CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING : BEST OF LUCK

CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING : BEST OF LUCK

Have To Do For Now
Lucky Stars
Trouble Don't Follow Me
Until I Die
Made Up Your Mind
Blue Bed
Something In Return
Hear Me Calling
Waiting Game
Goodnight, Sweet Dreams

Label : Anti

Release Date : February 7, 2020

Length : 34:36

Review (AllMusic) : The fifth studio album from songwriter and skilled fingerpicker Christopher Paul Stelling, Best of Luck reflects a few changes in approach for the musician. Following years of near constant touring, Stelling stayed put for (effectively) the first time since his 2012 debut, putting down roots in Asheville, North Carolina and taking up a residency at the Stetson Kennedy estate in Florida while he worked on writing the album. It's his first with an outside producer, none other than Ben Harper, who expressed interest in working with Stelling after they toured together. Harper has stressed Stelling's soulful vocals as an underrated part of his charismatic style, one that fuses folk, blues, and more with his intricate playing and impassioned lyrics. Slightly smoothing out rough edges, both in terms of sound and frame of mind, Best of Luck is Stelling's most optimistic set to date, especially compared to its predecessor, the protest-fueled Itinerant Arias. He sounds calm and confident on the gratitude-filled "Lucky Stars," a sauntering ballad that features Harper on slide guitar and Hammond B-3, and Stelling's partner, Julia Christgau, on backing vocals. Here, even the decisively titled "Made Up Your Mind" offers the possibility of reevaluation. A similarly older and wiser version of Stelling appears on tracks like "Have to Do for Now" and "Something in Return," the latter a lesson in humility that offers an upside: "Praying for the patience for the trust we have to earn/If you give a little something you get something in return." An exception to the collection's generally even-keeled tone is "Hear Me Calling," a fiery rock tune with crashing cymbals and full-throated self-awareness. Joining Stelling on most of the tracks are bassist Mike Valerio (Neil Young, Randy Newman) and drummer Jimmy Paxson (Stevie Nicks, Ben Harper), who deliver deft accompaniment to a stylistically varied set that also includes the solo instrumental "Blue Bed," which shines a spotlight on the guitarist's rhythmic, harmonic, and technical skills on his instrument. However, the focus of Best of Luck is spirit over proficiency, and it closes on a guitar-free piano lullaby "Goodnight Sweet Dreams," a note of calm reassurance that looks forward to what's to come.

Review (Americana Highways) : A lot of our favorite musicians are pretty solitary individuals. It's evident in the term "singer-songwriter" - many tour solo, but even those with a backing band are calling most of the creative shots. So when the chance arrives to work with an ace producer, there may be some unexpected hesitation at the thought of collaboration - giving up control isn't easy. But the right mix can bring out the best in an artist. Asheville's Christopher Paul Stelling recorded his latest album, Best of Luck (Anti-), with a producer for the first time, and he started off with a good one - Ben Harper. The result is a collection of short, tight songs exploring some of the changes Stelling's made in his life. The first track, "Have To Do For Now," is primarily acoustic guitar and light percussion, while the lyrics explore stages in the singer's life, from a bad fall as a young boy to the struggles of a less-than-successful touring musician, as he pauses, ever so briefly, to consider where he's at: "I'm still alive, still alive/Wanna work more than to survive." In "Lucky Stars," Stelling finds some optimism in his self-examination: "Thank my lucky stars/They poke holes in the dark." The song also features some nifty slide work from Harper. The album's first single, "Trouble Don't Follow Me," is positively buoyant - Stelling notes that he wanted a song that he could "play night after night and not get tired of." Notes of defiance and resilience are sprinkled throughout the tune - "Tell injury you're on the mend" and "Push sorrow away/Up ahead there's clear bright skies" are but two of the perk-ups found in the lyrics - and it's all set to a bouncy, Motown-ish rhythm ("You Can't Hurry Love" came to mind while listening). Stelling comes by this fresh positively honestly - shortly before recording Best of Luck, he made several changes to his musical vagabond lifestyle, including giving up drinking. He says that "Trouble" was written in a "most difficult hour," which makes its joyousness all the more rewarding. As with anyone in recovery, Stelling knows that there are still dark hours ahead, and "Until I Die" is the swampy, bluesy rumination of a man who realizes he's not yet free from temptation - "Hey now be good, there's a hound dog/Baying out in the woods" - but has the love and support he needs: "My baby she gonna/Love me until I die/You know I keep on fighting until I die." But the album closes with a little more of Stelling's optimism. "Good Night Sweet Dreams" is a piano lullabye with the promise of more good days than bad - "So let's go to sleep/So we can have all those things." It's a hope that, helps anyone, sober or not, get up in the morning. Best of Luck was engineered and mixed by Jason Soda and mastered by Gavin Lurssen. All songs were written by Stelling, who also played guitar, piano and harmonica. Additional musicians include Harper (piano, organ, harmonium and bells), Soda (guitar and bass), Jimmy Paxson (drums and percussion), Mike Valerio (bass) and Julia Christgau (backing vocals).