Spanning three decades, Phil’s appraisal work has touched on every type of property. As an appraiser, he values complex real estate problems by building on the foundation of time-tested principles, pursuing details tenaciously, and simplifying intricate facts and issues for effective communication.
The overall result is a loosely biographical album that narrates the Blind Boys' history from beginning to present.As an outdoor adventurer Phil Cook values intuitively the world’s incredible beauty, whether skiing the greatest snow on earth, canyoneering red rock country or summiting challenging peaks in rarified air. " just wanted to write some tunes informed by the Blind Boys' extraordinary lives," Leventhal says in a statement, recalling how tales from original members Jimmy Carter and Clarence Fountain inspired the three songs he and Cohn wrote for Almost Home. What unites these collaborators is a desire to give the Blind Boys the chance to share their remarkable story, from their early days in late-'30s Alabama through their participation in the civil rights movement and into the present.
Today, you can hear a four-song sampler from Almost Home, representing the album's all-star slate of songwriters and producers: In the latter chapters of the group's career it has worked with Justin Vernon, Mavis Staples, Willie Nelson, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and many more, stretching its repertoire while remaining centered in a commitment to faith and close harmony. The record's hyper-collaborative spirit is fitting, since part of what's kept the Blind Boys' sound vital is their openness to inspiration from every corner of Americana's big tent. 18, finds Blind Boys of Alabama performing songs written for the group by the likes of Valerie June, Megafaun's Phil Cook, John Leventhal and Marc Cohn. Yet the singers who make up Blind Boys of Alabama have always risen to the challenge with utter grace - and the group's forthcoming album, Almost Home, places a capstone on that history.Īlmost Home, out Aug. No doubt that hill is even harder to climb when you're working within a tradition like gospel, with its well-loved, and well-worn, harmonic and lyrical conventions. When you're a group that's performed together for more than seven decades, it might be a daunting task to keep crafting music that feels fresh. Blind Boys of Alabama's new album, Almost Home, will be released Aug.