It’s rare for influential records to bring together an artists’ sound quite so well. In our phone conversation, Tom’s first two of the albeit clichéd interview question were Willie Nelson – Stardust and Stevie Wonder – Musiquarium. These two records bring together Tom’s best elements.  He mentioned “Whiter Shade of Pale Color” in particular. A blue-eyed soul voice over a shuffling country band. McBride certainly has the vocal chops to back it up. After years at the Blair School of Music, Tom decided he wanted to take his musical career in a different direction.
“Last year I went through a big Sam Cooke phase,” Tom said. “While that was happening, I was going into a big Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings thing. It definitely manifested itself with how the record sounds. As a really young kid, my father would blast Stevie Wonder and would blast Willie Nelson.” The result was the assured and catchy Morning in Glen Burnie.
This marriage though it seems almost a no-brainer, it a rare find. Tom has been able to put together the voice and composition. The only other song that connects to it in a similar way is a more R&B version of Over the Rhine. But Tom has horns too in a true motown sound.
“I went to school and studied voice at a conservatory in Nashville,” Tom said. “It was really getting into the craft in a slightly different genre. I was trying to learn to sing in German and Italian. It was fascinating but it also sucked a little bit of my enjoyment out of it. So I got out of the conservatory. The reasons for doing it weren’t clear at the time in an intense environment like that. So I stopped. And then I did more of the songwriting stuff. And that was more of what I found myself drawn to do, just writing songs.”
Tom McBride ‘Morning in Glen Burnie’ – Live @ Dimension Sound (Jamaica Plain, MA) from Tom McBride on Vimeo.
McBride’s musical and vocal training really shines through. He manages to merge a pop sensibility, country backing and the soul. You can see McBride’s attention to melody in his tunes. He puts songs together that way. “I use my iPhone so much its ridicul0us. I tape endless thirty second voice memos.” He manages to balance out the different elements and influences.
At Cambridge’s basement haven, the Lizard Lounge I was able to see the record in real life. Tom had a ban who played up the country elements, particularly Duke Levine’s masterful guitar playing. Tracks like, “Just Like You” highlight the Americana elements. Tom’s album brings this together. His vocals have hit their stride.
I tend to come back to the more country tunes on the record. The first rack “But I Don’t Care” has a deep lyrical content as well. “She runs to the top of the stairs / with her loneliness but I don’t care / Is it time / To cross that line / Is it true? / You’d rather be lonely.” The honky piano really sets the stage for the album. McBride’s vocals really shine through on this track.
To look at the cover of the record, you might think Tom was either a Boston folky but you’d be wrong. There’s Americana Soul in there.
Photos by Suzanne Davis McMahon.
About the author: Jeff is a teacher in the Boston area. When not buried correcting papers, Jeff can be found plucking various stringed instruments and listening to all types of americana music.