bourne & Madagascar Slim) to produce a live album "THE EXILE SESSIONS" Live at the Old York(2000) & later started construction of Monumental Sound and began recording again in early 2001. Now, after many hours of hard work "SUNSET ON THE HIGHWAY" has burst through onto the scene & landed amidst the immortal pantheon of great & mythical folk/rock songwriter albums....(we're not making this up...) Most recently reached #2 at CFBX FM (Kamloops BC) & is spinning on various CBC shows as well as the legendary WKZE out of Sharon,Conn. & some others...God bless them each & every one...
Favourite venues in TO include The Old York & the Horseshoe Tavern....
Clayton Denwood makes no apologies for his dedication to the high standards laid out by his musical forebears for after all in his words..."It's a big & impossible mountain to go around & I sure ain't the only one but at least they'll know whose side I'm on...".
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"It's perplexing to find such stellar young performers such as Denwood still fishing for a label connection"
Irv Yarg-Woodstock Times
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"They were by far one of the best bands booked at NXNE 98 ! It was such a unique & original mix of music that every body at the club seemed to do a double take from the first bars they played.This guy's CD should sell like fajitas in Tijuana !"
May Lebrun-The MusesMuse.com
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****Liner notes for Sunset on the Highway****
So the wind blows & the rains fall out on the dust where integrity hoists a tattered flag. I'been through a long summer & watched the autumn fall & burn never thinking that I'd see this day. They used to sing like outlaws for all the gold & silver their hands
could carry...now it's just an empty game...a club where only the absurd need apply. The carrot & stick routine, the impossible dream...(maybe it always was)
Out here where there's no pressure & no mask it's easy to just sit & watch while the whole thing passes on into the light. Like a parade of archetypal strangeness crawling down the disposable street. I never thought it'd come to this but I'm gonna make that stretch & say that it's time to reel in the lines & cast a whole new net. There's a lot of fish in them deep waters & the moon's gonna guide the way...~CD 2001.
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reviews

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  • Sunset on the Highway is a songwriter's proclamation...
    author: Rachel Jagt

    Clayton Denwood has a voice that demands to be heard. He describes himself as a ceremonial balladeer, with musical influences "from Beethoven to Ray Charles." But these songs truly stand on their own; they are beautiful, touching, blazing, aching, poetic and heartfelt. His talent for songwriting is truly unique, that of a poet far beyond his rightful time. The first time I heard him play, I experienced such a naked emotional response to the understated power of his songs, I could not rest until I had this record in my hands. Denwood writes without affectation and with a raw honesty that can't be denied -- where there is sorrow it is tinged with hope, where there is a smile there is the memory of pain, and at the end of a journey there is the struggle in its completion. Recorded in Toronto at Monumental Sound, in a studio Denwood helped to build, Sunset on the Highway is the result of physical and emotional toil; the triumph and effort is there throughout. Juno-winning producer Joe Dunphy is one of several impressive collaborators, including Larry Johnson (pedal steel), Josh Hicks (drums/percussion) and Dennis Mohammed (bass). Denwood himself plays harmonica, 6- and 12-string guitars, piano and organ. It's difficult to know where to start; perhaps at the beginning is best: the opening track, "Only You," is a love song, sort of a prayer and a tribute to the kind of love that corrects our mistakes and follows us even down the "foolish rocky road" we have chosen. The title track is the true story of a prodigal son coming home. Denwood spent a number of years living and creating in Woodstock, N.Y., until a trip to visit family in Canada turned into residence in his hometown of Toronto. We watch this story unfold as the bittersweet relief mingles with hope for the future and the sun sets on a proverbial highway. "Sorry (if I love you...)" is a joyful ode to the helplessness of true love, with a shuffling rock beat and a killer harmonica solo. "King of his Hometown" sees Denwood in a more introspective frame of mind, as a struggling songwriter making his way through all the broken promises and postponed dreams. Johnson's pedal steel takes a prominent place on a trio of tunes: the country ballad "Real Thing," the blazing roots rock anthem "Sanctified" and the hopeful "Work." The record closes with "Downstream" and "Home," love songs rich with imagery and truth. I've gone back and forth on this in the months since "Sunset" came to me, but the song I find myself pondering most often is "Make Me Whole." The lyrics are the most poetic on the record -- they are so perfectly chosen that I can't imagine one being replaced or cast aside: "be my laughter when all is sorrow/be my tears when I can't weep/and I will be the promise that forever you may keep/be the vision that leads me onwards/be the voice that can still my rage/and I will be the epic tale that will leap off of your page/for worthless is the ragged trail/when we walk it all alone." It's not folk, not rock, not country -- or at least none of them exclusively. Sunset on the Highway is a songwriter's proclamation -- one I feel privileged to have experienced. - Rambles written by Rachel Jagt published 2 August 2003

  • fenomaenal artists
    author: maria

    I saw you played at Viva Viva in North London. You look really good! Then Later on I saw you on Sky Digital TV performing on that panartist Show. This Cd is very good could sell milloions Maria Gutierrez

  • I heard the martika CD on panartist, and it was phenomenal
    author: sean from the UK

    phenomanal CD cant wait for youi guys to come to the Uk I bought the CD from panartist.com its cheaper over there, but I got 2 more copies from your site for my friends in England

  • THis is a great Record
    author: Colin

    IF DENWOOD WAS FAMOUS HE WOULD BE SELLING THIS RECORD LIKE HOT CAKES, MATURE, IMPRESSIVE SONGWRITING AND ARRANGEMENTS DEFINETELY, WORTH BUYING COL FROM THE UK

  • It's not folk, not rock, not country -- or at least none of them exclusively. Su
    author: Rachel Jagt

    Clayton Denwood has a voice that demands to be heard. He describes himself as a ceremonial balladeer, with musical influences "from Beethoven to Ray Charles." But these songs truly stand on their own; they are beautiful, touching, blazing, aching, poetic and heartfelt. His talent for songwriting is truly unique, that of a poet far behind his rightful time. The first time I heard him play, I experienced such a naked emotional response to the understated power of his songs, I could not rest until I had this record in my hands. Denwood writes without affectation and with a raw honesty that can't be denied -- where there is sorrow it is tinged with hope, where there is a smile there is the memory of pain, and at the end of a journey there is the struggle in its completion.

  • A dazzling CD delivers on a long anticipated promise...
    author: Gary Alexander

    "Sunset on the Highway" produced by popular Canadian producer Joe Dunphy emerges as a stunner...an internal consistency is at ease with the mating as lyrics provide opaque tricks & truths with the unpretentious code of a righteous seeker.Throughout the album the musicianship turns top of the line. The delicious, engaging drum work of Josh Hicks positively shines on tracks like "King of his Hometown" and Larry Thomas' pedal steel on "Real Thing" shows us that Nashville North has more bite than the one in Tennessee. The title tune is not as "country" as "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" and the shuffling rocker "Sorry(if I love you...) owes more to Chuck Berry than Bobby D. But, not to be bypassed, we find some of the poetic suspensions Dylan discovered at the Gates of Eden in "Sanctified". The album is a sparkling reward...

  • Great, beautiful, lyrical, touched my soul...
    author: Lola J.

    This CD has more variety than I've heard on anything new in years...it is definately one of my most favourite listening experiences in a long time...from the beautiful, poetic ballads, to the rockin' roots...it had me going right through...beautiful words, and incredible arrangements...love that pedal steel...thanks, and let us know when we can hear this live somewhere... L.J.

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