David Wood - Here & Now

Review by: George Peden 11/07/2010
Talk to most fans and the pulling power of country music is its honesty. Country music is homegrown real. There are stories, often life driven and open in the lyrics. A life lived and revealed can sometimes rest in the liner notes. David Wood’s liner to Here & Now is a point in question.
David Woods, by his own admission, is “north of 65”. He holds no need to fill arenas on global sell out tours, or to see his face beaming out of CMT, and, given his brand of traditional country, he could be waiting a while for a Billboard hit.
But what the matter.
Reading his liner notes, you quickly suspect he does not crave the fame; he just wants to make the music. And that he does on his 11-track debut, out on DeW Note Records. Armed with an array of tunes that ride the familiar track of heartache, love, loss and redemption this proclaimed “country and western” devotee is sure to win fans who are more Gene Autry than Toby Keith.
“This album is undeniably a frontal attack on the current trends of rock-country and pop-country. This is not your kid’s country music,” tells Wood, who has penned the emotive “You are My Love (A Wedding Song) for this album. “It refects my age and my experiences in life.”
As a former lawyer to music acts, Woods favors the outlaws like Cash, Jennings and Haggard for inspiration, and, like his heroes, there is an obvious determination to be free from the shackles of perceived age.
As Wood’s shares, it was only when he bought veteran rocker Jerry Lee Lewis’ Last Man Standing DVD he knew his future direction. “If I was ever going to play piano and sing, why not here and now,” – the confident move also gave rise to a needed album title.
With his newfound catch-cry of “who says 65 is mandatory retirement”, on hearing the album you are left with admiration for someone who finally is living his dream.
Country music is real. The music is real and telling. Just like David Wood.
“Sayin’ Goodbye To The West”, “I Ain’t Worth The Powder (To Blow Me To Hell Without You)”, the moody “I Wish I Had Someone To Love Me” and the autobiographical “Old Enough To Be Somebody’s Hero” are sure to please.
www.davidwoodcountry.com
Talk to most fans and the pulling power of country music is its honesty. Country music is homegrown real. There are stories, often life driven and open in the lyrics. A life lived and revealed can sometimes rest in the liner notes. David Wood’s liner to Here & Now is a point in question.
David Woods, by his own admission, is “north of 65”. He holds no need to fill arenas on global sell out tours, or to see his face beaming out of CMT, and, given his brand of traditional country, he could be waiting a while for a Billboard hit.
But what the matter.
Reading his liner notes, you quickly suspect he does not crave the fame; he just wants to make the music. And that he does on his 11-track debut, out on DeW Note Records. Armed with an array of tunes that ride the familiar track of heartache, love, loss and redemption this proclaimed “country and western” devotee is sure to win fans who are more Gene Autry than Toby Keith.
“This album is undeniably a frontal attack on the current trends of rock-country and pop-country. This is not your kid’s country music,” tells Wood, who has penned the emotive “You are My Love (A Wedding Song) for this album. “It refects my age and my experiences in life.”
As a former lawyer to music acts, Woods favors the outlaws like Cash, Jennings and Haggard for inspiration, and, like his heroes, there is an obvious determination to be free from the shackles of perceived age.
As Wood’s shares, it was only when he bought veteran rocker Jerry Lee Lewis’ Last Man Standing DVD he knew his future direction. “If I was ever going to play piano and sing, why not here and now,” – the confident move also gave rise to a needed album title.
With his newfound catch-cry of “who says 65 is mandatory retirement”, on hearing the album you are left with admiration for someone who finally is living his dream.
Country music is real. The music is real and telling. Just like David Wood.
“Sayin’ Goodbye To The West”, “I Ain’t Worth The Powder (To Blow Me To Hell Without You)”, the moody “I Wish I Had Someone To Love Me” and the autobiographical “Old Enough To Be Somebody’s Hero” are sure to please.
www.davidwoodcountry.com