There are beautiful melodies and insightful lyrics, a sound of wide-open spaces and a vibe that’s both timeless and contemporary, and there’s this majestic elegant voice. Joseph Parsons’ new album Digging For Rays has got everything you want from a song-oriented album in 2019 and then some. Sure, Parsons is a singer-songwriter but he’s also a widely-traveled musician in the here and now and his 13th studio album effortlessly reflects both.
The Pennsylvania & Louisiana raised artist currently residing in Germany draws from the familiar well of folk and rock to create something new – a music that’s exciting and current without eschewing its roots or catering to the dance-oriented zeitgeist. In other words: It’s the kind of album this writer thinks you’ve been waiting for.
Songs like “Living Things” with its propelling beat, the acoustic, elegiac “Sad Parade”, the dark, driving rocker “Wide Awake” and the beguiling “Beautiful Lie” all sound fresh and original and are elevated by a one-of-a-kind voice. Parsons is a deliberate, controlled singer who conveys emotional depth with subtlety and nuance – and a lot of lure.
Digging For Rays is Parsons’ way of saying “searching life for a little light, for rays of hope & sunshine” – sorely needed considering the shape the world is in and, specifically, his home country. “I’m still an optimist even when things look bleak”, Parsons says. Music helps him maintain his equilibrium and positive outlook.
Over the course of a dozen studio albums, various live & collaborative projects and more than twenty years of touring, Joseph Parsons has established himself as a world class singer and writer, great all-around musician and an immensely personable performer. And yet he still keeps pushing himself, adding modern sounds to his palette to create another eminently listenable album that reveals deeper layers with every repeated listening. Some of his songs are introspective and provide keen insight, while others are written from the vantage point of an astute observer and chronicler of this ever-changing world. It is a world he knows well having lived in many places over the years from Los Angeles to Baghdad to Berlin.
Parsons also draws from artists like songwriting greats James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and outside-the-box-thinkers like Miles Davis, Paco de Lucia, Bob Marley and Daniel Lanois. From these ingredients he creates original music unconcerned with fitting into a specific genre. The only thing that counts for Parsons is a good song. And how does he measure if it’s a good song? “When it reaches the heart & soul of the listener,” Parsons says. Undoubtedly, the 10 songs of Digging For Rays do exactly that.
released March 15, 2019
Produced by Joseph Parsons
Songs Arranged by Joseph Parsons Band
Recording Engineered by Sven Hansen
Remote Recording in Jerúsalem (Coligny), France
Additional Recording
Joseph Parsons at Dume Room Studio (Parchim, Germany)
Freddi Lubitz at leebuzz audio
Mixed by Joseph Parsons & Andy Horn
Mix assistance by Sven Hansen, Shane Smith
Mastered by Andy Horn at Final Audio (Berolzheim, Germany)
Design by Anna (
aodesign.de)
Cover Photo by Christian Schirbort
Additional Photo’s by Freddi Lubitz & Joseph Parsons
My love & thanks to Anna, Jimi & Samuel, Glen Desmond, Christian ‘Boomer’ Böhm (Böhm Booking) & Edgar Heckmann (Blue Rose Records), Todd Thibaud, Terry Lee Hale, Ben Arnold, Sean Timmons, Cesare Carugi (PMA, Italy), Marie Laure Cardi, Alexander Heller-Elspass, Andy Horn, Jan Micheel, Jockel Seefeldt & Shane Smith
Additionally, the sponsor or equipment folks: Freddi thanks to Sibi Siebert at Box of Trix/EBS and Eelco Wolters at Ears4U. Sven thanks Frank Rohe und Birgit Helfrich (Mapex/Musik und Technik Marburg), Bernd Neubauer (Beyerdynamic), Paul Agner (Agner Drumsticks), Thomas Franke and Frank Jacobs (Pearl Drums) for their support.
© Ⓟ 2019 Joseph Parsons / ThenThen Music BMI (USA) / GEMA (RoW)
All Rights Reserved.
We recorded this record at my friend Glens’ house in Jerúsalem (Coligny), France while on tour. As with all our records, we record together, live, and make a few overdubs when necessary. As I write this, we’ve been together over ten years. Although on two continents, we always seem to find a way to create. I may write and sing the songs, but the boys are the real deal. It shows in our approach and adventurous, artistic reaching. My appreciation & respect runs deep for the guys and the support we all get from our fans and extended family from the road.
February, 2019
Parchim, Germany
Written, Produced & Mixed by Joseph Parsons
Arranged by the Joseph Parsons Band
01 Wide Awake (3:54)
02 Come Around (3:22)
03 Living Things (5:34)
04 Beautiful Lie (5:46)
05 Today (4:36)
06 Piracy (4:51)
07 Sad Parade (3:56)
08 Dreaming (4:46)
09 Long Road (4:14)
BONUS TRACK
10 Hellwach (Wide Awake) (4:13)
© & ℗ 2019 Joseph Parsons
LC 24951
GEMA
Catalog #: MM 006 / BLU DP0732
EAN: 0010315918488
MEER MUSIC
Bauhofstr. 4, 19370 Parchim Germany
meer-music.com
BLUE ROSE RECORDS
Heilbronn, Germany
bluerose-records.de
www.josephparsons.com