Music from the American heartland by way of New York City. Paul Cogley has been all over the place, worked as a firefigther and freelance comics reviewer and city planner. His love for music had been put on the back burner for years on end until he picked up his Martin acoustic and presto: a song found its way to his hands. Old time rock 'n' roll and country are his main sources of inspiration and after he found himself picking up the guitar on a more regular basis, he began working the open mike circuit. And then his dream came true: cutting an album.
American Hill is a warm sounding record, with ten originals and the Blind Willie McTell classic One Cold Winter Day. He isn't much of singer - you can tell he was nervous when it was time to lay down his vocals, but his songs are pretty damn good. Cogley has seen a lot in his life and he knows how to tell a story, reminiscing about past relationships in This Hometown I Knew and Postcard From Mama Su's.
Cogley assembled a fine bunch of players to back him up, with outstanding guitar work by Steve Elliot and the right-in-the-pcoket drums by Tony Leone. The recording - at The Maid's Room in NUC - was all analog, except for the mastering by Fred Kevorkian, who for once hasn't killed the finer nuances.
Paul Cogley: vocals
Steve Elliot: guitar, background vocals
Tim Luntzel: bass
Tony Leone: drums, background vocals
JC Hopkins: keyboards
American Hill is released on his own label Veritable Records. Buy it from his website.
Tracks:- Ten Bills Folded in My Pocket
- Turn On A Dim
- Desert New Year
- This Hometown I Knew
- Postcard From Mama Su's
- One Cold Winter Day
- Take It To The Water
- My Wandering Heart
- Small Flame
- Prairie of Gold
- In An Empty Playhouse
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