"So, its blues, its jazz, its good old rock 'n roll, its Van Morrison, its early Wilco, its Krautrock, its irritating and enthralling in equal parts depending on ones mood, its Jack Kerouac, its late night driving music but mostly its one mans tour-de-force."--Tim Ford AMERICANA UK
'Dan has a powerful trump in his hands with his intelligent, existentialistic lyrics. There are little stories, like "Prison Letter", "Remember Me" and "The Drive", reminiscent of Earle and Springsteen.' --Johanna J. Bodde Insurgent Country
"He occasionally sounds like Ryan Adams, and shares Adams's debt to Paul Westerberg and penchant for genre hopping, but Dan Smolla is his own artist. Free from pretension, divorced from any particular scene (the free-folk movement is closer as a classification than alt.country, really), his music exists completely alone. Almost any other artist would be hipper or nicer to look at, but good luck finding even a handful of unknown performers who can match Dan Smolla in creativity, incisiveness and complete consistency."
-- Billy Gil SPLENDID EZINE
"A delicious blend of Tom Waits and
Whiskeytown, the pauses holding you breathless." --Maureen McCarthy
DEAD FLOWERS
**Johanna J. Bodde's Top 10 Albums: 2004
1. The Pones,
"Dwell", Self-Released, www.thepones.com
2. Terry Lee Hale, "Celebration What For", Blue Rose Records
3. Dan Smolla, "Under The Rainbow", Self-Released, www.dansmolla.com 4.
Chrissy Flatt, "Walk With Kings", Self-Released, www.chrissyflatt.com
5. Tom Mank and Sera Jane Smolen, "Souls Of Birds", I-Town Records
6. Rayna Kay, "Moondust In My Hand", R. Kay Records
7. Jim Hoehn, "Deadline Penitentiary", Boatfolk Records
8. Patti Witten, "Sycamore Tryst", Potent Folk/I-Town Records
9. The Rizdales, "Bar And Lounge", Williboy Recordings
10. Todd Snider, "East Nashville Skyline", Oh Boy Records
**Top 10s: Johanna J. Bodde - co-host (with Theo
Oldenburg) of the radio-show Alt.Country Cooking, Radio
Winschoten, The Netherlands, and writer for the website Insurgent Country, perhaps the richest source of Alternative Country and Roots Rock reviews and resources on the Internet.
**Top 10 Albums 2003 Tim Ford Americana UK
1. Rosanne Cash
"Rules Of Travel"
2. Shelby Lynne "Identity Crisis"
3. Carter Wood "Unspoken"
4. Lucinda Williams "World Without Tears"
5. Jayhawks "Rainy Day Music"
6. Jim Bryson "The North Side Benches"
7. Fountains Of Wayne "Welcome Interstate Manager"
8. Stephen Dawson & Diane Christiansen "Duets"
9. John Mellencamp "Trouble No More"
10. Dan Smolla "Swimming In Wind"
contact: [email protected]
