Hal Ketchum – Awaiting Redemption
Originally scheduled for release more than a year ago under the ridiculous title Hal Yes, this record was shelved in favor of the more commercially palatable I Saw The Light last year. Its release now is a genuine cause for celebration, as Ketchum abandons the lighter touch of previous outings for a mournful, soulful take on the travails of love, faith and the like.
In fact, Awaiting Redemption, produced by the ever-reliable Stephen Bruton, is quite unlike anything to come out of Nashville this year. Relentlessly downbeat, it’s a virtual dark-of-night R&B record, and features some of the best singing to surface from Nashville this year. On the passionate, funky title track, Ketchum sounds like he doesn’t really expect any redemption; elsewhere, the almost unbearably melancholic “Days Of Wonder” looks back on the time before a good love went stale.
Bruton also contributes some great guitar work, including slide on “Days Of Wonder” and slashing solos on “The Unforgiven” and the title track. Ketchum wrote or co-wrote ten of the dozen songs here, including the striking “When Blue Was Just A Color”. He’s made decent records before, but this is the first that really sounds from the heart.