The album opens with a powerful and moving number, “Batten Down The Hatches,” which features some great work by Deron Johnson on grand piano. Chris Pierce’s vocal performance is soulful and friendly as he begins, and then check out the way he belts out certain lines, such as “On the sea with no sight of the shore.” Yes, he tackles the current state of the world in this excellent opening song, with certain lyrics standing out, such as “What is sacred anyway, when you can swipe it all away/And a perfect picture is your dying wish” and “It’s never been great, so stop fooling yourself/While you’re at it, start making it better,” that last an answer to the question that we ask those Make America Great Again people, “When exactly was it great?” This is a song with a message, but he is not up on some soap box here. Rather, he is in the thick of things. This a voice shouting up from the fray, and raising us all up in the process. Plus, this track features special guest Ginger Murphy joining him on cello. It’s a fantastic song, one of his best.
Chris Pierce then gets bluesy with “45 Jukebox,” which has a catchy rhythm once it gets going. “Spirit like a 45 jukebox/Waiting on the drop of a dime/Records are my road to freedom/I’ve been waiting this whole damn life for my song to arrive.” This track is so delicious, and it features some great backing vocal work and some good guitar work. And Chris Pierce delivers a cool harmonica part in the middle. There is more fun harmonica work as the song is reaching its conclusion. This one was written by Chris Pierce and Sam Hollander. That’s followed by “Overdue,” also written by Chris Pierce and Sam Hollander. This one also has a blues element, along with a catchy rhythm. “Something’s gotta give, can’t take no more/For a hundred years, we’ve been here before/Check your clock, hold the line/Push on through ‘til we see the light.” This is an empowering song, encouraging action, and it has a positive, optimistic sound, rather than an angry one, and that makes change feel all the more inevitable. You know? May we all remain as positive as this song.
“Meet Me At The Bottom” has a fantastic, soulful vibe. This is another song where the power and heart of his voice are so striking, and also so inviting. It begins with these lines: “Walked through hell in a raincoat/Seen too many storms/Every day it rains on me/Can’t take anymore/And I know you’ve been strugglin’/Like I’ve been strugglin’ too/You can meet me/Meet me at the bottom.” This track contains more great backing vocal work, and some excellent work by Dave Palmer on piano. Then “Tulsa Town” creates an intriguing atmosphere at the beginning, with that drum work and the gorgeous strings (that’s Ginger Murphy again). Chris Pierce gives a compelling, haunting vocal performance. Check out these lyrics: “Yesterday we’d both agree/What’s this got to do with me/If they’d just, sweet lord, let me be/Here in Tulsa Town/But they never listened to my plea/And tied me to this hanging tree/But that’s the way it goes, you see/When they’re burnin’ Tulsa down.” That backing vocal work is like a ghost moving through the ashes, just incredible. And that work on strings is so moving. This is a highlight of an album where all the tracks are strong. It was written by Chris Pierce and Mark Malone.
On “Mr. McMartin,” also written by Chris Pierce and Mark Malone, Chris Pierce switches to a lighter tone with a pleasant vibe, yet with lyrics that don’t shy from saying something. “It really, really doesn’t matter/The same old broom will sweep up after/Miles of sidewalk day on day/He wonders of another way/But human hearts are slow to change.” This is a wonderful character sketch, and on another level the character addressed is our larger nation. That’s followed by “American Silence.” This song was the title track to Chris Pierce’s 2021 album, and he revisits it here with a new rendition, this time with a fuller sound but still featuring that nice work on harmonica. This is another strong track, more firmly in the folk realm, featuring a passionate vocal performance. “Can we sing a song for you/Will music move your heart and mind/Will our song arrest you/American silence is a crime.” “Sidney Poitier” establishes an interesting atmosphere as it starts. This is a song about the world losing Sidney Poitier, who died last year. There is a spoken word section in the second half: “Sidney, Los Angeles will miss you, though it no longer remembers why/That’s okay, that’s okay.” This is an excellent tribute. It’s followed by “Time Bomb,” a song written by Chris Pierce and Sunny War. Sunny War joins him on vocals and guitar on this thoughtful, soulful number. “Rewrite the story ‘til you’re happy in it.”
“Home” has a Bo Diddley-type beat that always works to raise our spirits and get our feet moving. I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a bad song titled “Home.” Seriously, there are excellent songs with that title by artists like Ellis Paul, Erica Blinn, Michelle Malone, The Evangenitals, The Spongetones, Modern English, The Ides Of March, Joe Walsh, James Houlahan, Janiva Magness, Angela Easterling, Iggy Pop, Fernando Perdomo, Christina LaRocca and Anton Fig. And Chris Pierce adds to that list of great songs with this track, in which he sings, “You can always go home/No matter where you’re coming from/Come on in, sit down now/There’ll be no questions asked/Leave your trouble at the door/In here the past is the past is the past.” This one was written by Chris Pierce and Kaveh Rastegar. That’s followed by “Magic And Light.” In this song he sings about how sometimes you can’t find a friend. Well, his voice acts as a friend, a friend to all who listen, to all who need a little encouragement. “And when there’s only clouds/And raindrops coming down/Be your own silver lining/And when life lets you down/All your hopes and dreams.” We all get lost and lonely from time to time, and music like this is there to help us through the darker times.
“Get Yourself Right” has a nice groove, and contains some lines that stand out, such as “This city’s insane, it will eat you alive” and “But now things have changed, speeding out of control.” I think we can all relate to that feeling. And of course the line “Get yourself back to where you belong” makes me think of The Beatles. That’s followed by “We Can Always Come Back To This,” a beautiful song that was featured in a few episodes of This Is Us. It was written by Chris Pierce and Siddhartha Khosla. “You’re not alone/Oh, I’m always, I’m always here with you/No matter where we go from here.” Then we get the album’s sole cover, and it’s a surprising choice, “Drive” by The Cars, a song from that band’s Heartbeat City album, released in 1984. This song even back then was kind of a surprise, different from the rest of the band’s output (at least what I had heard), and sung by Benjamin Orr rather than Ric Ocasek. Chris Pierce does a great job with it, delivering a moving rendition, one that might very well bring tears to your eyes. Just listen to him sing, “Who’s gonna pay attention to your dreams/And who’s gonna block your ears when you scream/You can’t go on/Thinking nothing’s wrong/Who’s gonna drive you home tonight.” The album then concludes with “Ain’t No Better Time,” featuring another beautiful and soulful vocal performance. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned/Tables can always turn/Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow’s on its way.” Oh yes, I bet there are a lot of folks who need that reminder, that hope. As Chris sings here, “It’s not too late.” This is another of the album’s highlights.
CD Track List
- Batten Down The Hatches
- 45 Jukebox
- Overdue
- Meet Me At The Bottom
- Tulsa Town
- Mr. McMartin
- American Silence (Revisited)
- Sidney Poitier
- Time Bomb
- Home
- Magic And Light
- Get Yourself Right
- We Can Always Come Back To This
- Drive
- Ain’t No Better Time
Let All Who Will is scheduled to be released on September 1, 2023.
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