Album Notes

Nominated by the Independent Singer Songwriter Association for the 2008 Best Rock Song of the Year with the title song from his debut CD, it’s easy to hear the song-writing influences of Steely Dan, the Eagles and Neil Young as you listen to Woody’s debut CD recording. In addition, this excellent group of musicians flavors Woody’s songs with a strong sax voice ala Springsteen’s E Street Band and a dash of percussion and electric guitar from the Santana camp.

The CD starts out with a hot performance of the title track, Tu-Toned Stranger. The ISSA nomination and early reviews of this song say it all:
"This is a master work of a contemporary blues genre - utterly spectacular work in all instrumentation, and a vocal that is delicious for the music. There is a tension between the soft vocal and that wonderful sax. The piano work, the solo guitar, etc., etc. - what can I say - all done with a sensitive discretion that keeps the song focused on the lyrical outcomes of every, single passage. This is a fantastic, tantalizing work of art - right down to the highly detailed (complex) lyrics. "Two-toned stranger French from St-Croix" is purely brilliant. Thank you for giving this great, great song to the world!" Broadjam.com Review

The 2nd song up, A Little Patience, features Dixie Dreg keyboardist and six-time Grammy nominee, T Lavitz with a dazzling acoustic piano solo. You must read the heartrending background story on www.woodymoran.com/songs.

Latin Lover initially sounds like homage to Hotel California, but then lets the Santana influence go wild with a great percussion groove and soulful electric guitar solo.

The Shanghai R&B Orchestra is credited with dropping in Chinese instruments on the controversial, Neil Young style song, Looking for the Chinese Way.

Grammy award winning producer and keyboardist, Jeff Bova gave Witness the perfect string quartet arrangement to compliment a positive and sensitive vocal message.

In addition to original songs penned by Woody Moran, Tu-Toned Stranger also features a few familiar songs that have been given a new “acoustic” treatment. Secret Smile from SemiSonic, Elton John’s Rocket Man, and After Midnight by J.J. Cale are all wonderfully reworked in Woody’s style.