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About the CD
Steve Perry Rosin Up Your Bow
The Rosin Up Your Bow album was recorded like the early days before the drum kit was added -- back when the entire rhythmic feel was generated by the compelling combination of an acoustic upright bass and an acoustic guitar. In keeping with the thought that sometimes 'less is more,' the signature song Rosin Up Your Bow features just one lead instrument; naturally, it's the wending, winding fiddle.
 
The steel guitar sound of the album pre-dates the advent of the pedal steel guitar, as the traditional lap steel is heard on Leaving Blues and Steel Mill Blues, and as the glide of the Hawaiian steel drives the progression of Baby Are You Telling Me The Truth smoothly forward.
 
The electric guitar is featured, too -- with lively Telecaster picking on City Blues and Blues At Midnight, the playing has the perfection of a studio setting with all the dynamics of a live performance...the phrasing is snappy when it sounds good that way, and alternately, it's relaxed and spacious when it should be.
 
The open-string guitar playing is also engaging, as it emanates through the dramatic chords of Time Is A Healer. The beautiful, earthy sound of the mandolin finds its home as it sounds out triplet note-chords in Weeping With The Willow Tree and I'm Sorry I Left You Alone.
 
The eleven songs on Rosin Up Your Bow were selected from many compositions for their overall balance as a collection, for the individual stories that each told, and for their ability to showcase country music simplicity at its finest. The songs contributed to an album that is appropriately-produced, rather than over-produced; when the singer has something to say, he is heard, and when it's time for the instruments to stretch out, they have room to roam.
 
Steve Perry

Click here to visit our companion website, Sound of the Blues.
 
 
Refreshing songs of optimism are here; The Girl Next Door, Time Is A Healer, and the signature song, Rosin Up Your Bow. The heartbreakers are here, too: Weeping With The Willow Tree, Blues At Midnight and others, telling perennial stories of lost love and unrequited love.
 
Accompanied by honky-tonk blues piano, the bittersweet, nostalgic story of The Lonely Piano unfolds, and is accentuated in a beautiful instrumental coda. There is a timeless work-lament in Steel Mill Blues, the narrative of an orphan's plight in I'm Sorry I Left You Alone, and the 'everyman' sentiment, City Blues...the search for a better life, whether it's to be found in the country, the city, or simply within our own hearts.
 
Reviews Steve Perry Rosin Up Your Bow, traditional country music and country blues
We have received many compliments on the Rosin Up Your Bow album, and would like to share two of them with you.
 
Inside Bluegrass magazine, from the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association, says "Good, well written songs sung in a pleasant voice with appropriate, uncluttered arrangements. This is classic country, with sparser instrumentation than most things that have been successful in the commercial market. This disc has a lot of things going for it. Many of the songs (all written by Perry) could become standards with the right exposure. The titles pretty much describe what the songs are about. One hook line I especially like is 'This city life has been a rat race and I think the rats have won.'"
 
Tradition magazine, from the National Traditional Country Music Association says that "Steve Perry is a singer-songwriter from Illinois, and a good one he is. Catch this line and see if it doesn't grab you, 'This city life has been a rat race and I think the rats have won.' Isn't that a great line? Steve wrote all of the songs on this CD, and I'd have to admit I liked every one of them. Steve has a nice knack for taking the ordinary and making it special. That takes good songwriting ability. The CD has good backing all the way through, and a good fiddler, too. A good all around country CD."
 
We appreciate these kind words, and express our gratitude to these fine organizations. If you have a friend who enjoys traditional country music and country blues, we hope that you will tell them about Rosin Up Your Bow.
 
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Antique Radio Classified Antique radio's largest circulation magazine.
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MusiciansStorehouse.com Musical instruments and equipment.
Radiophile.com A beautiful collection of antique radios.
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans The official website.
Steve Perry Rosin Up Your Bow