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With every new release and every live performance, four time W.C. Handy / Blues Music Award nominee Tad Robinson continues to build his fan base.
Robinson has 4 critically acclaimed recordings to his credit – in addition to adding his affecting vocals and harp to other projects – and stands shoulder to shoulder with the best Soul / Blues vocalists on the planet. On the strength of his breakthrough release Did You Ever Wonder?, Robinson received National recognition when he was nominated for two 2005 W.C. Handy Awards – for Soul / Blues Vocalist of the Year and Soul / Blues Album of the Year. While serving as validation of his obvious talent, the acknowledgement didn't translate into wide-reaching success. His latest release, A New Point Of View, that has earned him the same two 2008 Blues Music Award nominations, however, may signal a change in the wind.
Robinson has always delivered the goods, be it with his take on Chicago style Blues or old school Soul. He always displayed the grit and just the right amount of tenderness to get his ideas across to listeners. And he could do it expressing others' sentiments as well as his own “small glimpses of life” songs. Now, on top of everything Robinson brings to the table, he ups the emotional ante by adding a calm restraint, a cool sophistication to his sound. On, arguably, the best release to emerge from the new Soul factory, Severn Records, Tad and the Severn house band have set a 2000's Soul / Blues standard. The material – including 9 originals – is strong, the Severn house band augmented by long time friend and guitar stalwart Alex Schultz has the idiom down, and Robinson, drawing on all his influences, delivers the high water mark of his career to date.
The disc opens with “Long Way Home” finding a poised Robinson weaving a story about taking “roads I don't even know” to delay the eventuality of arriving home to an empty house. A gorgeous melody belies the pain of “no need to hurry / when there's no one there to hold”. With echoes of Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye, and Isaac Hayes; it's a masterful cut that sets the tone for the rest of a superb recording. A New Point Of View has earned accolades across North America, having debuted at #2 on the Living Blues Radio Charts and remaining on the charts for several months.
There are only a handful of singers on the scene today who possess the honesty and conviction required to do these songs justice. Tad Robinson is one of those select few - it’s as simple as that!
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