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Slaid Cleaves's Bio:

Slaid Cleaves 2004 release is Wishbone. It is a mix of country, blues and folk and contains songs that tell meaningful stories, a specialty of Slaid Cleaves' style. The band playing with Cleaves on Wishbone includes producer Gurf Morlix on bass and guitar, keyboardist Ian McLagan, drummer Rick Richards, and guitarist Charles Arthur.

With a his album, Broke Down, on the Billboard charts, Slaid Cleaves made good on the promise his earlier albums showed. Acoustic Americana and country found a hot new item in the person of Slaid Cleaves. Texas Beat described him as "brilliant," and New Country said, "Folk singers take note ? this is the one to beat."

Cleaves signed with Rounder and brought out No Angel Knows in 1997. He self-produced three albums before that: The Promise/Looks Good from the Road, Life's Other Side, and For the Brave and Free. In Austin in 1993, where he enlisted some of Austin's finest to help with For the Brave and Free, Slaid Cleaves earned great local reviews.

No Angel Knows spent several weeks near the top of the Gavin Americana radio chart.

Cleaves grew up in Maine, attended college in Ireland, and landed in Austin in 1991. He modestly claims to be the understudy for local Texas rootsy songwriters and folk rock 'n' rollers like Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Robert Earl Keen, saying, "They wrote the book on that." He claims to have moved to Austin to be around the people he looks up to, such as Gilmore and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Hubbard returns the admiration, saying, "He's a great lyricist because he takes time to make sure every word works." Cleaves and Ray Wylie Hubbard toured Europe together in 1997.

He spends a lot of time on the road, playing night after night and improving his performance while, as he says, "building up my mailing list."

Be sure to check Slaid's web site, which has information about all his indie albums. Bookings can be made through the Nancy Fly Agency at (512) 288-2023. His music is available from amazon.com.

Winner MusicAustin's Austin's Best Albums Award for 2000!

User: hitech

Slaid Cleaves's Albums
Folk Selects
More Sounds of the New West
Rounder Records: Celebrating 30 Colorful Years (Borders)
Unsung

Slaid Cleaves Album Editorial:
When a celebrated songwriter cuts an album of covers its generally a stopgap till the next record or a way out of a contract. But Cleaves never known to be prolific or to knock out product approaches his seventh album in 16 years with a purposefulness that transcends a mere shout-out to wordsmith friends. His choices are obscure--the best-known songwriter here is David Olney--but meaningful varied sometimes stunning. Hes drawn to traditional allusions and melodies (Michael OConnors Devils Lullaby) to minimalist character studies (Adam Carrolls Race Car Joe) and to Austin Texas where many of the songwriters covered make their homes. Cleaves taps Karen Poston for Flowered Dresses a Kodachrome of small town love; Steve Brooks for Everette a praise-song for a barstool poet; Graham Weber for Oh Roberta a gift to a troubadours muse; and Chris Montgomery for Call It Sleep a working mans lament. If the arrangements are straight-up Americana--with David Henrys cello and organ shaking things up a bit--Cleavess temperate sly grin of a voice finds comic insight between all the wistfully down-and-out lines. Like Nanci Griffith on iOther Voices Other Rooms Cleaves takes the measure of influences which are more contemporary than historic and as a result captures the spirit of a lively if largely underground folk scene. --iRoy Kasten


Slaid Cleaves Album Editorial:
On Unsung Austin singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves delivers a treasure trove of songs from some of his favorite writers some undiscovered all less-known than deserved. These are poignant stories not unlike Cleaves own songs that feature poets lovers and underdogs struggling to win. Cleaves brings these stories to life with the same eloquent grace and grit that have made his past recordings so valued. PCleaves tells gorgeously compact stories in a voice packed with Texas trail dust. - Entertainment Weekly
Wishbones

Slaid Cleaves Album Editorial:
With his third album since transplanting his music from his native Maine to Austin Slaid Cleaves now draws as much from country and blues roots with a touch of classic-rock Springsteen as he does from the troubadour tradition. His tales of losers and dreamers of hard luck and lifes tough lessons benefit here from the musical muscle of a band that includes producer Gurf Morlix on bass and guitar veteran keyboardist Ian McLagan drummer Rick Richards and guitarist Charles Arthur who channels the sinuous inspiration of Otis Rush on the bluesy Sinners Prayer. Other highlights include the tuneful title track (written with Ray Wylie Hubbard) the barroom brawling Drinkin Days the taut wisdom of Hearts Break and the affirmation of New Years Day. In the four years since his previous release Cleaves has grown into a writer who is more than the sum of his influences and a musical artist who is no longer content to let the lyric carry the whole load. Don McLeese


Slaid Cleaves Album Editorial:
Slaid Cleaves called one of the finest singer-songwriters from Texas by The New York Times ventures into exciting new territory on the follow up to the acclaimed Broke Down. Delivering hard hitting songs and a more muscular sound by producer Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams Robert Earl Keen) Wishbones is the strongest album yet from this captivating artist.
Holiday Sampler
Promise
Life"s Other Side
Broke Down

Slaid Cleaves Album Editorial:
On his second Philo release singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves builds a bridge between New England where he grew up and Texas where he now lives. Cleavess voice often affects a yearning quality reminiscent of traditional Irish music and his songs are populated by the sort of tragic characters familiar to old folk ballads. In Cold and Lonely a poor farmer grieves for his dead wife and children while the narrative Breakfast in Hell is a Canadian loggers answer to John Henry. The suffering takes a more personal turn in One Good Year where Cleaves laments Its a bitter wind in your face every day / Its the little sins that wear your soul away. But just when the downcast mood begins to grow oppressive Cleaves comes back with the defiant Bring It On and the redemptive This Morning I Am Born Again featuring Woody Guthries amazing lyrics set to new music. Austin-based producer Gurf Morlix known for his long association with Lucinda Williams contributes spare and evocative instrumental textures. Rick Mitchell
No Angel Knows

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