Reviews of Other Voices
KEYS & CHORDS (Belgium)
Philip Verhaege
June 4, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices (4.5 Stars)
This album is packed with no fewer than twenty wonderful country songs and Gerry has gathered a whole cast around him that we happily embrace. Great!
Gerry Spehar is a man on a mission. Following his critically acclaimed old-school protest album, “Anger Management,” the Colorado singer-songwriter eclipsed it with “Lady Liberty,” a bookend celebration of America's triumph over the darkness of Donald Trump. Spehar comes from an old Colorado pioneer family of miners, ranchers and homesteaders. He was born and raised in Grand Junction and as a young man worked on his Uncle Will's ranch, raising cattle and making a living as a farmer. It was Uncle Will who gave him his first guitar when Gerry was thirteen. He immediately began writing songs and practicing to become an accomplished performer, absorbing Mississippi John Hurt finger-style guitar and amassing a wide knowledge - from Haggard to Hendrix. Gerry lived the dream of the late 1960s, hitchhiking home and back from CU Boulder. When his studies abroad in France were interrupted by the student revolution in 1968, Gerry traveled across Europe, played in train stations and cafes and lived off tips. Once back home with his college sweetheart Sue, Gerry started a musical duo with his brother George. The Spehar Brothers were soon the talk of the club circuit, opening for Boz Scaggs, Ian & Sylvia, John Fahey and Townes Van Zandt. Bill and Bonny Hearne recorded Gerry's song “Georgetown,” with backing vocals by Nancy Griffith. Gerry has now gathered a whole cast around him that we happily embrace (Teresa James even sings a few songs), accompanied by the usual instruments, mandolin, violin, dobro and pedal steel. This album is packed with no fewer than twenty wonderful country songs. Great!
PARIS-MOVE BLUES MAGAZINE (FRANCE)
Patrick Dallongeville
June 13, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices (4 Stars)
The masterful “Georgetown” and “Normandy” are at the level of Springsteen on “Nebraska” and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad.” If you still doubt that country music can be intelligent without abandoning its stock clichés, listen to Gerry Spehar.
In December 2021, we discovered a pair of top-notch songwriters, with “Delta Man” by Bobby Allison and Gerry Spehar (reviewed here). It turns out the latter is undoubtedly the more prolific of the two, since he now offers a double CD bringing together some of the best versions (in his eyes) of around twenty of his own compositions, performed by artists such as Gary L. Floyd, Teresa James, Lisa Daye, Dale Watson and Lisa McKenzie. Captured over four decades (and spread over two CDs), they demonstrate the vast range of styles and inspirations to which this accomplished melodist and fine lyricist has devoted his life. He also put his own touch on it, singing five songs himself for this album. Thus the arresting opener “God Bless The Tomcat,” carried by Gerry’s poignant timbre, his delicate picking (as reminiscent of bluegrass as of Mississippi John Hurt), before giving way to the pearl of Houston, Teresa James herself (“Grandpa's Daisies”), and Gary L. Floyd (“Do Watcha Used To Do”). As “Rockin' On A Country Dance Floor” proudly states (already presented on “Delta Man” and included here in two alternative versions by Miss James and Mr. Floyd), we are camped squarely in country territory (supported by pedal and lap steel), but without accentuating the redneck side, as evidenced by “Pull On Your Boots”, “Out Of Business Blues” and the masterful “Georgetown” and “Normandy” (at the level of Springsteen on “Nebraska” and “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”) which Gerry also performs, or even “The Last Person” which he co-wrote with Mike Becker. Always anchored in the social reality of the working class whose values he represents, Spehar's lyrics speak to the heart of his audience, whether his native Colorado or roadhouse truckers and other blue-collars, to whom the veteran of California honky-tonk, Dale Watson (a songwriter himself), also speaks. Watson’s only contribution to this album (Gerry’s “Joanne”) highlights his baritone diction in a lively arrangement. If a few ballads (the duets “Both Ends Of The Rainbow,” “Angel” and “The Longer I Love You,” or even “What He Said”) lean towards the syrupy penchant of commercial artists like Céline Dion, this collection is still no less worthy of interest, thanks to energetic country tunes like “Love To The Rescue”,“Lovin' Proof”, “The Problem With Love” and Teresa James' adaptation of the irresistible “Train Train Train”, co-written by Spehar and Bobby Allison (also on “Delta Man”). In short, if you still doubt that country music can be intelligent without abandoning its stock clichés (the complexity of romantic relationships, solitude, barrooms, rodeo and the great outdoors, etc.), we recommend that you listen to Gerry Spehar, who announces this collection with a quote from “Bird On A Wire” by the late Leonard Cohen, and dedicates it to his friend Paul Lacques, leader of I See Hawks In L.A. and member of Old California, who passed last January.
