If You Knew My Mind

Grayson Capps

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Cat No: TMF9336

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Release Date: 01 May 2006

Label: Hyena

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 825005933623

Genres: Rock

Description
With a name that could only belong to a musician and a coarse, beer-besotted voice straight out of the backstreets of New Orleans, Grayson Capps evokes the swamp folk-soul made popular by Tony Joe White. He looks the part, too: One glance at his solo debut's cover conveys its lazy, creaky, homespun sound. Half relaxed blues-rock, half boozy, folksy introspection, Capps' rustic voice -- it sounds more like a relaxed version of Delbert McClinton's -- is front and centre, leaving his words and sturdy musicians to convey the soulful atmosphere with chipped, faded-paint backing.
Anyone who's seen the movie A Love Song For Bobby Long -- based on a book written by Capps' father, with its alcoholic haze of good people falling on hard times and looking for redemption -- has pretty much heard this album. Capps performed four songs on the soundtrack, but each track from this graphic collection could be its own feature film. Echoes of J.J. Cale, the North Mississippi Allstars, old Ry Cooder and the great Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt permeate these low-key but occasionally spirited blues-rockers. Songs such as "Mercy" and "I Can't Hear You" come alive thanks to gospel-tinged backing vocals, bringing out the God vs. the Devil undercurrent that rumbles like a latent volcano beneath the album's surface.
Between unplugged folk and tough, Stonesy stompers such as "How's I To Know" there is tension and release that keeps the listener glued for all 12 tracks. Capps creates poignant characters whose dead-end lives are perfectly reflected in his lived-in voice and grainy, black and white songs.
"This is stuff to stake the 'best bar band' claim on - slashing slide, crunching electric, a cooking rhythm section and soulful vocals..." - Keith Glass, Rhythms magazine (Australia)
"His rough-hewn testimonial of a voice renders such a well-worn assertion, believable again." - Keith Spera, Times
Tracks: Get Back Up / If You Knew My Mind / Slidell / I Can't Hear You / A Love Song For Bobby Long / Graveyard / Mercy / Lorraine's Song / Washboard Lisa / Buckshot / How's I To Know / I See You.
Tracklisting