Credits

• John Inmon: electric guitar, & steel string Spanish guitar
• Stuart Adamson: acoustic rhythm guitar,
• Radoslav Lorkovic: piano, B3 organ & accordion
• The East Side Flash: resophonic guitar
• Donny Silverman: tenor sax
• David Carroll elect & upright bass
• Paul Pearcy drums & percussion
• Hilary Claire Adamson & Tim Curry: harmony vocals
• Engineering: The East Side Flash @ Flashpoint Recording, Austin, Texas
• Produced by Bianca De Leon
• Artwork by Bianca De Leon

Chart Listings

• #7 on the Contemporary Folk Album Chart
• #14 on the EuroAmericana Chart
• #11 on the Far Chart
• #16 on the Folk Chart
• # 11 on the Roots Music Chart

Reviews

(The Washington Post) By Steven Wine | AP May 5

Bianca De Leon, “Love, Guns & Money” (Lonesome Highway)

With recorded music, perfect is the enemy of good. Bianca De Leon doesn’t strive for perfect on “Love, Guns & Money,” which is why it’s good.

The 10 cuts were recorded in eight hours, and while the results are flawed — especially some less than pitch-perfect vocals — there’s loose, energetic interplay that only comes from everyone performing at the same time.

It helps that De Leon assembled a terrific band led by keyboardist Radoslav Lorkovic and guitarist John Inmon. She gives them plenty of chances to shine, and they do.

De Leon wrote most of the material, and her Tex-Mex border songs focus on relations foreign and domestic. She recalls the fall of Manuel Noriega on “I Sang Patsy Cline,” rails against hypocrisy on “Guns & Money” and reflects on love lost and found on “The Bottle’s on the Table.” She closes with two well-chosen covers, Townes Van Zandt’s “Nothin’” and Hank Williams’ ”Ramblin’ Man,” the latter noteworthy for her blue yodel.

De Leon’s approach to the album is advertised at the top of the cover: “Recorded live in the studio in Austin, Texas.” She’s clearly proud of the results, and should be.

Spring has sprung but you’d think it was still Christmas season to judge by the number of CDs being released. Here’s a look at a few of the more interesting ones to come my way lately.

Bianca De Leon, Love, Guns & Money. The song title “I Sang Patsy Cline (the Night Noriega Fell)” only hints at the many influences that fuel Bianca De Leon’s recordings. This soulful singer/songwriter has an obvious affection for Tex-Mex and Central American music and for the work of fellow Texans like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker. But it’s not surprising to learn that she has studied classical guitar—or that she decided what to do with her life after hearing Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” This fourth CD features some fine originals plus a medley of Van Zandt’s “Nothin’” and Hank Williams’s “Ramblin’ Man.” The album title refers to a song called “Guns and Money,” but a more fitting moniker for the record might be Love, Loss & Liquor. Several of these tunes find their protagonists lamenting faded romances while seeking refuge in whiskey, drinking tequila, or eyeing stale wine or “bottles on the table.” If such songs are autobiographical, De Leon’s life hasn’t been easy: in any event, she clearly finds comfort in her music, and I suspect you will, too.

