Album Notes

Walking In Golden Sunshine is the second CD from Ryan Reardon and the Levee Breakers, and it represents 2 years worth of writing, performing and traveling since our debut CD, So Long, Baby.

We've grown up a lot in 2 years - we're more focused in our performance and we're better at crafting songs. We've figured out what we do well, and I call it song-oriented Blues.

During the 90s, too many blues records showcased instrumental prowess to the exclusion of songwriting. That's a shame, because when you get down to it, Blues is about telling stories. Songwriting matters and singing matters. (There are exceptions - James Harman, Tad Robinson, Darrell Nulisch, Dave Specter, Robert Cray, Jimmy Vaughan, Anson Funderburgh et al. consistently recorded albums that focused on songs.)

On Walking In Golden Sunshine the songs matter. Each song sounds good as a single, and together the songs make a cohesive album.

I didn't want to waste 74 minutes of digital space. It took about 45 minutes to say what needed to be said. Want more? Wait 18 months for the next one. It's called What Time Is It? Until then, enjoy what we've laid down. It's Good!


A Brief History of the Tunes:
"Walking In Golden Sunshine", "Gimmie Back My Coat" and "Set You Straight" are all A minor Blues written at different times in my life. "Walking" was the first tune I wrote after the So Long, Baby sessions. 'Coat, the oldest tune on the CD, is a hold over from the first CD (it's so nice we had to cut it twice). "Set You Straight" was written for the first CD but it wasn't ready to record in August '98. It finally came together in May 1999 and made it onto walking in golden sunshine.

"You're Gone" and "What's the Matter" were both written while sitting in a car. "You're Gone" is for an old friend and comes from a botched trip to the Birmingham airport. "What's the Matter" is about a couple sitting in a car next to me. I saw the guy's face, and I knew something was going down.

"Hale County" and "Head Cleanin' Blues" are remakes from So Long, Baby. These two tunes, along with 'Coat, are an integral part of our live show. The arrangements got better over the last 2 years and they needed to be recorded.

"What A Fool" was the last song written for this album. It's a true story, but one that hasn't ended. "Nothin' Serious" is what it is, a raunchy-ass E shuffle. The groove is inspired by Jerry McCain's records and The Fab. T-Birds' records.

I chose two covers from our repertoire that show two sides of the band. We loves us some Excello records and we love Blue Note records. Slim Harpo's "Keep What I've Got" and Horace Silver's "Senor Blues" fit our style perfectly.

As always, I hope you dig it!