SLINGSHOT
PROFESSIONALS REVIEWS
"Few
songwriters can deftly weave separate similes involving Popeye, Olive
Oyl and Sweet Pea into a single verse. Fewer still can make it sound
deeply soulful. But such are the gifts that make Phelps such a remarkable
artist. Besides his off-kilter lyrical expression, Phelps boasts
a haunting vocal rasp and unmatched mastery of finger style and slide
guitar. Together, these elements explore the deepest shades of blue,
and they have never worked better than on this disc. Be it the melancholy
waltz of "Not So Far To Go", or the shuffling blues of
the title track, Phelps makes the sublime sound effortless. He enjoys
spare, but detailed support throughout, notably from Jesse Zubot's
plaintive violin and and some truly thrilling guitar cameos by Bill
Frisell. This is music that rings with bittersweet experience." - Mojo
(UK)
"Empowering his characters with detail of Springsteen and Waits,
Phelps' songwriting has leapt to a level inhabited by few (Dylan and
Cohen spring to mind), while his voice sounds like Kentucky bourbon being
poured over a waterfall. Frills are non-existent, instead Phelps relies
on atmosphere and incredible warmth, lending these tales - all contenders
for the plot of innumerable Cohen Brothers films - an air of late-autumn
calm that simultaneously grips and soothes the listener." - Logo
(UK)
"A scrumptious disc of Phelps' freewheeling, though tightly written,
tunes, sketched broadly, with a richer sound filled with fiddle, accordion,
mandolin and keyboards. Critics are going gaga."
- St. Petersburg Times
"Phelps'
recent release, "Slingshot Professionals", is a tribute to
his own evolution… his style has an original darkness and depth.
Here, it seems, is a singer/songwriter who's settled firmly into his
own voice." - Asheville Mountain Xpress
"Phelps
makes the complex appear simple by allowing his songs to unfurl slowly,
flowing with confidence and unctuous rhythms. "Slingshot Professionals" is
draped in eloquence and humble introspection."
- Boston Herald
"Having long since mastered the technical aspects of his trade,
Phelps now seeks to locate the spirit of the old rural blues among the
chaos and bitterness of modern life… A marvelous, absorbing album." - The
Independent (UK)
"Phelps'
musical world is constantly evolving and 'Slingshot' stays true to
the exploratory path. For this project guitarist-singer Kelly Joe uses
two groups of musicians to create a full, atmospheric wash that surrounds
his thoughtful lyrics with a grace rooted in jazz, folk and blues….
There's no doubt Kelly Joe Phelps writes engaging and truthful songs
and the musicianship by all is impeccable. The often elusive wordplay
demands close attention but the rewards are there. Full of twists and
turns, light and dark, Phelps once again proves himself an estimable
complete musician ever changing, ever growing." - Plan9Music.Com
"Steeped
in the spirit of the blues, Phelps' voice is rich and raw, with liberal
doses of Nebraska Springsteen and even, occasionally, Tom Waits. Bongos
and strings join the mix, giving it a drive and adding delicate accents.
Instrumentally, the CD is full of such understated touches… Frisell
plays in such a way to draw just enough attention to his beautiful
style while still keeping his ear trained on Phelps' skewed snapshots
of characters. A subtle and engaging disc."
- Harp
"On 'Slingshot Professionals' Phelps's acoustic guitar is fleshed
out by strategically placed string instruments, delicately handled percussion
and massaged keyboards. Phelps lends his husky vocals to heartfelt observations… The
album is a sublime exercise in subtlety."
- Sarasota Herald Tribune
"An
ace guitar player… a singer with an almost gothic, gravel and
velvet voice; and a songwriter whose literate, cliché-dodging
way with lyrics mixes art and grit in a distinctive way."
- Santa Barbara News-Press
"It's
not every guitar icon that turns away from the idolatry his mastery
inspires… For Kelly Joe Phelps, the evolution from venerated picker
to respected singer-songwriter has been gradual and organic…
With "Slingshot Professionals", Phelps has thoroughly crossed
over into the territory of Tom Waits and J.J. Cale, couching his sly
songs in his fullest arrangements to date… Phelps definitely hasn't
dulled the guitar chops. But more than ever, his playing serves a larger
purpose." - S.F.Gate.Com
"Phelps' songs and his playing coalesce in his music, which combines
the sophistication of jazz with the unadorned realism of the blues and
the stark honesty of folk music."