Bianca De Leon is de vertegenwoordigster van die specifieke tak van de Americana die is ontstaan op de grens van Texas en Mexico. Een combinatie van folk, country en Mexicaanse muziek. De Leon bracht langere tijd door aan beide kanten van de grens en kende een bewogen leven. Het komt terug in haar album ‘Love, Guns & Money’ waarin ze het grensleven tot uitdrukking brengt tien liedjes. Avonturen, zoals ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’ toen ze in Panama verzeilt raakte op de avond dat Amerika een inval deed om dictator Noriega af te zetten, maar ook veel liedjes over het leven zelf, zoals het Spaanse ‘Buscando Por Ti’. In haar muziek is zeker ook een grote Mexicaanse invloed merkbaar. Liedjes als ‘Guns and Money’, ‘Stale Wine and Roses’ en ‘The Bottle’s On The Table’ hebben die invloed, letterlijk en figuurlijk. Het gaat over leven en liefhebben en tevens lijden en sterven in deze regio. Bianca De Leon, onlangs nog te gast in Nederland, zet dat harde en ruige leven neer op geheel eigen wijze. Zacht en lief brengt ze gepeperde liedjes. Ze heeft een mooie en goede stem. Het helpt haar verhalen luid en duidelijk over te laten komen. Haar stem heeft een bepaalde lading die het een extra kwaliteit geeft en het intrigerend maakt. Haar liedjes en zang zijn succesvol en slaan aan. Erg mooi is ook het gevoelige ‘Garden in the Sun’ en het verhalende ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. Een heel fijn album dat wordt afgesloten met een verkorte versie van ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. Het album is live opgenomen in de studio en klinkt mede daardoor erg authentiek.

 _ _ _

Bianca De Leon is the representative of that particular branch of the Americana that originated on the Texas and Mexico border. A combination of folk, country and Mexican music. The Leon spent a long time on both sides of the border and knew a moved life. It comes back in her album ‘Love, Guns & Money’ in which she expresses the border life ten songs. Adventures, such as ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’ when she sang in Panama, hit the night that America made an invasion to turn Noriega dictator, but also many songs about life itself, like the Spanish ‘Buscando Por Ti’. In her music, a great Mexican influence is also noticeable. Songs like ‘Guns and Money’, ‘Stale Wine and Roses’ and ‘The Bottles On The Table’ have that influence, literally and figuratively. It is about living and loving and also suffering and dying in this region. Bianca De Leon, recently a guest in the Netherlands, puts down that hard and rough life in his own way. Gentle and sweet she brings pissed songs. She has a nice and good voice. It helps her stories come out loud and clear. Her voice has a certain load that gives it extra quality and makes it intriguing. Her songs and vocals are successful and striking. Very nice is also the sensitive ‘Garden in the Sun’ and the narrative ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. A very nice album that ends with a shortened version of ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. The album is recorded live in the studio and is therefore very authentic. Put that hard and rough life down in its own way. Gentle and sweet she brings pissed songs. She has a nice and good voice. It helps her stories come out loud and clear. Her voice has a certain load that gives it extra quality and makes it intriguing. Her songs and vocals are successful and striking. Very nice is also the sensitive ‘Garden in the Sun’ and the narrative ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. A very nice album that ends with a shortened version of ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. The album is recorded live in the studio and is therefore very authentic. Put that hard and rough life down in its own way. Gentle and sweet she brings pissed songs. She has a nice and good voice. It helps her stories come out loud and clear. Her voice has a certain load that gives it extra quality and makes it intriguing. Her songs and vocals are successful and striking. Very nice is also the sensitive ‘Garden in the Sun’ and the narrative ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. A very nice album that ends with a shortened version of ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. The album is recorded live in the studio and is therefore very authentic. Her voice has a certain load that gives it extra quality and makes it intriguing. Her songs and vocals are successful and striking. Very nice is also the sensitive ‘Garden in the Sun’ and the narrative ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. A very nice album that ends with a shortened version of ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. The album is recorded live in the studio and is therefore very authentic. Her voice has a certain load that gives it extra quality and makes it intriguing. Her songs and vocals are successful and striking. Very nice is also the sensitive ‘Garden in the Sun’ and the narrative ‘Silence Speaks Louder Than Words’. A very nice album that ends with a shortened version of ‘I Sang Patsy Cline’. The album is recorded live in the studio and is therefore very authentic.

