Album Notes

Said Bob Dylan of success, "A man is successful if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do."

By that measure, Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Nathan Veshecco has already made it. "I am captivated by songwriters," he says, "and I have spent the past several years devoting my life to becoming one. I'm at the point now where I write songs everyday. It reminds me of a Leonard Cohen quote: ‘I get up early in the morning and I write. And that's all I do. Which explains why my social life is in shambles.'"

Veshecco's latest foray into his all-consuming passion for songwriting, "I Love a Worried Woman," both salutes genres and mocks them, shakes them up, shakes them down, bends them into forms at once provocative and pleasing, using bits of old and new – and then sticks them in your ear, mind and heart so they can’t get out.

Pop, hip hop, soul, disco, reggae, new wave – they all show up. Influences from Marvin Gaye to Steely Dan to Paul McCartney to Justin Timberlake – they show up too. So do compelling hooks and richly textured arrangements (“Never Be Your Baby”) ... Themes both universal and controversial (“Marilyn”) ... Smart lyrics that mine the gems to be found in ordinary love as well as cautionary tales of love that only seems extraordinary (“She’s Backin’ Up”) ... Stories of lost twentysomethings with mores gone awry (“She Prolly Cries”), of the frustrations inherent in a “face comes first” music industry (“The Sound of My Face”) and a public whose support can seem just as superficial (“Eye Needja,” “Central Pa”) ... Explorations of emotion like the tired anger of a lover worn down by recurring betrayal (“Honey Go”) contrasted with the simmer-to-boil anguished rage-rap of a young man watching his peers collectively self-destruct (the hidden acoustic track, “Tools”) ... Melodies that catch your breath with their graceful evolution from intimate to expansive (“Ridiculous”) ... And an ever-present sense of humor that ranges from dark and twisted (“Lawyer’s Son”) to topical and counter-cultural (“Singin’ Thangs”).

Holding the groove together throughout are legendary session players Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and Wilbur Bascomb, Jr., whose combined recording credits include sessions with The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Miles Davis, Paul Simon and Steely Dan.

According to Veshecco, "I Love a Worried Woman" started out to be a concept album – all “break-up” songs – as well as a “love letter” to 70s soul music. But he couldn’t finish the title song, couldn’t stay with his original concept and couldn’t stay with one genre either.

“I’ve always been very ADD about musical styles,” he says. “Bouncing from genre to genre is more interesting to me than having all the songs sound the same. It’s also a way of defying the conventional wisdom about creating ‘marketable’ music – and I think that’s a good thing to be doing these days.”

Robert Scott (Hybrid Ice), producer of both "I Love a Worried Woman" and Veshecco's 2004 release, "Lady, You're Shady," says of Veshecco: “This guy just amazes me. I know a lot of musicians but not too many songwriters – and even less good songwriters. Nathan’s not only good; he’s constantly evolving – he’s not stuck in one formula or approach. He’s going to have a lot of people interested in working with him and in recording and performing his material.”

With "I Love a Worried Woman," Veshecco says he finally has found a way of writing and recording that “feels like home.” But “home" isn't a tidy, secure, one-chord, one-genre place. It’s complex, diverse, constantly changing, a sometimes messy mix of past, present and future – always interesting – and the only place he wants to be. “If I’ve written a couple of good songs with this album, then maybe I can keep doing this for awhile. And that's all I really want - a quaint little life for my songs and I."

****

For more about "I Love a Worried Woman" and to read an in-depth interview about the making of the album, go to: http://www.nathanveshecco.com.