Anders Osborne
American Patchwork
Alligator Records
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This is Anders Osborne’s first disc on the Alligator label, the venerable blues label that has become synonymous with the genre, and it is a breakout disc for this ever growing native of Sweden. On this aptly titled disc Osborne’s songs are reflective of how his adopted country, USA, is filled with of opportunity, a place where his home and city, New Orleans, were underwater and a skeleton of that which he knew. His friends and accomplices scattered, missing, or their lives and livelihoods afloat in far distant places, and yet through inspirational patching something resembling normalcy can be achieved. Putting the bigger to smaller and vice versa in to perspective. The songs, he wrote all 10 of them, though “Standing With Angels” was co-written with Stanton Moore, are strong on the efforts that have gone into all the rebuilding efforts of all concerned. Mr. Moore also co-produced this disc with his buddy Mr. Osborne and he handles the drums with the care and precision that he always handles that joy in his group Galactic, and has made him one of the most in-demand drummers today.
Anders Osborne is one of those rare individuals where every time you try to break down what his biggest strength is: Is it his song writing? His guitar playing? His singing?
That is when you come to the conclusion that this is one well-integrated individual, who possesses equal talents in all three fields. He writes powerful songs that speak on both the individual and group level. Diverse artists such as Keb Mo and Tim McGraw have recorded some of his songs. He plays guitar with a deft touch; at times ripping out the steel on steel slide guitar notes with a ferocity that forces the listener to listen and at other ties is picking with a delicate touch and great sensitivity. His singing shows the soul of the man, and he has the ability to put his heart into each song. He is a person who has traveled the world, oft times when younger doing it on a shoestring budget, and he has assimilated the nuances of the different music’s of the world. His songs don’t truly stick to a genre but blend and homogenize the different sounds. A wonderful talent on display here and someone who is even better when seen live.