Återigen ett fynd i en av dessa högar som belamrar mitt vardagsrum. Ett fynd av den kaliber att övriga fredagsaktiviteter som städning och matlagning får vänta. Jag kan inte lämna min position i bästa soffan och min bättre hälft må ursäkta mig. Detta verk är inspelat live i studio, med endast ett fåtal pålägg i efterhand. Tempot var högt, elva låtar på åtta timmar. Lägstanivån kanske ligger lite lägre om man lyssnar riktigt noga, men å andra sidan är högstanivån (ganska många låtar) magisk. Texanska singer/songwriters kan konsten att berätta om livet som det är, även när det smärtar, vilket det utan tvekan gör ibland. Men musiken är en helande kraft i Biancas liv.

Country, absolut. Och riktigt bra av just den här typen som gör sig bäst när man vill lyssna och inte bara höra.

——

Again a bargain in one of these piles cluttering my living room. The findings of the caliber that other Friday activities like cleaning and cooking will have to wait. I can not leave my position in the best couch and my better half may excuse me. This work was recorded live in the studio, with only a few toppings afterwards. The tempo was high, eleven songs in eight hours. Minimum level maybe is a bit lower if you listen carefully, but on the other hand, the highest level (quite a few songs) magic.

Texan singer / songwriters, art can tell about life as it is, even when it hurts, which it undoubtedly does sometimes. But music is a healing force in Bianca’s life. Country, absolutely. And really well by just this kind that is best when you want to listen and not just hear.

July 28, 2016

BIANCA DE LEON
Love, Guns & Money
(Bianca de Leon 2016)

Nata a Corpus Christi nel sud del Texas, Bianca si considera un incrocio tra una zingara americana, una cantastorie texana e una cantautrice. Ha pubblicato quattro dischi, compreso un live ad Helsinki, alternando influenze tex-mex e folk-rock, ma è più conosciuta in Nord Europa che negli Stati Uniti (escluso il Texas). Dotata di un voce melodica e accattivante che si adatta anche ai brani più ritmati e accompagnata da alcuni dei migliori musicisti locali come John Inmon alla chitarra (visto recentemente con Jimmy LaFave), Radoslav Lorkovic alle tastiere e Paul Pearcy alla batteria (Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson), Bianca ha registrato dal vivo in studio a Austin un disco molto vario e interessante, alternando brani di ispirazione country come il singolo I Sang Patsy Cline e The Bottle’s On The Table, ballate cantautorati quali la dolente Independence Day e Stale Wine And Roses (nella quale la voce ricorda Margo Timmins dei Cowboy Junkies), il tex-mex di Buscando Por Ti e della sofferta This Time con il sax di Donny Silverman e il roots-rock malinconico di Guns & Money impreziosito dalla fisarmonica di Lorkovic. In chiusura c’è un forte richiamo alle radici texane con un pregevole medley di Nothin’ (Townes Van Zandt) e Ramblin’ Man (Hank Williams). Disco interessante di un’artista che potrebbe ottenere buoni riscontri anche dalle nostre parti.

Born in Corpus Christi in South Texas, Bianca is considered a cross between an American Gypsy, a storyteller and a Texan singer-songwriter. She has published four albums, including a live in Helsinki, alternating Tex-Mex influences and folk-rock, but is better known in Northern Europe and the United States (excluding Texas).

Equipped with a melodic and captivating voice that is also suitable for the more rhythmic songs and accompanied by some of the best local musicians like John Inmon guitar (seen recently with Jimmy LaFave), Radoslav Lorkovic on keyboards and Paul Pearcy on drums (Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson), Bianca has recorded live in the studio in Austin a very varied and interesting album, alternating inspirational songs country as the single I Sang Patsy Cline and the Bottle’s on the Table, ballads such as sore Independence Day and Stale Wine and Roses (in which her voice recalls Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies), the Tex-Mex Buscando Por Ti and painful This Time with saxophonist Donny Silverman and melancholic roots-rock of Guns & Money embellished by Lorkovic accordion. In closing there is a strong reminder of her Texan roots with a fine medley of Nothin ‘(Townes Van Zandt) and Ramblin’ Man (Hank Williams).

An interesting record from an artist who could also get good feedback from our parts.

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