- Tampa Tribune
"Phelps
is a remarkable acoustic guitarist who has assimilated so many disparate
influences - everyone from Chet Atkins and Leo Kottke to Mississippi
Fred McDowell and Ornette Coleman - that he escapes and even defies
categorization. He has also become an adroit lyricist. His new album,
'Slingshot Professionals', finds him engaging in the sort of knotty,
elliptical wordplay that is generally more the province of established
novelists than fellow songwriters. In that sense, Phelps has much in
common with Tom Waits and precious few others… This musical hunger
can be heard on 'Slingshot Professionals' on which Phelps plays in
a conversational and spontaneous way with two discrete small ensembles.
One features the renowned guitarist Bill Frisell, while the other is
built around a core of guitarist Phelps, fiddler and mandolinist Jesse
Zubot, and Weissenborn player Steve Dawson.…
a testament to strong material, good chemistry and great musicians."
- Winston Salem Journal
"What a wonderfully fresh release this is from Kelly Joe Phelps.
I can't emphasize enough just how this release has bowled me over……
I certainly haven't heard many play with such genuine and pure emotion
and I can certainly never recall having never felt so in awe of an artist
after an album has finished….. Each track reads like a poem and
Kelly Joe's touching and heartfelt tones certainly capture the essence
of those words to jaw dropping effect. ….. One of the most organic
and natural offerings I've ever been privileged to have the introduction
to and I would recommend this to everybody who wants to hear the Blues
with 'real' breadth and effortlessness……Blissful."
- Blues Matters (UK)
BLUES
CRAFTED WITH A CARE
"KELLY JOE PHELPS has been punching through the boundaries of who
he is supposed to be with every album. I first knew him as the religiously
inclined, prodigious country blues guitarist of 1996's Roll Away The
Stone, itself a progression from his jazz beginnings. The three albums
since have thrown up personal, modern blues songwriting, then a turn
into something uncategorisable: literary songs of hurt played in a tight
but improvised spirit by a top notch band. It's a right-angled career
turn typical of two musicians Phelps loves, Miles Davis and Bob Dylan,
and of Phelps' own questing, wrestling approach to musical and spiritual
questions that made even his "purest" blues more than pastiche." -
Nick Hasted The Independent
BLUES-INFLUENCED
TROUBADOUR’S BEST YET
" The transformation of KJP from revivalist bluesman to contemporary
singer-songwriter continues on his fifth album. His songs are now mini-stories,
populated by seekers of truth and peddlers of dreams. His guitar style
is exemplary, his voice has a heartfelt rich patina and the backing musician
including Bill Frisell create a folk-jazz accompaniment of almost spiritual
empathy. “Knock Louder”
revisits his blues roots, but only serves to remind us how far he has
since come." - Nigel Williamson, Uncut
"And
so, he continues to grow. Album number five, 'Slingshot Professionals'
is a very wonderful thing. Richly acoustic tunes of poetic haunt and
verse. Guitars, harmonica, piano, accordion, violin, mandolin and more.
Luxuriant textures and variant hues, elegantly woven and softly spun.
And that husky voice -- well worn, emoting good and getting better
all the time. If at times he recalls 'Bop Until You Drop' -- era Ry
Cooder – cut through with a shot of Beat and belt of Waits -
still he is very much his own man. Indeed, he is memorably possessed
of hose own fully formed, richly realised, yet still developing sound.
As a guitar player Phelps typically eschews the showy in lieu of the
subtle, and is all the more affecting for it. Increasingly, too, his
words have taken on a rare, imagistic thrall all their own. On the
new album, such crooked mystery, eloquently wrought, with snapshots
and vignettes of ache and wonder and enigma hewn, he is a shadowy master
of gnawing, crafted song." - Ross Fortune, Time Out
"Kelly
Joe Phelps has been widening his musical vision of late, bringing on
board an array of backing musicians to flesh out his immaculately picked-out
folk blues. His fourth Rykodisc album continues this progression, with
electric guitar from Bill Frisell, lightly brushed percussion from
Scott Amendola, streaks of organ and accordian and additional vocals
from Petra Haden, all tracking Phelps's mesmerising finger work. But
for all its technical articulation, this mighty fine record feels as
artless as an improvisation." - Metro
FOLK
ROOTS BEAUTY
"No one ever got rich by overestimating the record-buying public’s
capacity to get off on high literary style set to delicate musical accompaniment.
That’s Kelly Joe’s cross to bear. His songs are short stories,
winkled out of his observations of the liminal, the outside, the sad,
the infant, which he sings with a blurry, furry tenor of outstanding
warmth. When his melodies fly, you weep of your inability to sing your
own children such lullabies."
- NC, The Sunday Independent
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