After more than 15 years, 5 albums, 2 EPs and countless shows as songwriter and front person for the band The Bean Pickers Union, Chuck Melchin called it a wrap and started a new project, The Bluest Sky. The stated goal of this new band was to move from the more acoustic based, introspective songs and create more up-tempo, plugged in music recalling the alt. country bands of the mid 90’s. The eponymous debut record was released in the spring of 2023, with Maximum Volume calling it “nothing more and nothing less than what happens when a collection of gifted musicians get together to do what they were born to do. A quite brilliant new chapter in the great American songbook”
Chuck is now releasing a second Bluest Sky album, Raindancer, continuing the move towards a more upbeat and electric sound. Continuing the post Covid trend of remote recording, six of the ten tracks were recorded in the home studios of each musician and mixed by the amazing Dave Westner. The remaining four songs were tracked live and mixed by Dave Coleman in Nashville.
There are outstanding performances throughout the record including virtuoso guitar work by Andy Santospago, Mike Giordano, Gary Goodlow and Jabe Beyer. Drums are split between Rick Cranford, Dave Westner and Karen Goodlow, and they are all good. Duncan Watt delivers gorgeous piano and organ tracks and the bass guitar duties are shared by three Daves – David Breen, Dave Westner and Dave Coleman.
Raindancer is basically a guided tour of human relationships and love.
The “raindancer” in this form is not someone dancing to bring rain, rather it’s someone who is dancing in the rain. It’s the difference between hope and desperation. It’s living in the moment instead of worrying about what you can’t control. It’s finding someone to cherish. It’s love.
Praise for Chuck Melchin:
“…top-notch Americana, spellbinding lyrics and sumptuous melodies” – Americana-UK
“Melchin’s songwriting is vivid and deep, exploring the human condition in a realised and empathic way” – Folk & Tumble
“…the aural equivalent of a Hopper painting” – Twangville
TRACKLISTING:
01 Battlefield (4:30)
02 Girl From My Building (4:10)
03 This is What Poets Mean (5:46)
04 Skinny Lady (3:17)
05 Crop Circles (3:57)
06 The Weight of Being (3:22)
07 6280 Feet (2:49)
08 Queen of the Sick Burn (2:54)
09 The Circle (3:50)
10 Smuggling (3:13)
All songs by Chuck Melchin
Format: CD, DL & STREAM
Label: SELF-RELEASED
Release Date: AUGUST 23 2024