Behold all the fine, smart people that have nice things to say about us.
And here are a few available interviews:
"One of America's best -- and most underrated -- songwriters."
--PopMatters (Jennifer Kelly)
"A
voice to turn good girls bad...Maybe crazy but damn exciting."
--The Village Voice
"One
of the East Coast's best-kept secrets, his wryly misanthropic schtick
is all his own. Live, he is the Bill Hicks of the blues. You need to see
him."
--What's On In London (Joe Cushley)
"What?
You want some kind of description of the artist and his music? Just fucking
listen to the guy and enjoy his prowess."
-- Frank Black a.k.a. Black Francis
"Reduce-you-to-tears
razor wit...Reid Paley ought to be a household name."
--Pittsburgh City Paper (Justin Hopper)
"A
proudly weird talent with a nervy raw appeal."
--Time Out New York (Mike Wolf)
"The
bastard child of Sinatra and Lemmy."
--Random Magazine UK (Jaz Rhodes)
"Put
simply, the Reid Paley Trio knows how to get down. He's got mischief in
his eye, Elvis in his joints, and booze everywhere else."
--NYRock (Jean Fury)
"Best
Actual Gig of the Year. Very very impressive."
--Sleazegrinder UK (Stu Gibson)
"A
soot-black sense of humor as biting as an underfed Rottweiler."
--Cleveland Free Times (Jason Bracelin)
"Another
impossibly excellent piece of work flying low, under the radar."
--Ink 19 (James MacLaren)
"Straightforward,
suicidal, funny and gifted at putting a song together."
--New York Press (Ned Vizzini)
"So
many critics wax how Reid Paley is underrated, undiscovered talent --
but it's actually true. He's an immensely talented singer-guitarist-songwriter.
When you listen to that subtly swinging rock and his deep bellow, it's
easy to tell something special is afoot. This is the "real thing",
but it doesn't comfortably fit in any category to reach the masses.”
--Cheap Thrills Boston
"More
messy jazz from a drunken genius."
--City Life, Manchester UK (Emma Unsworth)
"As
Baudelaire was the spleen of Paris, Reid Paley is the spleen of New York...
How else could he write such messianic blues, such prophetic rock 'n'
roll?"
--442éme Rue, Paris (Lionel Dekanel)
"Possessed
with the voice of a drunken wolf. Songs that roar."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Regis Behe)
“The
deliciously gravelly voice and Weillian pomp of tracks like “Yr
Polish Uncle” might put The Bad Seeds out of business. It’s
not often that adjectives like ‘clever’ , ‘dark’,
and ‘heartwrenching’ should be bandied about in the same sentence,
but Reid Paley Trio’s a special case. They’re a special NY
band.”
-- The Sentimentalist (Madeline Virbasius-Walsh)
"Paley’s
visionary take on modern music brings something quite exciting to the
table - syncopated rock with simplicity of feel, dark humour, cutting
remarks, witty poetic ramblings - all feeling like a breath of fresh air.
Wondrously intriguing, compelling as hell, and refreshingly original.”
--Toxic Pete UK
"Everyone
has a favorite drinking album. Right now, mine is REVIVAL."
--Seattle Weekly (Kurt B. Reighley)
“As
soon as Reid Paley sings you realise there’s something else in the
mix. A jazz-blues-rockabilly sound so distinctive that it takes a while
for your listening organs to balance the gruff, hoarse voice with the
excellent playing. A dark wit that will have you spitting your dinner
over the stereo in mirth.”
--SoundsXP UK (Ged M)
"Reid
Paley is the kind of artist Seattle loves."
--The Stranger (Erin Franzman)
"Blues
and jazz trip around his nocturnal growl in this accomplished collection.
There’s no holding back the ferocious swing of Take What You Want,
and the brooding Better Days manages to rouse the soul even when Paley
is staring destruction in the face. A gem worth uncovering.”
--The Big Issue UK (Lianne Steinberg)
REVIVAL:
"Best 50 Albums of the Year"
--Alternative Press
"Best
Of Manhattan"
--New York Press
"Four Stars"
--German Rolling Stone
"Brooklyn’s
gruff-toned, swivel-hipped troubadour sounds as cuddly as a grizzly bear
with a stubbed toe, but Saint Reid’s in your corner.
That
is, if your corner is full of tough broads and bastards, smooth whiskey,
and shit-eating grins.
Otherwise,
do yourself a favor: Don’t bother this charming man.
"
--
Village Voice (Fury)
"For
fans of churlish honesty and unaffected one-man shows, REVIVAL is a nonstop
riot."
--San Francisco Weekly (Silke Tudor)
"An
unholy howl of a voice."
