I have always made a point to cover every Bill Mallonee release that I can. Bill is without a doubt one of the most prolific artists around. His music is a rarity – not only in the sense of how much better it gets through the years, but also how frequent and consistent his output is. Bill has honed his craft as one of the real voices for the ‘everyman’ in this day and age. There is a weighty and meaningful quality to Mallonee’s work; these aren’t just songs to tap your foot to. These are songs that are sung with the conviction of salvation and a visceral quality that speaks from a penetrating perspective. I am always surprised at how consistently good Bill’s songwriting is… he puts out such a large body of songs that I keep thinking ‘the next one’ won’t be as good, but I am wrong every time. That brings us here to his latest, The Power & the Glory.
With over 40 albums to his credit, to say that Power & the Glory is Mallonee’s best would be a bold statement. Having said that, now hear this: this is definitely Mallonee’s best to date! It is all here on this album; the quality, the depth, the imagery and lyrical illustration. The track placement is spot on, from the opening licks of “Carolina, Carolina,” down to the howling “Ghosts That I Run With,” and then straight on through to the brilliantly and lyrically imaginative track “Wide Awake with Orphan Eyes (Mirror Ball Moon).”
This release runs deep with the impressive guitar work, and while I would say this is jangly and noisy in all the right places, it is a guitar heavy album that is fluid and not disjointed at all. The guitar takes center stage but never feels burdensome or overpowering. To take a page from Mallonee’s book, the guitar is like the conductor that steers this 12 car train into the station with grace and grand intent. The harmonizing between Bill and Muriah hits the mark. On tracks like “Just to Feel the Heat (You Never Told Me Your House Was Haunted)” the harmony is pristine, pure and absolutely accomplished.
These tracks were picked from the various WPA Volumes that Bill has been releasing every few months for the last 3 years or so. To hear these songs first in a setting that was more raw and undeveloped was a plus, because hearing them in this fully evolved environment makes the listener really appreciate the hard work that has been put into polishing these diamonds up. After years of slugging it out in the trenches, Bill has dialed in a process that is yielding his best work, and we are the better for it. Whether he’s singing/playing to bring attention to social issues like in “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” or scratching at the scab of our humanity in “Ever Born into This World,” Bill keeps getting better and better with each release.
The travesty here is that too few folks know about Bill and his work. That is where you, the readers, come in. If everyone reading this told just two friends about Bill’s work, that could make a dramatic difference with his career and touring schedule and the best part is that it would get this fantastic music out into the public. Stop by the download store where you can get free music, inexpensive music and hard copy disc; but regardless of the format, Power & the Glory is a career defining album!
billmallonee.net
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