Plenty of people, myself included, have lamented the music Nashville is known for has become a formulaic creation from click-tracks and tailgate party themes. While there’s certainly plenty of that, it’s an exaggeration to suggest that’s all there is. Case in point is Pennsylvania native, now Nashville resident Vinnie Paolizzi. After banging around Music City for a decade playing guitar for others and taking his turn at any of the numerous songwriter showcases in town, he’s released his first full-length LP. The self-titled effort is a showcase for old school country sensibilities and co-writing prowess from Paolizzi and his musical cronies.
The first single from the record was Proud Of What I Did Today, an admonition to be the best version of yourself rather than “climb a ladder chasing Mr. Jones.” That desire to do what’s right over what’s expected also shows up in Johnny Was a Baptist. It’s an acoustic, folk song number imaging Jesus the carpenter getting his hands dirty helping building a church. In this day and age you might believe at the end of they day he’d turn water into cold beer, not wine. Everyman makes an appearance in It Ain’t Easy, a Southern rock ballad co-write with Ben Chapman, where it’s always “two steps forward and one step back”. Cairo goes back to the basics with just Vinnie on guitar and vocals, in a tale about a place you don’t ever want to see again except in the rearview mirror.
Paolizzi assembled a fine group of support players for this record. Mr. Jimmy Rowland adds some nice keys to give Ahead Of Me a touch of Muscle Shoals R&B. He does the same thing on Something We Said, about the end of a relationship. Producer Mike Harris, of Old Crow Medicine Show, lights up the guitar on As Far As Goodbyes Go, clearly inspired by the musical partnership of Jackson Browne and David Lindley. All-star drummer Jerry Pentecost pounds everything home throughout the record.
Paolizzi has a knack for taking what might be a typical singer-songwriter folk number and turning it into a country tune with his weary, yet somehow also hopeful vocals. He deftly applies that to the all-original set list on the album. That makes The Vinnie Paolizzi LP a shining example of the good new music coming out of Nashville when you look past the high rises on Music Row and the neon on Lower Broadway.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.