Dani Heyvaert
June 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices
I wrote it here before, but I'd like to repeat it: Gerry Spehar is a great songwriter who urgently needs to be rediscovered!
It has been known for some time that the world of singer-songwriters includes rather special figures here and there, and if we were allowed/had to pick one these days we could not ignore Gerry Spehar. That may not be the first name that comes to mind, but the man has a track record for which everyone should respectfully take their hats off. Naturally, there are not too many artists who have been in the business for over forty years, and Gerry is an exception in that respect too. If you look at his childhood in Colorado, it would not immediately seem to lead to a long-term career in music: herding cattle and growing vegetables, that was what life seemed to have in store for young Gerry, at least until Uncle Will, one of his uncles, gave him a guitar (a Stella at that) as a gift when he was thirteen. The boy studied beyond diligently, learned to fingerpick like Mississippi John Hurt and dug his teeth into almost all guitar work, from Merle Haggard to Jimi Hendrix. At the age of nineteen he came to Europe to play in train stations and on street corners and, after his return to Colorado, things really got serious: he formed a band with brothers George and Tom and as The Spehar Brothers they were soon opening for people like Boz Scags, Ian & Sylvia and Townes Van Zandt.
It didn't take much more than that in the early 80s to build a real reputation, and when Gerry formed a duo with Bobby Allison the train seemed to have completely taken off. And yet: in 1986 Gerry decided to give up peforming and instead get a regular job and become a regular father; but, as it turned out, a family man who never stopped writing songs. Some of those songs can now be found on this double CD: some of the basic tracks were recorded in Nashville in the 1990s, with vocals by Gary Lynn Floyd later added. A second wave of recordings followed at the beginning of this century in Los Angeles, with singers like Teresa James, Dale Watson and again Gary Lynn Floyd, and eight of those are also on this double album. Finally, there are five songs on which Spehar himself sings, with or without Lisa McKenzie, and in this way these twenty songs provide a very nice overview of the by no means small production of the man who may have remained a little too modest, but who has given us a whole series of beautiful melodies. That is also why Paul Lacques, from I See Hawks in LA, got into the producer's chair for this very fine double album, on which the spotlight is rightly focused on a special man and his special songs, which are presented here in exceptional versions, played by excellent musicians, that above all show what a special storyteller Gerry Spehar is. I wrote it here before, but I'd like to repeat it: Gerry Spehar is a great songwriter who urgently needs to be rediscovered! (Dani Heyvaert)
Mike Davies
June 21, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices
This is a solid reminder that Spehar is one of the finer contributors to the American songbook.
A double CD set, this revisits songs from the last four decades, from early days in Colorado through Nashville to his current life in LA, in company with an all-star cast of singers and musicians. Not that these are actually new recordings, some being laid down in Nashville sessions in the late 90s, others in LA in the noughties with Spehar adding his own voice on several in 2023. Neither the booklet nor the press notes give any indication as to when any of the tracks were actually recorded or, save for one, if any have ever been previously released by other artists, he not making his album debut until 2017. It's safe to assume that they're all lifted from the vaults and dusted down for this compilation.
Disc 1 opens with Gerry on vocal and acoustic accompanied by Chris Tuttle on organ and accordion with 'God Bless The Tomcat', a gentle fingerpicked reflection on hard times ("God bless the beggar man help him on his way/Help him find another dime to get him through the day/Save him from the passions of the fortunate and wise/Who have never had to view the world through desolation's eyes") he wrote over 50 years ago that remains all too timeless.
