Josh Harty “A Long List Of Lies” (Magnolia Recording Company, 2009)

It’s been a long time coming but well worth the wait.

Josh, Josh – where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you. We need someone with songs that help us heal. At last you’ve arrived and thank the Lord for that.

This is Harty’s second album, arriving six years after his debut “Three Day Notice”. Now I’ve never heard his first album, but his second feels like a long lost friend has arrived home after being away for far too long. Someone with whom you can pick up things immediately despite the intervening years of absence. This album provides that sort of familiarity and intimacy.

Apparently this album went through a number of different recording stages, and producers, until Harty was happy with it, but he’s produced something he can be proud of, and the angst he experienced was worthwhile.

‘December’ and ‘Time’ displays some fine finger picking, which he may well have picked up from his support slots with Kelly Joe Phelps, and the latter surges along with an accompanying accordion, whilst the former brings in some tough, but gentle, searing lead guitar.

He revisits the picking style as a brief intro to ‘Where Did I Go Wrong?’ which then develops into a very catchy tune with some lovely understated lead guitar. ‘Overtime’ has got that picking again, and perhaps, thinking about it a little more, it’s because of this virtuosity that he was invited to support Phelps?

I’m not a huge fan of the finger picking style that Harty is patently so good at, but he doesn’t let it overshadow the entire album, as that could be particularly tiresome and make us all run for the hills. He uses his dextrous fingers to pick out a tune or a rhythm and then utilises the rest of the band to provide a much rounder sound that absolutely compliments what he’s doing. So whilst his particular style is “there”, it’s not overpowering to the point of distraction and he doesn’t flog it to death.

‘Country Song’ tells a simple tale of when someone is feeling down and the other party outlines their feelings of sorrow with the repeated words “I never meant to hurt you”. Ably supported by a cello and Jentri Colello on vocals this short and sweet ballad gets straight to the point.

‘You & I” is a song about a break up that’s been a long time coming, but neither party wants it to end and are trying to find a way to make it work “one more time”. “One more chance and everything’s gonna be alright”, he opines, whilst knowing it just isn’t going to be, “Looking back and we both knew, that over was what this was coming to”.

‘Which Way I Go’ started this theme as the protagonist worries about the state of his relationship and no matter what he does it won’t resolve the issue. Conversely ‘Long Time Coming Down’ is uplifting, both in its musical style and it's optimistic message that things now need to move on.

Songs of sadness and joy are here; all delivered with a certain panache and fully utilising Harty’s baritone timbre that he truly excels at.

Date review added:  Saturday, April 18, 2009
Reviewer:  Phil Edwards
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Josh Harty website