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Jeffrey Halford & The Healers – Kerosene "25th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue”
Jeffrey Halford and his The Healers have gone through twenty-five years of American music between rock’n’roll, roots and folk rock. Shoeless Records reissues on vinyl one of the best albums of the Californian group, the beautiful “Kerosene”.
Between September and October this year the band embarked on a European tour in support of this new edition of the album, now unavailable.
The group is master in blending the genres mentioned with the dirty blues of the Delta and the alt country so as to earn that hint of originality that enhances the listening.
From the opener “Drivin Alone” you then enter the world on the road of the album, perfect in giving sensations of open spaces, dusty routes and pungent smells of rubbers burned on the asphalt.
To accompany the voice and the guitars of the leader, we find Jeffery “Chief” Potter on keyboards and bass, Greg Reeves on bass and Trey Sabatelli on drums, then band of close-knit young musicians, with their eyes lost in the newborn millennium.
A perfect track list, on the road to the core, between quotes and inspirations that in the shadow of songs such as the country rock of the title track, the beautiful roots openings of “Creole Moon”, the seventees organ of “Pablo And Me” and the blues hidden among the rotting west coasts of “California”, make “Kerosene” something more than a simple American rock album, so take advantage of this reissue more.
No Depression
Jeffrey Halford & The Healers – Kerosene
The third release by Jeffrey Halford & the Healers is impressive in its musical and lyrical content and utter lack of pretense; simply put, this is great rootsy rock music.
Halford is a transplanted Texan who has called California home since childhood, and the West Coast sometimes serves as a centerpiece for Halford’s musical adventures. Indeed, the opening cut, “California”, is a rocking ode to his adopted home that brings to mind the style of John Mellencamp, a heartland rock sound that reappears throughout Kerosene.
Mix in a little Delta blues, folk, rough ’70s English pop such as Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, plus a touch of Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, and you begin to get the picture. Not a flashy guitarist, Halford prefers short, terse riffs and solos that accentuate song structure. His slide playing is curiously undisciplined and occasionally imprecise, but those inadequacies work to his advantage, resulting in a sound that’s raucous, raw, unsettling and foreboding.
Lyrically, Halford poetically pursues ever-trusty subjects such as love gone wrong, love found, desperation, strange characters (two crazed, vigilante arsonists populate the title track) and hopeless futility. Yet his words manage to transcend run-of-the-mill verbal swill. Vocally, Halford acquits himself with a voice that blends Dylan, Mellencamp and Van Morrison.
No Depression
Country has a new king in Jeffrey Halford & the Healers
If you can imagine Tom Petty singing vocals for the Eagles while BB King plays dirty blues, then you have a taste of the awesomeness that is Jeffrey Halford. On his eighth CD, Lo-Fi Dreams, he strips down his sound and lets the magic erupt. The first track, “Two Jacksons,” sets the stage, and every song thereafter continues the story with amazing vocals, lyrics and musicality. We simply cannot say enough about this album, which truly shines. Every song is worthy of accolades, but we are especially fond of “Two Jacksons,” “Door #3,” “Bird of Youth,” “Sweet Annette,” and “Great Divide.” The songs will make you get up and dance, while they also stimulate your senses with an overwhelming sense of upbeatedness and drive to get things accomplished.
Jeffrey Halford should definitely be on your list of favorite artists and his latest album deserves a preferred spot on your playlist. We are proud to recommend Lo-Fi Dreams, and strongly encourage you to Get It when it is released.
Music Connection
Jeffrey Halford & the Healers - Rainmaker
Each song plays like a scene from a movie. The tunes are vivid takes on love, relationships and the human condition. Halford is the writer and has a rich, emotive voice that is an uncanny blend of Petty, Dylan, Knopfler, Robertson, Cooder and the like. From the southwestern landscapes depicted in “Rainmaker,” the love rekindled in “Thunderbird Motel,” to the S.F. street scenes of “North Beach,” the poetic guitarist and his crew deliver the goods with a well-crafted fusion of blues, country, folk and rock. A distinctive Americana sound that is equally fresh and familiar. – Eric A. Harabadian
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