Greg Leisz on steel, mandolin and acoustic guitar, the upbeat folksy 'Grandpa's Daisies' dates from the LA sessions and, taking inspiration from the white daisies that cover the landscape of Spehar's ancestral home in Crested Butte, Colorado, has Teresa James singing about how "He was broken hearted when they buried her in twenty-five/He took a flower from her garden, planted it on her grave/Every six in the mornin', seven at night/He'd carry up water from the riverside/Now, Grandpa's daisies cover this valley with love". Then comes 'Do Whatcha Used To Do' with Gary Lynn Floyd on vocals and John Thomas on funky guitar. A swaggery country rock number with a bluesy edge, it's the first to mark the divide between the ballads and the rock n roll, and I have to say that, for me, it's the former that work best.
As such, I'd direct you ears in particular to two Floyd duets, one with James on old timey love song 'Both Ends Of The Rainbow' and the other with Lisa McKenzie on the slower, more gospel soulful 'The Longer I Love You' as well as 'Pull On Your Boots', Spehar's Guy Clarke-ish son's memory of his workingman father ("He pulled wire for a living, dead tired from giving his all/He'd hustle home, coach Little League/He taught us how to play, said, Son, there'll come a day/You're gonna grow up and know what it means/To pull your boots on in the morning, take em off at night/Do what needs doing every day to fight the fight") written as a tribute to his electrician brother Tim.
As regard the latter, Dale Watson gives good Waylon on 'Joanne', a radio show phone in about the state of American politics ("I watch the newscasts and the early mornin' shows/And I see all our nation’s leaders tearin' out each other's throats/Smilin' on the TV while they're breakin' all the rules/Takin' all that they can get and takin' all of us for fools/They investigate the liars and the ones who seek the buyers for their vote/Slowly killin' off the spirit in the papers that our Founding Fathers wrote"), while McKenzie rides a Cash-style rhythm for 'Love To The Rescue'. The disc rounds off with Spehar speak-singing his way through the harmonica and dobro shaded 'Out Of Business Blues', an ironic love letter from Middle America to Dear Mr. President about the state of the economy ("American business been belly up for years while you boys took a snooze/You're out kissin' hips, we're gettin' pink slips and goin' down the tubes/We import cars and oil and iPhones while you export our jobs/And you been callin' that fair trade, but I think we got robbed/Well Sir, the American worker signs your check, not China or Japan/And you Beltway boys can't get that straight we'll hire a crew who can").
The same formula applies over on Disc 2, opening with 'Georgetown', Spehar's acoustic fingerpicked version of the ode to his Colorado roots that Bill and Bonnie Hearne recorded on their 1997 album 'Diamonds In The Rough' with Nanci Griffiths on backing vocals. Lining up the ballads here, the stand-outs would have to be, Leisz on pedal steel, Floyd singing the achingly sad 'The Last Person' ("The last person you expected to call didn't call/The last person you expected to call sits by her phone/Staring at nothing at all and feeling alone"), the steel-stained 'What He Said' where a husband reads a heartfelt letter from his wife's old lover and wishes he’d been as eloquent ("Things I've tried to say to you came from him instead/Honey, I mean every word that he said/So, every time you read a book I hope you think of me/'Cause I'll be there before you in each line of poetry/I'll let them say the words of love jumbled in my head/And I'll mean every word that he said"), the Gordon Lightfoot-like Spehar and McKenzie leaving song duet 'Normandy' and the closing 'Angel' , a remembrance of a dying mother's love sung by McKenzie and Floyd with Dan Dugmore on steel and George Marinelli's guitar.
The balance though is weighted in favour of the uptempo tracks, the strongest being Lisa Day's sassy, bluesy picked swagger through 'The Horse No One Can Ride', a mother's cautionary warning to her daughter about the untameable rodeo rounder she's fallen for, James wailing through the whistle blowing rockabilly blues 'Train, Train, Train' and, previously sung by James on the first disc, a reprise of 'Rockin' On A Country Dance Floor' with Floyd giving it some honky tonk rocking.
