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Bill Chambers continues to shine with this diverse
collection of great songs. As the Producer he's having fun with
the music, giving it all he's got in the whacked out instrumental
solos, allowing Australia's best musicians to excel. As the Singer
he can touch your heart with his deep, textured, gently restrained
voice that sometimes is almost spoken. Bill's dazzling work on
guitar, lap steel, dobro and slide adds the grit and dynamics
his live shows are famous for. As a Songwriter he's tender, angry,
forsaken, disillusioned, funny, philosophical and beautifully
poetic.
"There's nothin' worse than a raging thirst
When you're drownin' in the rain
You live so fast but it only lasts
As long as a sniff of cocaine
Then they lower you down
In the frozen ground
Where hell lurks just below
And you're colder than the winter
And you're fallin' like the snow"
The Courier Mail described 'Frozen Ground' as "A rough diamond of an album, honest and uncontrived", giving it a four star review. It covers different styles from classic country to blues, rock and points in between. From the fiery kiss of the first single 'Chasing Rainbows' to the back-against-the-wall fighting spirit of 'This Ain't Your Town' through the sweet tenderness of 'Little Man' and the modern gospel track 'Stranger', 'Frozen Ground' bears testament to both Bill's influences and his vision. The Floods' Kevin Bennett appears on a swampy version of Cash's 'Big River' in an arrangement that puts a turbo charge under the original boom chicka boom.
"We knew we didn't want to do it straight. We ended up with something that was like Johnny Cash-meets-Tony Joe White," says Bill.
Richard Jinman from The Sydney Magazine called 'Frozen Ground' "a fine collection of country blues songs with dirt under their fingernails. A lifetime of bitter experience in the sweetest melodies. Sonically the album is reminiscent of Daniel Lanois eerily spacious work; all elongated guitar phrases, shuffling drums and ambient rumbling, and the combined effect is as seductive as hell."
For Bill Chambers' website click here |
