You can stream ABC Nashville’s Colin Linden’s new CD until September 25, 2015
By Stephen Pate – If you’re a fan of ABC’s popular Nashville series – I sure am – then you have heard the music of Colin Linden, who is a musician, director and composer on the popular TV show.
In a time when too much country music is boring and formulaic, the songs on Nashville are catchy and feel genuine.
Colin has a new CD “Rich in Love” which you can stream free for the next few days before its official release.
On ABC’s Nashville Colin Linden wears many hats, all directed at getting the shows great country music. He’s the guy with the round face and fuzzy beard, picking and grinning.
“Linden has been a main musician, music producer, music director and songwriter for the ABC television show “Nashville” since its start in 2012. He has performed electric, acoustic and slide guitar on the majority of the show’s recorded musical numbers and appears regularly on-screen in many of the live performance scenes.” Wikipedia
Originally from Toronto Canada, Colin Linden has performed with Bob Dylan and at the White House for President Obama, plays in Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and produces other musicians in Nashville.
Colin’s music is in regular rotation at our place, including being in the top 5 road trip selections. I can’t tell you yet if the new CD is better than Colin’s previous great CD’s – I am just listening to it for the first time as I type this story. “Rich in Love” sounds great. The guitar playing is very tasty and Colin’s vocals are inimitably his, a rich mixture of blues and country.
You can stream it yourself from the CBC. Rich in Love – Colin Linden. You can pre-order the CD from Amazon.com Rich In Love
Rich in Love – Colin Linden
From Stony Plain records – Colin Linden’s upcoming album, Rich In Love, is available to stream today courtesy of CBC Music. Set for release on September 25 on Stony Plain Records the new record marks a return to the same label that released Colin’s first studio album, The Immortals (1986) and also represents his first new studio recording since From The Water (2009).
Sporting a beautiful cover designed by Jim Sherraden of Nashville’s famed Hatch Show Print, Rich In Love was produced, recorded, and performed by Colin Linden (guitars, vocals, ukuleles and mandolins) and his band, affectionately known as The Rotting Matadors: John Dymond on bass and Gary Craig on drums. Special guests include multiple Blues Music Award-winner and six-time Grammy nominee Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, legendary keyboardist Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Amy Helm (Levon Helm, Ollabelle) on harmony vocals, and organist Tim Lauer (Rodney Crowell, Keb’ Mo’, Allison Moorer, Lady Antebellum).
The songs transport the listener through lustful encounters, remorse-laden retrospectives, and forlorn longing, while the music takes influences from blues, country rock and roots. And then there is the playing, where every guitar pluck, bass note, subtle drum sweep or organ solo from this consummate musician and his band adds to the stories. It is a truly captivating package, a polished roots diamond, a treasure to reflect on and restore the soul. “While the music on my new album covers a lot of influences, I still think of myself as a blues player, whatever I’m doing,” says Linden.
The 12 all-original songs on Rich In Love were written by Linden, solo or in tandem with other writers such as his wife, Janice Powers(a published novelist), band member John Dymond and Grammy winners Gary Nicholson and Tom Hambridge. According to Linden, album cut “Delia Come for Me” had a particularly interesting genesis. “It was partially inspired by the 2011 execution in Georgia of Troy Davis for murder, whose subsequent investigation raised serious questions about his guilt; a case which reminded me of the old traditional country blues ballad, ‘Delia.’”
Rich In Love comes at a time when Colin Linden is a very much in-demand musician. In addition to being one third of the much revered super-group Blackie And The Rodeo Kings, Linden has recently played on Gregg Allman’s Grammy-nominated Low Country Blues, as well as on Grammy-winner Rhiannon Giddens’ most-recent album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, and Diana Krall’s 2012 album, Glad Rag Doll.
In 2013, Linden was tabbed by Bob Dylan to play guitar in the music icon’s band for his summer tour. Recently, he was the featured guitar player on the PBS-TV special saluting gospel music, “In Performance at the White House”, backing such luminaries as Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Shirley Caesar, and the aforementioned Rhiannon Giddens. In recent years, he’s also played on the soundtracks for a number of feature films, including Inside Llewyn Davis, The Hunger Games, R.I.P.D., and the acclaimed documentary, A Place At The Table. And on August 29, he’ll be the music director for the special tribute to legendary Sun Records founder Sam Phillips scheduled at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The catalyst for all of these performances has been the celebrated producer extraordinaire T Bone Burnett, who has created some of the most lauded music performed on record, television and film over the last fifteen years. It was Burnett who originally selected Colin Linden to work on the first season of the hit ABC-TV series, Nashville. Over the past three years, he’s been working in that same role with his close friend and the show’s executive music producer, Buddy Miller, as Nashville enters its fourth season of production. Officially credited as Performance Consultant and Coach on the show, Linden plays on almost 75% of the music heard on the program and supervises all of the music shoots that take place on the screen. He’s also been the bandleader for both national tours that the “Nashville” cast has taken on the road across the country.
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