Track listing
2011 |
1 It’s Already Tomorrow 2 That’s What She Said 3 If It Hadn’t Been For You 4 Lucky Number 5 Picasso’s Mandolin 6 Hiding Out 7 Just This Once 8 Something ‘Bout Forever 9 Can’t Make Love Make Sense 10 Hold That Thought 11 Don’t Throw It Away 12 Watch Your Movie 13 When I Finally Let You Go |
Country Standard Time review
It's hard to believe that more than 20 years since Foster and Lloyd last released an album. It's even harder to believe when you give their new record, "It's Already Tomorrow," a listen. The harmonies, the hooks - they are all still there as if 1990 were only yesterday.
The duo acknowledges the passage of time in the album's title, which also serves as the lead-off track. The song is a jubilant, jangly rocker in which they marvel "It's already tomorrow, how did it get here so fast?" While it is about an enduring marriage, the tune could also be referring to a long-running friendship. The album, overall, has rather optimistic tone. Songs like the melodic Just This Once, the spare, heartfelt If It Hadn't Been For You and the just plain exquisite Something 'Bout Forever all beautifully extol the virtues of love.
It's not that there isn't some darkness to the disc too. The closing When I Finally Let You Go is an Everly-esque country tearjerker about ending a relationship while Don't Throw It Away tackles a relationship-gone-wrong from the opposite end of the sonic spectrum. With its big guitar riff, it is more Southern rock in nature. In fact, the album accents the rock in its country-rock sound. The hilarious bar rocker That's What She Said tosses out lines like "She's heard my single and double entendres/and they're both still working on her." Hold That Thought and the irresistible Lucky Number also project a guitar rock sound and good-timing feel, which might be accentuated by the present of Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson on guitar and bass (he also co-wrote Lucky Number).
Foster and Lloyd wrote all of the other songs together except for the one older number, Picasso's Mandolin, which they did with Guy Clark (who recorded it on his 1992 outing "Boats To Build"). Here Foster & Lloyd have added some new lyrics and some soulfulness while bringing back Sam Bush on mandolin. More country flavor can be found in the Jim Lauderdale-like Can't Make Love Make Sense and Texas-style rocker Hiding Out.
Despite their long hiatus, Foster & Lloyd have returned with a totally wonderful record - full of good spirits and great songcraft. Hopefully, they won't take 20 years to make their next collaboration
No Depression reader review
Posted by Todd James Newman on May 28, 2011 at 10:00am
In a better world than this world we live in, every music fan, musician, and songwriter would be hip to Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. I think that the fact that a decent amount of folks do dig them is a credit to how talented these guys are. I’ve always thought, or more likely wished, that cream would always rise to the top. As I’ve learned over the years, sometimes God-given talent does, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it makes strange appearances, such as some of Radney’s songs being hits for artists like Keith Urban and Sara Evans. If you go to Youtube, you’ll find many a cover version of Radney and Bill’s songs posted on there, all the way from a guy sitting in his living room with a funny looking guitar to a full band doing a song. That certainly says something. It’s proof to me that I’m not the only guy or girl being moved by their songs, blasting their cds loud in the car, or being inspired by them to write my own songs, make my own cds.
I go way back with Foster and Lloyd. I bought their first lp, bought the singles, bought everything they’ve done solo-wise since then. I’m no music writer, really, just a guitar player/songwriter/singer. I’d put these guys up there with The Beatles and Big Star as far as inspiring me to keep going, always against great odds, in the screwy music business, thinking that, hell, I’m a pretty decent songwriter, maybe this music thing is just in the blood, maybe it’s all about creating great music and not about doing something just for the money. It’s nice when the money decides to join the self-expression and digging around in the soul, but I’ve never had the feeling that Bill and Radney were in it just for the money. I know I’m not, since there isn’t any.
I’m not going to run down the entire Radney and Bill musical history right now—like I said, I’m not your average music writer and there’s likely better writers than me that can tell the tale with much more gusto and entertaining detail. Let me just say that Foster and Lloyd recorded three magnificent albums together, went their separate ways, and recorded and released solo albums after that. Radney’s albums were a bit more high profile than Bill’s, although both of their efforts were equally exciting and superb. Radney’s latest solo album “Revival” is one of the most personal and moving documents that I’ve heard ever. To me, it’s up their with John Lennon’s “:Plastic Ono Band” and Big Star’s “3rd/Sister Lovers.” And amazingly enough it came along just when I needed to hear it, as some records do. I won’t go into that right now, but let’s just say that it literally saved my life.
When I heard that Foster and Lloyd were going to do a new album together, I just about danced a jig. Maybe I did. I love their new cd “It’s Already Tomorrow” so much; it’s hard to really put it into words. The songs, the singing, the guitar playing, everything—amazing. The title track deserved to be a hit, as do most of the songs. “If It Hadn’t Been For You,” “Lucky Number,” “Watch Your Movie,” and literally every track on the cd had me going the very first spin. I’m about 30 listenings in at this point, and I’m not tired of hearing the songs yet. When was the last time you heard a cd where every song is just killer? Besides some of the Replacements albums, you’d have to travel back to the 70’s. What kind of genre is the music of Foster and Lloyd? Who cares about genres! I’m a melodic pop fiend and I love Americana, country, jazz, etc. I’m tired of genres. How about we file “It’s Already Tomorrow” by Foster and Lloyd under the heading of best cd of the year.
Philadelphia Inquirer review
In the late '80s, Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd recorded three albums that placed them somewhere among peers such as Rodney Crowell and Marshall Crenshaw - artists who were reinvigorating segments of what the Blasters called simply "American music," in this case country and guitar-pop. They split up in 1990 and have recorded fine solo work. Now they're back together and, well, it sounds as if they never left.
It's Already Tomorrow contains all the Foster and Lloyd hallmarks: a mix of Byrdsian jangle and Bakersfield twang, vibrant harmonies that recall the Everly Brothers, and superb songcraft that blends indelible hooks with emotional resonance. In other words, from the twin-guitar sparkle of the title track, which opens the album, to the poignant closer, "When I Finally Let You Go," this is music that is not about tomorrow or yesterday. Instead it's thrillingly timeless.
- Nick Cristiano