Whichever side of the musical fence you come down on, or if you sit squat in the middle, this is a solid reminder that Spehar is one of the finer contributors to the American songbook, but also stokes the fire in hoping he gets round to another solo album of his own in the not too distant future.
Tom Harding
June 21, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices (7/10)
This is a streetwise collection. Time-worn and tailored, these songs are the measure of a man in full dedication to his craft.
Gerry Spehar has been busy. The Colorado singer-songwriter returns with ‘Other Voices,’ part of a late-career flurry of releases. A wide-ranging album, produced by Spehar himself, showcases four decades of his songs performed by artists such as Teresa James, Dale Watson, Lisa McKenzie, Gary Lynn Floyd, Lisa Daye, and Spehar himself. It’s the latest chapter in a storied and winding career, marked by recent prolific activity. Spehar first found success as part of the Spehar Brothers, opening for the likes of Boz Scaggs and Townes Van Zandt.
However, a life in music was interrupted when the necessities of everyday life and family required him to take a nine-to-five job in a bank. His love of music played on but balanced with daily responsibilities.
Now in his retirement and after his wife Sue’s passing from cancer in 2017, Spehar is making up for lost time, releasing four albums from 2017 to 2022. Spehar is an adept craftsman, with songs spanning multiple genres from Nashville foot-stompers and jangling roots rock to swamp blues and soul. It’s a well-honed collection from an experienced hand—no shortcuts, just pure craftsmanship.
This is an archival release, a clearing of the storage room that puts into light Spehar’s lifelong dedication to his craft. There’s a fond, familial feel, tied together by the multitude of voices on offer. They’re varied but come together like fruit plucked from different trees in the same orchard. They bundle together into a bountiful basket that depicts a songwriter still deeply in love with songwriting.
‘Do What You Used To Do,’ voiced by Gary L. Floyd, has a pleasing new roots stomp. Floyd brings many moments of soulful slickness, lifting things into the shimmering world of country pop. Dale Watson’s appearance singing ‘Joanne‘ is a great slice of Hank Williams Jr. sly and politically caustic country thump: “He’s a candidate to decimate and further try to regulate this land/ No, I haven’t been to law school but there’s still a few things I can understand.” Despite his otherwise affable delivery, Spehar has a sharp eye for political distrust, evident in his 2018 album ‘Anger Management‘ that took on Trump.
Elsewhere, Lisa McKenzie’s performance of ‘Love To The Rescue‘ is spirited and pleasing, while the McKenzie and Floyd duet ‘The Longer I Love You‘ is late-night soul, reminiscent of the teary-eyed side of Merle Haggard.
While perhaps more limited in range than some of the guest artists, the songs Spehar sings himself carry the most down-home charm. His voice offers a pleasing, gravelly welcome reminiscent of late-era Porter Wagoner or Tom T. Hall, evident in the pastoral ‘Georgetown‘ and the wistful sea song ‘Normandy.’ Most enigmatic is the first track, the streetwise ‘God Bless The Tomcat,’ which could only be sung by Spehar himself: “There’s a tomcat on the doorstep howling at the moon/ No one ever told him only dogs can sing that tune/ I think that I might walk outside and sing a harmony/ I think that I might take a friend and find some company.”
This is a streetwise collection. Time-worn and tailored, these songs are the measure of a man in full dedication to his craft.
Jaks Schuit
June 22, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices
Other Voices is a treasure chest with plenty of unexpected surprises.
