Lance Cowan
Feb 7, 2024
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA – Pre-sales for celebrated wordsmith Rees Shad’s new album The Galahad Blues - release date March 1, 2024 – are now available at https://www.reesshadmusic.com/shop
Nippertown music critic Michael Hochanadel recently weighed in on the album: “Tying everything together is Shad’s swinging way with arrangements and soulful voice, often bluesy as it carries feeling so plainly. observed His voice carries us around like a Yellow cab through the streets of a neon nightclub district, bright with romance or doomed by sin.”
For The Galahad Blues, Shad reimagines the story of The Knights of the Round Table, recast as gangsters in King Arthur’s Camelot as a 1940s Chicago nightclub. Rather than focusing on gallantry and chivalry, he explores the potential of finding honor among thieves. Melodically and with the pro- duction, he Shad draws from a deep well of melodic and lyric influences mined from Noir films, hard-boiled pulp fiction, and the American Songbook.
Galahad Blues features Shad with his band The Conversations (Jeff Link, Bobby Kay, and Carlos Valdez), joined by the likes of Tony Aiello (Joe Jackson, Southside Johnny), Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon), Ira Coleman (Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Sting) and Tom Major (Bo Diddley, Pousette Dart).
Shad has steadily been earning praise for his releases in recent years from the likes of American Songwriter (“His music is powerful and often provocative but never bereft of heartfelt feelings and earnest intents!”), Americana Highways (“Rees takes you into another era, but the journey is with moments of resurrection that develop its own ultimate jazz boîte throughout. Rees keeps it interesting by injecting dynamics into his showcase and his voice is perfect for these attractions!”), Goldmine (“Rees Shad is a consummate artist and entertainer!”) and Nippertown (“From start to finish, Rees has produced an impressive amalgamation of sounds and genres.”)