The Soul of Western Soul
“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
“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.” – Americana UK
Todd Adelman’s 2025 release Western Soul, is a fourteen-song prescription for what ails The American Dream. It’s as if Adelman has checked the vitals, extracted a little blood & scrutinized our diet of political chaos, rampant illness & overwhelming violence & recommended something honest & straight from the gut. Western Soul is a batch of songs borne right out of the American Songwriting Tradition. An homage & a tribute to all those great records we know & love & feel like have been with us from the start. Like the mythical country singer Bad Blake says, “that’s the way it is with the good ones, you’re sure you’ve heard ‘em before”. &, like his predecessors, Petty & Kristofferson & Prine, Adelman is a Keeper of the Keys. An honest Rock ‘n’ Roller. A Country Gentleman. A Storyteller. Straight to the heart. Without pretension or meanness, just an interest in writing a song. A good one. & that’s what Adelman does over & over again.
With seven albums under his belt, Singer, Songwriter, Producer & Engineer, Todd Adelman has arrived in the Catskills via Colorado & built a studio in the woods simply called: The Woods. A place reminiscent of where all your favorite records were made. Tape machines & vintage gear &, if you listen closely, the voices of those that came before. It was here in this new, old space, Adelman recorded Western Soul, straight to tape with the help of some choice friends. The record was produced by Woodstock Producer/Musician Danny Blume with production assistance given to bassist Taras Prodaniuk and guitarist Doug Pettibone. Veteran Jim Christie joins them on the drums. Both Christie & Prodaniuk have played with: Dwight Yoakum, Lucinda Williams & Merle Haggard. Pettibone has played with Lucinda Williams, Zucchero, Marianne Faithful and Vic Chestnut to name a few. Throw in some Woodstock locals such as Larry Campbell, John Medeski, Pete Rubens, Tony Garnier, and Brian Mitchell & you have quite a stew.
You would think one would rest easy with building a studio that rivals any of the legendary studios in the area & writing & recording a new record… but while all of that was happening, Adelman has quietly put together a top-notch band called The Woodsmen. Adelman on vocals & guitar, Danny Blume (Kid Creole & the Coconuts) on guitar, Jeff Hill (Steve Earle & The Dukes) on bass & John Valesio (Mars America) on drums. The band has assembled enough songs to enter the studio in early 2024 to begin recording a new record.
It’s no surprise really. To spend time with Adelman is to spend time with an old friend. Easy to talk to. Thoughtful & funny. A great listener & calming presence. He talks about making records & making friends & building relationships & how it’s all kind of the same thing. He talks about meeting someone & not knowing them from Adam & by the time they have finished making a record together they have a bond that can’t be broken & they are as close as kin, even though they may never see each other again. Adelman possesses that tough skin only serious producers have. He gives it to you straight. He seems to want to get to the bottom of it. The truth of it. He wants to hear the song the artist is trying to write & he wants to get it down before it leaves the room. A ghost hunter trying to summon the true spirit evoked & bring it here among the living so we can learn & heal & be together.
Spend some time with Todd Adelman. Listen to one of his records. Visit him in his studio, or catch him live, solo or with his phenomenal band. It’s all the same thing. He will make you a true believer. You will know you’ve met him somewhere before & you’ve heard his tunes, maybe in another place or another bar or another life?
– by Marc Delgado
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Press
“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
“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
“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
“It almost seems effortless at this point. Todd Adelman has put forth five mind-blowing Americana albums over his career and his sixth album Time Will Tell comes off as equally sublime. The fact that it was recorded live in just three days conjures the images of a master painter in their studio deftly casting off quick museum-worthy sketches. Early on Adelman found the knack at blending poetic, folky lyrics with a 1970s AM radio amalgamation of rock and country — the real crux of which is his ability to never go too rock, too country or too folky, but to sit perfectly balanced on the fulcrum between the genres…”
Marquee Magazine
“Despite the fact he has six albums to his credit, each of which with a different ensemble, Colorado-based singer/songwriter Todd Adelman hasn’t gotten very much notice up until this point. It’s especially strange that he hasn’t struck more of a chord with Americana audiences, especially since his music brings to mind the weary resilience of such revered individuals as Gram Parsons, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt and the grandaddy of them all, Hank Williams…”
Glide Magazine
“This is a superb recording. More John Prine than country, Adelman is a first rate songsmith with clever lines like, “I’m gonna love you til the color fades out of my eyes/til the sun turns black/heaven and earth collide.” Recorded live at the Mountain House in Nederland, Colorado, this is a thoroughly enjoyable disc — reminding us that there are many talented musicians just not getting the exposure they deserve. This clearly deserves that exposure…”
Roots Music Report
“…Which is what impresses me most about Time Will Tell. They aren’t out to bowl you over. They are just musicians doing what musicians do— playing— and they play more than well enough to make their mark. They have to to have made me think Cowboy because Reach For the Sky was more than just an album to me, I loved and love it so much. The more I hear Time Will Tell, the more I like it too. I might even love it some day. Time will tell how much. So far, so good.”
No Depression
I’ll call this one now … easily the BEST alternative country record of the year out of Colorado – and maybe the best alt-country record I’ve heard this past year, period. As I sit and listen to this record from beginning to end, yet one more time, what comes to mind is some of the best of Gram Parsons and absolutely among the best of Ryan Adams “country” records. Yes, this is heady company to place Todd’s voice and songs in, but it fits. I am instantly transported to my youth listening to the Byrd’s Sweethearts of the Rodeo, the Flying Burrito Brothers and then records like Whiskeytown’s Faithless Street in the early nineties. Had this record come out about the time of Steve Earle’s Exit 0 or Dwight’s Lookin’ for A Hit, or early Uncle Tupelo or Wilco, Todd would be a venerable heritage name today in the alt-country field. As it stands today, I’ll place this one high on the shelf of newly discovered lost rare gems of Americana/Alt-country-rock … it’s really really really that good. A solid “10”.
The Colorado Sound
Country Standard Time review of Time Will Tell
No Depression review of Time Will Tell
Roots Music Report review of Time Will Tell.
Mother Church Pew preview of Tired of Being Tired from Time Will Tell.
Glide Magazine review of Time Will Tell
Don and Sheryl’s Blues Blog review of Time Will Tell
Midwest Record review of Time Will Tell
BillyBob.be review of Time Will Tell
Posters
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