Album Notes

BLUESNEWS magazine (Germany)
CD Tip of the Month
October- December 2005 issue

Review of "The Sun Will Shine"
(English translation thnx Jan!)

Lance Harrison and Donna Howley have survived for some time now through their troubadour lifestyle and the blues. Lance & Donna are constantly on the road throughout this world with little equipment, which they use very effectively during live shows. Their next stop is always a stage, which for the duration of a show is the center of their universe. During these moments the sun often seems to shine, even in the rain. Recently, audiences experienced this phenomena at the annual Rudolstadt Music Festival where Lance and Donna were crowd favorites. They had a festival hit with their tune "The Sun Will Shine," which can be heard on their latest CD, released in June. An album that was recorded in only one day at a Cologne studio. Once again, almost all songs are originals. 15 of the 16 songs on the album were written by the duo, leaving other bands the unenviable task of covering. While decent covers may be better than lifeless originals for some performers, Lance and Donna create songs that sound and feel authentic. The nuances of the music really come across during live performances. Lance is a well versed guitarist, both in the acoustic and electric styles. And if one believes the story in the well made CD booklet, which contains many pictures, then one comes to find out the birth of Lance's musical career. When Lance was a baby, his mother laid an ukulele in his cradle! The music on the hour-long CD is rounded out by the percussive art of Donna Howley who plays rainstick and sings backup. These two interesting musicians manifest traditional blues music and bring it across in a unique way. [tm]
click link for original article in Deutsch.
http://www.blues-news.de/aktuell/cd_tipp.html
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Just Listen! Then you will know... Lance & Donna are the direct soul decendents of the ancient blues torch bearers! They are an experience that must be absorbed into your being in order to feel complete in your life. Lance & Donna somehow push the common duo concept into another dimension, one of incredibly full textural tones that caress you, yet shake you by your roots until you scream in ecstatic pulsing waves with gloriously grooving music... often with a wry sense of humor! Just Listen!

Featuring the amazing 1938 "Gibson" lapsteel (purchased in a pawnshop in Nashville for a mere $50), a lovely "Fine-Resphonic" guitar especially made for Lance ("the most expensive guitar I've ever owned!"), a very cheap acoustic guitar borrowed from a friend, a Ukulele, and the world famous "Magic Rainstick" of the incomparable Donna Rae! Add their astounding vocals and the extraordinary engineering of Paco Saval, and the results are an original CD destined to become a true classic! You still reading this? Great! That means you know you would love to have your own copy with all the pictures, so... GET YOURS NOW!

" ... They made a lot of people very happy at the festival, as the night continued until very late by the grace of the 'roots duo' from Nashville, Lance and Donna, two atypical people who's human and musical way is extraordinary."
Festival National de Blues `98
Le Creusot, FR
Guitarist Magazine

"Lance is a great musician: from his 42 dollar guitar, he pulls the sounds more 'roots' than you can imagine... in concert, they are capable of miracles."
Bluesboarder Magazine

"They are good in every sense of the word, good, really good! They have enough talent for four, for ten, perhaps for the whole world!"
Cognac Blues Passion `98 Cognac, FR
Sud Ouest

"A 'must see' for their authentic style !"
Dunkerque, FR

"They dive into the music like Obélix into a magic potion... Evenings like this, one asks for again."
Le Courrier Nord-Est Hebdo

"This is special, they take you to a magic dimension: 'rural groove'! Lance & Donna elevate the slide guitar to the level of 'world music'. "
Bluesboarder Magazine

"They were flat channeling the tortured souls of the likes of 'Howlin' Wolf' and 'Big' Joe Turner out of the depths and onto that stage."
Michael Nott, Nashville Tennessee

"Lance and Donna, two American favorites of the festival."
Cognac Blues Passion `98 Sud Ouest

"The 'Bonnie and Clyde' of the blues ... a duo to be discovered with all urgency!"
Festival National de Blues `98 Le Creusot, FR
Le Courrier

"They sweat the blues... they play tight and demanding music which spits out slices of life, be they pleasant or not ... Lance and Donna left a really big impression on this festival!"
Cognac Blues Passion '97 Sud Ouest

"The Song of the Heart"
Cognac Blues Passion `96 Charente Libre

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