--CMJ (Judy McGuire)
"Actually,
it's more than one date with this vampiric Brooklyn songwriter - it's
four. And lucky us. Paley lives on the darker side of Saturday night,
his witty ballads backed by a Czechoslovakian upright bass, a trap kit,
and a voice that sounds like a bag of gravel in a blender.
--City Life, Manchester UK (Emma Unsworth)
"Classic,
damaged to perfection...His music carves it's initials into your heart
with a rusty scaffolding bolt."
--MurphGuide (Kiimberly Massengill)
"Though
records like Revival drip with talent, sweat and humor, live is the way
to experience Paley."
--The Village Voice (Jason Gross)
"You
can love this album, or you can fear it!"
--Westzeit Magazine, Germany
"Unnerving
but all the more impressive for it...Let the good (and bad) times roll."
--ManchesterMusic
"I
sing along with St. Reid as if purity itself hung in the balance...He's
a red-blooded Brooklyn storyteller whose gruff, barking vocals and guitar
playing will boost your foot tapping into stomping. Songs about hard luck
and bastardization never sounded so good."
--The Village Voice (Jean Fury)
“For
all his simplicity, Reid is like nobody else.”
--Seattle Weekly (Kurt B. Reighley)
"A
great musical attraction...a sort of Sinatra for the disaffected."
--Mississippi Reflector (Jim Beaugez)
"A
jarring reminder of what rock'n'roll once was and could be again."
--The Washington Times (Derek Simmonsen)
"Brutally
honest and quite funny...Simple forms hit so hard by passion, intelligence
and humor that they stretch into something surreal."
--Splendid Magazine (Jennifer Kelly)
"He
commanded the mic and his guitar like a true badass Just Don't Give
a Fuck rock star should...A set that rocked right from his explosive
opening roar."
--Monsur.org
"Reid
Paley has a voice like a chainsaw cutting into a telephone pole. Bourbon-soaked
raw emotion, backed by a slapdash-good rhythm section."
--Baltimore City Paper
“Paley
is one of...check that, he's the only witty and acerbic songwriter around.”
--The Brutarian (Dominick Salemi)
"My
new favorite band...This white boy can belt out some of the most raucous,
foot-thumping, head-nodding blues I have witnessed in a long while...A
wonderful storyteller."
--Ink 19 (Rob Walsh)
"Paley's
exposed-nerve aesthetic comes through loud and clear. He's a raw romantic
with a sense of grand drama."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer (a. d. amorosi)
"What
this world needs is more singers with hell in their voice, something so
scarred and crumpled by smoke and bourbon that you know that shit is going
down. Thank goodness for Reid Paley."
--The Village Voice
"REVIVAL
has the immediacy of a blues album...too idiosyncratic to be summed up
in one category."
--In Pittsburgh (Mike Shanley)
"Reid
Paley's Revival is Album of the Year: I've gushed about this one several
times already. While I only bought it in September, I already consider
it to be one of my best drinking buddies."
--Fervor.net
"In
an era where Image is King, Paley shares with (Lenny) Bruce the same disdain
for bullshit, pretension and knuckleheads everywhere."
--Waterfront Week (Mark Keresman)
"This
man's voice is the most unique voice we've ever heard."
--TheCelebrityCafe.com
"Wild,
unpredictable and a great writer. Buy his CD."
--The Fevered Brain of RadioMike
"Paley's
bare-boned and bloody-knuckled approach grabs you like a shot of tequila
that's gone down the wrong pipe."
--Aquarian Weekly (Chris Uhl)
"Don't
miss Reid Paley, a gruff, bluesy rock troubadour with a bad attitude."
--The Washington Post
"A
monster set of vocal chords, a powerful strain of damnation, the dead-on
ring of a classic."
--Chemical Imbalance (Adnana Ashraf)
"Slightly
terrifying. Clearly, Reid Paley has every right to be fucked off with
the world, and every right to be drunk, and if we had half the brain he
does, we'd probably be drunk too..."
--San Francisco Weekly (Silke Tudor)
"Darkly
comic. "
--New York Press (Jim Knipfel)
"He was raw, unpolished, honest, and absolutely soulful."
--fuckingnostalgic
"A
throat like Howlin' Wolf or Screamin' Jay Hawkins. If it was my job to
make you buy this, I'd say that the production is handled by Frank Black.
However, Lucky's Tune is great enough that I don't have to do any name-dropping."
--Fright X
"Three things you can count on in this town: there will always be roaches under your stove, the train will be rerouted at the least opportune moment, and the Reid Paley Trio will entertain you."
--Lucid Culture
"A
legend waiting to happen."
--Muzic.com
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APPROXIMATE HELLHOUND REVIVAL LUCKY'S TUNE PALEY & FRANCIS
All
Songs written by Reid Paley unless otherwise noted ©1997-
2024 Reid Paley/The Monkey's Paw (BMI) All Rights Reserved
All Photos by Butch Belair unless otherwise noted
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