Review: Randall Bramblett ‘Paradise Breakdown’
By Hal Horowitz
Among the many laudatory quotes in Randall Bramblett’s press release is one from the legendary Al Kooper, who tried (unsuccessfully) to sign him to his label 40 years ago: “…I STILL love what he does, whatever it is…”
That pithy statement explains how difficult it is to lump Bramblett into an existing roots-based style. One listen to any of the previous ten albums crafted since 1998 is enough to understand that even the vague description of the multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitar, various reeds) as a “Southern singer/songwriter” is woefully understated although, in its most literal sense, certainly true.
But the Georgia born and bred Bramblett is much more. His work fronting Sea Level, along with lengthy sideman status behind the UK’s Steve Winwood, and shorter tenures assisting Marc Cohn in addition to guest spots with Widespread Panic and various Capricorn label artists, displays musical influences far greater than just red clay-based ones.
Elements of rock, soul, jazz, and funk bubble up in Bramblett’s unpredictable, occasionally psychedelic songs. His grainy, some may say ghostly, vocals fluently reflect poetic lyrics that encompass offbeat, even stream-of-consciousness concepts you can ponder but often slip through your mind like incense hovering in the air; potent yet delicate with meanings that might or might not become clear.
That has been Bramblett’s M.O., and since no one else does it quite the same, even tweaks in the method don’t deter him from a course perfected over decades. Another pertinent assessment is that he’s a “marketer’s nightmare,” something that might be taken as a compliment. Soul icon Bettye LaVette sure thought so; she recorded a full album of Bramblett’s songs in 2023.
On Paradise Breakdown (released Sept. 27), he spins 11 more tales, weaving multiple musical strands with the grace of the veteran musician/songwriter he is.
From the pensive, slow burn of the opening “Fire Down in Our Souls,” a beautiful tribute to a lifelong partner who will be with him through the apocalypse, to the lively funk of “Throw My Cane Away,” whose energetic delivery and honking sax masks a tragic story of addiction (“‘Cause I heard you went back out and you overdosed/I hope someday you get to throw that cane away…”), Bramblett covers a diverse swath of musical and lyrical ground.
He shifts to R.E.M.’s ringing guitar territory for the relatively straightforward rocking of “‘Round and ‘Round the Sun,” one of a few tunes about ageing as he sings “Don’t wanna see your loved ones slip away,” ending with the positive “Tethered to a blazing star/Reeling in the light another day.”
The atmosphere gets murky on “Down in the Wilderness” with co-producer Gerry Hanson’s eerie drums thumping an ominous percussive bottom as Bramblett unravels a mysterious backdrop that’s quietly unsettling. This is his sweet spot as he admits in the promotional notes “That’s my kind of song;deep and dark.”
There’s comfort in lovely ballads like “Somewhere in the Sky” where two guitars flit around each other as Bramblett reminisces about naming a star “Back when we could fly/And there was nothing we couldn’t do.” Sung with his typically low key, tender, yet convincing passion, it’s another superb moment on an album filled with them.
These songs may need a few spins, perhaps with headphones and scanning the lyric sheet, to fully register. Their appeal takes on greater gravitas as you get accustomed to Bramblett’s winding charms and musical twists. But that makes this so provocative and memorable, infusing the often hypnotic, always entrancing Paradise Breakdown with its staying power.
Don’t bother labeling his approach; whatever it is… it’s captivating.
Pre-order the album HERE
“Come On’
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