Other Voices is Gerry Spehar's tribute to country music. Recent songs and compositions dating back forty years can be heard on the two CDs of Other Voices. Spehar opens both discs and then gives musician friends the opportunity to perform a song he wrote. The common thread on Other Voices is of course Gerry Spehar, one of the big names in Americana country music. First some names of those musician friends: Teresa James sings 'Grandpa's Daisies' to great heights, Gary L. Floyd gives 'Do Whatcha Used To Do' a shot of adrenaline and ends up in uptempo country and Dale Watson plays an ode to talk show host 'Joanne'. Ten tracks on the first CD and ten times Spehar trusts Friends with lyrics written by him. More of the same on the second part of this release. Gerry Spehar opens with 'Georgetown'. 'Loving Proof' and 'Rockin' On A Country Dance Floor' are pounding country songs by Lisa McKenzie and again Gary L. Floyd, 'Angel' closes and is a tear-jerker of a high level when looking through worn-out photo albums. When playing Other Voices there is still plenty of work for the listener. The age of the songs can be looked up, the music of the Friends can be listened to and all those musical friends invited by Spehar have their own music to their name. And wandering on the internet produces different and sometimes even new names. For the enthusiast with a lot of free time, Other Voices is a treasure chest with plenty of unexpected surprises. (Independent)
John Apice
June 23, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices
Spehar has an exquisite voice & extensive repertoire, the production is pristine & the songs themselves are a cross between John Prine & Merle Haggard. The variety is wonderful & consistent. Sax legend Charlie Parker often pushed buttons on the jukebox to play country songs – because he said to another musician –“listen to the stories, man.” There are many such splendid pieces right here in this collection.
Usually, a double album is reserved for big artists who either have too much saved up for one album, have a live performance worthy of being captured, or an album of oldies & outtakes. But Colorado’s Gerry Spehar has an exquisite voice & extensive repertoire – his singing & playing guitar came early. To keep the album diversified & moving at a brisk pace Gerry has a talented slew of performers to sing many of his 4-decade rich showcase of songs. The production is pristine & the songs themselves, individually, are a cross between John Prine & Merle Haggard, with a generous dose of country-pop that would’ve gone over well by country singers like Skeeter Davis, Jody Miller & Diane Renay. The music has a wide range of genres attached to each. Some are more country-fried, some are rural ballads & others are even Willie Nelson-charged.
CD 1 (37:42) & CD 2 (34:27) feature 20 of the finest Spehar story songs captured on Other Voices (Drops June 21/ Independent). Produced by John David (“Joanne” + fiddle/ dobro/harmonica/mandolin/bass/ acoustic & electric guitars) & all others produced by Gerry (acoustic guitar). It spotlights the voices of the Brenda Lee smooth Teresa James, Gary L. Floyd, the exceptional Dale Watson, the rocking Lisa McKenzie, Lisa Daye & Gerry himself. All superb.
Anyone who likes country narratives, clever anecdotes, some dusty accounts of love, dancing, reminiscing & remembering the old folks – this will get your toes to tap & your ass to polish the stool. All the musicians, singers & duets are performed with motivated country bliss. These CDs are a good representative of the music of Gerry Spehar. The variety is wonderful & consistent. I’m not a big country fan but I always liked the stories – just like sax legend Charlie Parker. When in a bar having beers in NYC, he often pushed buttons on the jukebox to play country songs – because he said to another musician – “listen to the stories, man.” There are many such splendid pieces right here in this collection.
Highlights – “Grandpa’s Daises,” “Pull On Your Boots,” “Joanne,” “Both Ends of the Rainbow,” “Rockin’ On a Country Dance Floor,” (both versions), “Love to the Rescue,” “Lovin’ Proof,” “Normandy,” “The Problem With Love” & “Angel.”
Musicians – Lonnie Wilson, Vince Santoro, Stephen Croes & Michael J. Dohony (drums), Michael Rhodes, Mark Prentice, Ray Wilinski (bass), Jim King (piano/bass/synth), Pete Wasner & Mike Carr(piano), Chris Tuttle (organ/Wurlitzer/synth/accordion), Dennis Wage (organ), Greg Leisz (acoustic guitar/mandolin/pedal steel), John Thomas, Rick Plant & George Marinelli (electric guitars), Dan Dugmore (dobro/mandolin/pedal steel), Jay Dee Maness (pedal steel) & all singers with Lynn Fanelli (bgv).
