Randall Bramblett: Thin Places cover art

Biography:

With Thin Places, his second album for New West Records, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Randall Bramblett teams up with noted Nashville producer/bassist Michael Rhodes. If ever there was a “marriage made in heaven,” this is it.

The Cast

Michael assembled a talented cast of both regular Bramblett band members and stellar studio players, creating an atmosphere where Randall clearly thrived, creating his best album to date - in a long career of excellence. From the opening chords of the CDs lead-off track, Nobody's Problem, to its closer, I Don't Care, it's obvious that Thin Places is a special album for fans of honest music that is both mystical and organic at the same time. Thin Places is loaded with musical anthems, whether it's the powerfully confessional You Can Be the Rain, the rhythmic-syncopation of Gotta Stop Somewhere, or the moody, Beatles '67-esque Are You Satisfied. Over it all, Bramblett paints his palette with pop, blues, soul and jazz hues, all infused with a rock energy that literally pulses with emotion.

Under the radar

If Randall Bramblett has operated under the music mainstream radar for the last 25-plus years, it certainly hasn't been from the lack of musical quality on his part - or critical acclaim from his musical peers and critics who applaud his amazing mix of southern soulfulness and improvisational skill. If you judge an artist by the company he keeps, Randall Bramblett's got that down in spades: Gregg Allman, Sea Level, Widespread Panic, Levon Helm and Steve Winwood are just a few who've called on him - and continue to do so - for his prodigious chops on keyboards, sax and/or vocals.

In addition to all these acts as a contributor, Bramblett's real strengths shine when he's able to operate up front and center, leading his Athens, Georgia-based band through their paces with an array of songs and grooves that stamp him as a true original, an innovator who continues to explore new thoughts and ideas on Thin Places.

Mr. Lucky

Bramblett's last album, No More Mr. Lucky (2001), was a real eye-opener for both radio stations and music critics who saluted its outstanding blend of southern music and insightful lyrics. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution dubbed it “Warm pop for a gray day,” while The Houston Press wrote, “These are songs that will endure for years to come, as echoes of our time.” Perhaps Rolling Stone summed it up best by declaring Bramblett as simply “one of the South's most lyrical and literate songwriters.”

Writer Marcus Borg described “thin places” as a part of Celtic tradition, “where two levels of reality meet or intersect. For some, music can become a thin place in which the boundary between one's self and the world momentarily disappears.” On Thin Places, Randall Bramblett beautifully demonstrates how he crosses that boundary with skill, power, soul and grace.

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