Western Soul has gathered a lot of positive reviews, which is always nice to see. To read the full review, click on the name of the publication.
“A confident album with moments of immense wisdom, reflection and observation. For an hour, it’s inevitable that you’ll be swept up and lost in Adelman’s Western world. Perhaps a couple of listens are needed to properly unpack some of the sentiments, but a sense of comfort accompanies the stories – Adelman is clearly an experienced teller of tales.” – Americana UK
“Based near Woodstock, Adelman is a rootsy rural heartlands singer-songwriter with a ringing guitar and raspy voice that would suit any collection alongside Mellencamp, Parsons and Springsteen. The songs addressing the passing years and the changes they bring, it opens with the slow march beat, dobro-coloured ‘Oh Mama, Won’t You Take Me Back Home’ and proceeds through the steel-weeping Out Of Gas reflecting on growing older, the thematically linked slow swaying ‘(Why Are) Old Guitars (So Proud Of Their Age)’ and the crumbling relationship of ‘Another Bloody Mary. There’s uptempo numbers like ‘Kings Upon The Town’ and the choppy Johnny and June styled duet ‘Opposites Attract’, the bluesy picking call and response ‘Wink And A Smile’ and the Mariachi romp ‘Trying To Get Through Today’ (which also comes with a ¾ time version), but it’s the slower, emotionally stripped out tracks, such as the hobo narrative ‘Vagabond Shoes’, the Guy Clark-like ‘Can’t Sing The Blues No More’ and the strummed ‘One Of A Kind’ tribute to John Prine that elevate this to the albums of the year list.” – Fatea Magazine
“Before we get into the insightful, crafty, deeply lived splendors of his spirited, all at once gloomy and depressing and joyfully exhilarating, hard-hitting seventh album Western Soul, let’s just say it plainly: veteran Americana treasure and storyteller nonpareil Todd Adelman is the best thing to happen to Woodstock since…well, Woodstock.” – The JW Vibe
“It’s not just Todd Adelman’s country singing that might make you a believer. ‘Another Bloody Mary Morning’ is a tale as old as time. It’s a retelling of a night spent escaping reality and a morning spent regretting those actions. This isn’t a country-rock song praising the bottle, but one that dares to ask what’s hiding behind it. Adelman’s have a real poignancy to them and will resonate, especially with people putting off making those difficult decisions.” – Alt77
“Singer-songwriter, producer, and engineer Todd Adelman releases his latest album, Western Soul, a 14-track collection of songs exploring facets of The American Dream. Originally from Colorado, Adelman built The Woods, a recording studio in the Catskills, and it’s there that Western Soul was recorded… Chock-full of soul and spirit, Western Soul is unpretentious and a bit raw — two qualities that combine to make it an excellent album.” – Ink 19
And here’s a couple more good ones…