DANNEY WILLIAMS
By Request
Apache – Maria Elania – Meet Mr. Callahan –
Buckaroo – Mona Lisa – Coconut Grove – Oh Danny Boy – Forty Miles of Bad
Road – Stay Out O’ The South – It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie – Panhandle Rag
– Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Buckaroo – Mona Lisa – Coconut Grove – Oh Danny Boy – Forty Miles of Bad
Road – Stay Out O’ The South – It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie – Panhandle Rag
– Just A Closer Walk With Thee
What a treat to hear Danney Williams again. You
may or may not have heard of this incredible ‘feeling’ picker. He uses
an electric guitar, but he doesn’t use it for volume, he uses it for
style and creativity. I’m sitting in an RV park in Benson, Arizona,
preparing my weekly column just a few miles from Tombstone, the big bad
town of the west. My first thought, when I heard Danney do ‘Maria
Elania,’ what a treat it would be to hear him do a concert at Big Nose
Kates in Tombstone. This is Danney’s very first CD release, done with a
lot of help from the very talented Larry Dean Inman who guided Danney
successfully through the various ‘pits’ that show up in show business.
This is an instrumental album if you hasn’t already diagnosed that, and
it’s a lovely one to hear. Mark Thies, who plays bass on this session,
was also the engineer and master-maker. The session is thoroughly
entertaining, not overproduced like so much modern country music is
today, just the real ‘guts’ of the matter, so extremely talented guitar
pickin’ by a great picker, Danney Williams. Not only is Danney a good
picker, he picks on a very nice sounding guitar. He doesn’t rationalize
every string he hits, he simply hits the right one. He doesn’t let his
‘pick’ over emphasize the beautiful simplicity of a well written
instrumental song. He doesn’t (like many bluegrassers do) attempt to
show us how fast he can pick, as if that is some sort of goal, neither
does he lay down on ‘feeling’ and ‘sensitivity’ when he picks. He
simply lets the music flow, straight on beat, right on time, definitely a
pure expression of some super good songs. AND like many of the ‘real’
performers of country music in the past, Danney closes with a beautiful
gospel song “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” The early performers of
rural music always thought to close their shows with a gospel song, to
illustrate their gratitude of being a Christian, and devoting at least
one of their songs to the Lord Jesus. That doesn’t happen much in
today’s music either, but, country music is starting to make a small
shift back to what the listeners thought was important in the message
and the music. Danney Williams is one of those returning for the good
stuff, and playing it for his friends and fans. Off this one goes to the
Rural Roots Music Commission for their evaluation, with much thanks to
Larry Dean Inman for the precious contributions he made to this project.
may or may not have heard of this incredible ‘feeling’ picker. He uses
an electric guitar, but he doesn’t use it for volume, he uses it for
style and creativity. I’m sitting in an RV park in Benson, Arizona,
preparing my weekly column just a few miles from Tombstone, the big bad
town of the west. My first thought, when I heard Danney do ‘Maria
Elania,’ what a treat it would be to hear him do a concert at Big Nose
Kates in Tombstone. This is Danney’s very first CD release, done with a
lot of help from the very talented Larry Dean Inman who guided Danney
successfully through the various ‘pits’ that show up in show business.
This is an instrumental album if you hasn’t already diagnosed that, and
it’s a lovely one to hear. Mark Thies, who plays bass on this session,
was also the engineer and master-maker. The session is thoroughly
entertaining, not overproduced like so much modern country music is
today, just the real ‘guts’ of the matter, so extremely talented guitar
pickin’ by a great picker, Danney Williams. Not only is Danney a good
picker, he picks on a very nice sounding guitar. He doesn’t rationalize
every string he hits, he simply hits the right one. He doesn’t let his
‘pick’ over emphasize the beautiful simplicity of a well written
instrumental song. He doesn’t (like many bluegrassers do) attempt to
show us how fast he can pick, as if that is some sort of goal, neither
does he lay down on ‘feeling’ and ‘sensitivity’ when he picks. He
simply lets the music flow, straight on beat, right on time, definitely a
pure expression of some super good songs. AND like many of the ‘real’
performers of country music in the past, Danney closes with a beautiful
gospel song “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” The early performers of
rural music always thought to close their shows with a gospel song, to
illustrate their gratitude of being a Christian, and devoting at least
one of their songs to the Lord Jesus. That doesn’t happen much in
today’s music either, but, country music is starting to make a small
shift back to what the listeners thought was important in the message
and the music. Danney Williams is one of those returning for the good
stuff, and playing it for his friends and fans. Off this one goes to the
Rural Roots Music Commission for their evaluation, with much thanks to
Larry Dean Inman for the precious contributions he made to this project.
RECORD REVIEW BY BOB EVERHART – Pres. www.ntcma.net
for Country Music News International Magazine