Bill Medley – Straight From The Heart (2025) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Bill Medley – Straight From The Heart (2025)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:22 minutes | 950 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Curb Records

Songs on Bill Medley’s historic album with a historic voice include: “The Dance,” originally recorded by Garth Brooks; “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” originally recorded by George Jones; and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (feat. Shawn Colvin),” originally recorded by Hank Williams.The forthcoming 14-song collection was produced by Fred Mollin (Miley Cyrus, Billy Joel) and features guest artists Michael McDonald, Shawn Colvin, Keb’ Mo’, and Vince Gill, who went on to win that 1985 ACM Top New Male Vocalist of the Year for which Bill was nominated. Mollin shares, “In the heart of Music Row in Nashville, where so many of these songs were originally recorded, the truly iconic voice of Bill Medley sat around with the current class of legendary studio musicians and one song rolled into the next. Live on the floor. The way it was meant to be.”A self-described Pop/Blues artist, Bill shares, “At its core, a pure Country ballad is the blues.”Medley’s upcoming album, Straight From The Heart, will release on February 14, 2025, with multiple songs from the album releasing during the months leading up to the album release.One of the everlasting landmarks of pop music, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling'” by The Righteous Brothers is the very definition of musical immortality. While Bobby Hatfield—he was the tenor voice—died in 2003, his brother from another mother, Bill Medley, has continued to tour as a solo version of their group. Naturally drawn to the storytelling and songwriting of country music because, as he puts it, “At its core, a pure country ballad is the blues,” Medley, now 84, has bravely brought his recognizable and still vital bass-baritone pipes to a number of the genre’s classics. Medley is game throughout, turning in a rousing, believable version of the late Kris Kristofferson’s melodic lament, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” pushing his voice on its rising melodic chorus of “And there’s nothin’ short a’ dyin’/ That’s half as lonesome as the sound/ Of the sleepin’ city sidewalks/ And Sunday mornin’ comin’ down.”

Backed by Nashville studio pros like guitarist Jerry Douglas and fiddler Stuart Duncan, Medley’s vocals linger over these slow tales, buoyed by an ocean of strings arranged by Matthew McMauley. The impeccable sonics of this collection were completed by the inestimable talents of Kyle Lehning, who mixed the album, and Greg Calbi as its mastering engineer. The duet with Shawn Colvin on Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” where the pair trade verses, is surprisingly effective. Medley’s daring stab at the George Jones hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is a minor triumph; while not approaching the poignancy of the original, it rolls at a slow tempo and is supported by backing vocal tracks making for a worthy tribute. A solo performance of Kenny Rogers’ “Sweet Music Man” is simply gorgeous. “These Days,” written by his duet partner, the infinitely talented Vince Gill, features classy, laid-back production and is emotionally located in exactly the right spot. The kind of project that can easily go horribly wrong, Straight From The Heart is the opposite: a stylish, sophisticated appreciation of one of pop music’s most memorable voices. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:

1-01. Bill Medley – Crying Time (04:06)
1-02. Bill Medley – The Dance (03:20)
1-03. Bill Medley – Please Help Me, I’m Falling (04:01)
1-04. Bill Medley – Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down (05:44)
1-05. Bill Medley – (Since You’ve) Gone (02:47)
1-06. Bill Medley – Lay Down Beside Me (03:55)
1-07. Bill Medley – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (03:58)
1-08. Bill Medley – Whenever You Come Around (04:22)
1-09. Bill Medley – He Stopped Loving Her Today (03:33)
1-10. Bill Medley – Sweet Music Man (04:44)
1-11. Bill Medley – These Days (03:58)
1-12. Bill Medley – Let It Be Me (03:50)

Download from filejoker.net: