A year ago today we released our 5th record: “Better World Coming: Lowlands & Friends play Woody Guthrie”. It was a limited, website only, release, recorded in kitchens, garages and bedrooms. It was a labour of love but it found its way onto national FM channels like the BBC, RTE in Ireland, various FM radio stations in the US, in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden and many more. Every single song on the record was played on the radio. Copies were given in hand to members of the Guthrie family. It even was featured for two months on the Lufthansa airplanes playlists…the irony of singing “Trying to make Heaven my home” at 40.000 feet was not lost on me! I am so grateful we got the chance to make this record. Stefano Olla mixed and mastered it wonderfully! Thanks to all of you out there who bought a copy (often more than one as many asked for more copies to give as presents) and to all the journalists and DJs who played our little record. Special thanks to all the amazing musicians and friends who played and sang on the record! There’s a Better World coming…I still believe it! See ya out there! Edward Next gig: July 14th London at the Apple Tree for “Come down and meet the folks” youtube/watch?v=w64qJjq_BcE This is what the press said on the record: « A stunning, lo-fi and heartfelt reappraisal of the great man’s songs…sweet and harsh in equal measure, this is clearly an album born in and built for hard times. *****» Recommended CD R2 Magazine (UK) “Inspirational! ****” Maverick Magazine (UK) “Lowlands are a special band. Americana doesn’t come more raw and rootsy than this… (lowlands) go back to basics, while still maintaining a kind of raw punk attitude Fantastic Tribute!” Moors Magazine (Holland) “Overall, this is a lovely album, which will have some nice surprises in store for even the most ardent of Woody purists. As a quality-first introduction to the words and music of a legend, ‘Better World Coming’ is nigh-on a must-hear. 9/10” Whisperin’n’Hollerin (UK) «Woody Guthrie’s shadow is present on almost each track, but fortunately a sufficient dosage of Lowlands remains to make it a real Lowlands CD. It very much has a similar feel to Eric Clapton’s tribute to Robert Johnson» **** Keys & Chords (Holland) «There are still many more Fascists to kill ( a lot in the music industry) but with an album this good promoting Woody’s legacy then a few of us can sleep more peacefully in our beds. An absolute Triumph» Chris Philips – BRFM & Q Magazine (Wales) «Ultimately, the album is a celebration of the universality of Guthrie and Lowlands are to be congratulated for their skills in capturing his spirit; we’d be proud if they were a UK band delivering such sounds. Overall a very fine tribute and a very fine listen – 8/10» Americana UK (UK) «Better World Coming a Woody Guthrie tribute album from Lowlands & Friends when played that was a special treat celebrating 100 years of Woody. This is a sensitively & beautifully produced tribute, on the sleeve it say’s ‘ by permission ‘ and I would think Woody’s family will be very pleased with this package. Lowlands music is part of the better world that surely is a-coming» Barry Marshall Everitt / House of Mercy (UK) «A compelling work from A to Z. The strenght of this album is its authenticity….grandiose» Rocktimes (Germany) «Art & Heart…loving and deeply passionate…a beautiful tribute…with rich instrumentation and a rare sense of music. One of the best things we have heard this year. Anywhere.» Recommended CD of the month Buscadero Magazine (Italy) «Italy’s number one roots-rock band Lowlands return with a surprising tribute album ‘Better World Coming’ to mark the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie…13 great tracks make up this great tribute» Muziekvenster (Holland) “They take on Guthrie’s material without doing violence to it. This in itself is actually quite an achievement! ***1/2” Ctrl Alt Country (Belgium) «Reccomended CD: A tribute that comes from the heart and definitely a convincing effort» Mescalina (Italy) «The major achievement of the British singer-songwriter Edward Abbiati aka ‘Lowlands’ and his italian friends on the tribute album ‘Better World Coming’ is that they have not just copied the old Woody Guthrie-songs. Instead they put lots of energy and dynamics in their effort to transfer these songs into marvellous contemporary ‘Lowlands’-versions» Rootstime (Belgium) «A great album…one of the best things to be released so far this year. Woody will be proud of it…he’ll talk highly of it to Tom Joad! All the musicians who gave life to this wonderful tribute are the essence of a story who did not get lost along the way, but instead chases and pursues the broken dreams of many generations» L’isola che non c’era (Italy) «I might as well admit it directly, I’m not so fond of Woody Guthrie …but when Italian Lowlands takes on Woody’s songs on this tribute disc called Lowlands & Friends, then it is not hard to listen. The Songs’ inherent strength comes more into its own with a full band» IKON magazine (Sweden) “Better World Coming isn’t the first tribute made for Guthrie, I can recall A Vision Shared, Till We Outnumber’em and Mermaid Avenue, but it could be the one you’ll most enjoy listening…Lowlands sing with sincerity, honesty, soul and intensity” Suono Magazine (Italy) “A well made record, which confirms that the italian roots scene has been living in a state of grace these past few years…what hits home early on is how Lowlands have managed to infuse the songs their own original twist…this also is a photograph of the extremely lively music scene of Pavia” BlogFoolk (Italy)
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:09:49 +0000
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