June 24, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices (3 Stars)
For Other Voices (self-released), Gerry Spehar invited five singers to perform his songs. We have often talked about the singer-songwriter from Colorado who gave up being an artist in 1986 to start a family. Later in life he returned as an artist and his albums always received four stars. This double CD has to make do with one less. That has to do with the concept, because the variety with those guest singers is quite nice, but it does become a bit of a compilation album. Spehar himself can only be heard as a singer on five of the twenty songs. On the opener God Bless The Tomcat one can think of someone like Mickey Newbury, and it is a shame that a different voice is heard afterwards. Not that there is anything to criticize about Teresa James' country on Grandpa's Daisies, and the honkytonk blues of Gary L. Floyd on Do Wahcha Used To Do is also good. Joanne is performed by Dale Watson and with his dark voice and even darker guitar notes he provides a highlight. The other guest singers are Lisa McKenzie and Lisa Daye. The variety lies not only in the singers, but also in the songs that are sometimes a bit too sweet (Both Ends Of The Rainbow), but can also rock nicely. Rockin' On A Country Dance Floor will receive two performances, one by Teresa James and the other CD by Gary L. Floyd.
Damian Sullivan
June 25, 2024
Gerry Spehar & Friends/Other Voices (9/10)
“Other Voices” proves two things: 1) that if a song is truly great, it adapts in any format, but more importantly, 2) Gerry Spehar is one of the best songwriters around.
Gerry Spehar has had a lifetime in music. Back in 2017, he released his debut album after 30 years in the business.
If that story is interesting, then he’s always managed to find something interesting in his music. Whether in the words – I mean, listen to “Tomcat” here, and you are listening to some gorgeous poetry – or in the diverse nature of his songs (take the 2022 “Delta Man” with Bobby Allison), what he does always compels.
This is why “Other Voices” was off to a winner before it started. What the man himself terms “a songwriter’s dream.”
In practice, this means a double album of his songs being played and sung by some of the finest players there are to offer. A list of the guests would fill the review, so just the singers will do: Teresa James, Dale Watson, Lisa McKenzie, Gary Lynn Floyd, and Lisa Daye.
Most of these come from late-night sessions in the 2000s, but he adds his tunes to the gorgeous and aforementioned “Tomcat” and the beautifully reflective “Pull On Your Boots” – which, given that he gave up music in the ’80s to raise a family, might have just a tinge of resonance still. The classic country-style folk of “Out Of Business Blues” has a foray into politics (his state of the union “Lady Liberty” EP from 2021 does it brilliantly), and a simply brilliant “Georgetown.”
Spehar’s five are completed by a duet with McKenzie as they take on “Normandy,” and if the release had been those as an EP, it would have been stunning. It says much, then, that you imagine the man himself is probably more excited about the rest of them. The “other voices.”
Among them, there is some wonderful stuff. “Grandpa’s Daisies” is poignant, and James is excellent. Dale Watson has a phenomenal country voice, and “Joanne,” which lays the political class to waste, is arguably the best of the rest, so to speak. Gary L. Floyd seems to be, by and large, the singer of choice, and even if, like me, you have zero romance in your soul, the duet of “Both Ends Of The Rainbow” is still lovely. He does one of the two versions of “Rockin’ On The Country Dance Floor” here (James does the other), and it is honky tonk perfection (as it was on the “Delta Man” Spehar did with Allison).
Matters of the heart abound here. A clever take on it, though, is “The Last Person,” and “What He Said” is exactly what a lovelorn bloke in a country ballad should sound like. As if to prove Spehar wanted to stay out of the spotlight here, the 20 songs are rounded off not with one of his newer ones but with Floyd and McKenzie singing a kind of lullaby in the shape of “Angel.”
Although a celebration of some wonderful songwriting, “Other Voices” isn’t a conventional best of. Indeed, there’s nothing about it that is conventional. The collection is dedicated to Spehar’s usual co-producer Paul Lacques (once of I See Hawks In L.A.), who tragically died this year. He’d approve of not playing by the rules.
More than anything, though, “Other Voices” proves two things: 1) that if a song is truly great, it adapts in any format, but more importantly, 2) Gerry Spehar is one of the best songwriters around.