Keith Miles "What It Was They Became" (Independent 2006)

There’s a long road left before us and miles to go before we sleep….

Born in Virginia, resident to Nashville, Keith Miles has led a colourful life as newspaper journalist, spent time in the employ of a US Senator and a Public relations firm. In fact, in the last thirty years, Keith Miles has done pretty much anything other than be a musician.

Throughout this time though, Miles has been writing and performing his songs whether with a band of local friends or just in his lounge whenever opportunity arose.

In usual circumstances it is with pretty good reason that such ‘reluctant’ performers never commit anything to tape… but in the case of ‘What It Was They Became’ it is truly inexplicable.

Having recruited a great band and local producer, Jack Sundrud, Miles has set about documenting his work, it was appear as nothing more than a vanity project – but just how short sighted can one man be?

This is an assured and confident set of performances by a man that I would have put money on having spent much of his life in a recording studio. His soft, aching voice has a touch of David Olney about it and the material mines a similar seam to that the likes of Olney, Guy Clarke, Jerry Jeff Walker and Mickey Newbury made their own. In fact a smoky reading of Newbury’s ‘Just Dropped In’ seals the deal.

Stand out, in both name and title is ‘Nolichucky Idyll’ a spoken word travelogue with line after line of lyrical gems that would have many of the writers far more common to visitors of this site, throwing up their hands in surrender.PG

Date review added:  Friday, October 27, 2006
Reviewer:  Pete Gow
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Artist website