TOM GILLAM: Press

RECORD OF THE YEAR!

BART EBISCH (HANX)



1. Tom Gillam - Never Look Back
2. Sam Baker - Pretty World
3. Eilen Jewell - Letters From Sinnners And Strangers
4. Jimmy Lafave - Cimmaron Manifesto
5. Romi Mayes - Sweet Somethin' Steady
6. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
7. Joe Henry - Civilians
8. Jim Lauderdale - The Bluegrass Diaries
9. Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
10. Dirty Sweet - Of Monarchs And Beggars

Net niet: Dwight Yoakam, Uncle Earl, The Sojourners, Kris Drever, Lucinda Williams, Alela Diane, Mark Olson, Josh Rouse, Chuck Prophet, Sarah Borges, Ad Vanderveen, Rilo Kiley, Steve Earle, David Dondero, Krista Detor, Steep Canyon Rangers...

DVD: Bluegrass Countrysoul, Joe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten, Tom Petty - Runnin' Down A Dream, Lomax - The Songhunter

Box: Traveling Wilburys - The Collection

Re-issue: The Triffids - In The Pines

My Space-ontdekking (dankzij Nick Lowe): Eli 'Paperboy' Reed And The True Loves

Grootste tegenvaller: Ryan Adams live in Keulen, Control (film over Joy Division)

Country/Roots
Tom Gillam
Never Look Back
(Treehouse Productions ***)
We're fortunate that Tom Gillam is still around, because in March 2006 the Gibbsboro, Camden County, resident suffered his third heart attack, and it was nearly fatal. Never Look Back, recorded mostly beforehand, shows just how gifted an artist we would have lost.
Backed by his band, Tractor Pull, Gillam packs the album with guitar-driven, country-tinged rock that echoes the '70s, in a good way. (In other words, up there near the likes of Petty and the Allmans, not down there with the Eagles.) Gillam's songs, however, exert their own pull - they're well-crafted, sturdily melodic, and full of catchy choruses. For all that, he can also shift gears, as he does on the brooding "Where Is Bobby Gentry?", which comes with a string section that echoes the one on "Ode to Billy Joe."
- Nick Cristiano

Top 20 Playlist of 2007
-Rescue Me # 11

November 23, 2007
Questions, Answers, & Questions: A year-end playlist

It should be understood, of course, that the ongoing debate Peter and I enjoy concerning the virtues of singles v. albums is, to some extent, an argument for the fun of arguing. Which is to say we are both drawn to great songs, and both respect the rare accomplishment of a coherent and gripping album of songs.

I suspect, for example, that come the end of this fast-moving decade we will both consider Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) a singular, signature achievement.

Regardless, I've quit noodling with my year-end compilation. Early in 2007 I wrote that it seemed to be a particularly good year for the music (if not the business), and pulling this year-end list together more than confirmed that hunch. This has been an extraordinary year for music, which may explain why I spent a week (instead of an hour) juggling my top-20 list for the magazine. Ordinarily I don't assemble this compilation until much later, but, this year, I dumped tracks onto the computer and juggled them while working. (Or pretending to.) In a couple of cases I came back to albums that were much stronger than I remembered.

All that said, the list that follows isn't a preview of my year-end ballot. Some of what's here is on my top-20, some not. Missing, for example, is a hard country segment. For reasons of space and sequencing, I was unable to include tracks from Jim Lauderdale, Gene Watson, and, perhaps, Porter Wagoner. I didn't go back to hunt for a track from him because I didn't think the sound would cohere with the balance of these offerings. There were several others like that.

What this is, then, is an attempt at an audio essay. It is a collection of the songs which moved and entertained me this year. It's a reflection of whatever it is I'm drawn to in music. My chief concern was sequencing twenty songs into a coherent whole that linked to and commented upon itself and added up to some kind of commentary. It's all intuitive. Sorta.

There are jokes and smirks and idiosyncratic logic within this list, and you'll see some of it and guess at more and not care at all, that's my bet. But here 'tis. The internal rule is that the album has to have come out in 2007 (which I've broken, once, to my knowledge), and I'll only use one song per artist.

1. "Juarez" by Sam Baker (from Pretty World).
2. "Down In A Hole" by Jason Isbell (from Sirens Of The Ditch).
3. "Dry Town" by Miranda Lambert (a Gillian Welch song from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).
4. "Drinkin' Problem" by Lori McKenna (from Unglamorous, with Tim McGraw on harmonies).
5. "Methamphetamine" by Son Volt (from The Search).
6. "Oxycontin Blues" by Steve Earle (from Washington Square Serenade).
7. "If I Were You" by Chris Knight (from the long-delayed Trailer Tapes).
8. "If You Catch Me Stealing" by Eilen Jewell (from Letters From Sinners & Strangers).
9. "Poor Old Dirt Farmer" by Levon Helm (from Dirt Farmer).
10. "Long Dark Night" by John Fogerty (from Revival).
11. "Rescue Me" by Tom Gillam (from Never Look Back).
12. "Bible" by Romi Mayes (from Sweet Somethin' Steady). I realize this came out in 2006 in Canada, and that if it was released at all in the States nobody much noticed. Which is a pity.
13. "99 And 1/2" by Mavis Staples (from We'll Never Turn Back).
14. "Come Over Here" by the Spirtulaires Of Hurtsboro, Alabama (from Singing Songs Of Praise).
15. "Helen" by the Cave Singers (from Invitation Songs).
16. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (from Raising Sand).
17. "Rest Your Weary Mind" by Elizabeth Cook (with Bobby Bare Jr., from Balls).
18. "Blanket" by Gurf Morlix (with Patty Griffin on backing vocals, from Diamonds To Rust).
19. "Stay On The Ride" by Patty Griffin (from Children Running Through).
20. "Don't Cry A Tear" by Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (from It's Not Big It's Large).

I have toyed with explaining this more, and perhaps I'll come back and do so if there's any need. But for the moment, I'll let the music do the explaining.

Enjoy.

Americana Roots Top 10 of 2007
Written by Gregg Geil
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
There is no question in my mind that this is something I look forward to each year as we announce our Top 10 albums of the year as voted by our staff here on AmericanaRoots.com. I learned early on that it is impossible to actually come up with one top 10 list, so we all come up with our own lists. There was no shortage of great music in 2007 and while we know that some albums may have been missed, we believe this is a cummulative list of must have Americana CD's. From everyone here at AmericanaRoots.com we wish you all the best during the holidays. Thanks for being a part of the 140,000 people this year that helped make this a truly amazing community dedicated to Americana Music.



Gregg Geil
Artist Album
The Avett Brothers Emotionalism
Tom Gillam Never Look Back
Gurf Morlix Diamonds To Dust
Bruce Robison It Came From San Antonio
Gordy Quist Here Comes The Flood
Walt Wilkins Diamonds In The Sun
Wrinkle Neck Mules Wicks Have Met
Dwight Yoakum Dwight Sings Buck
Toni Price Talk Memphis
Chris Knight The Trailer Tapes

CLEAN AND SOBER: “I used to sweat the future a lot,” admits country rocker Tom Gillam, recovered from his heart attack and off booze. “But you have to take fear out of the equation.”
Photos: Courtesty Of Mark Pucci Media; Izod Center—Colin Archer / Agency New Jersey

A HEARTFELT WAKE-UP CALL
“Touring,” says country-rocker Tom Gillam, “is 23 hours of doing absolutely nothing and one hour of doing that thing you’re there to do.” In between, “Drinking passes the time.”

At least, that’s how it was for the Deptford native and Gibbsboro resident until March 2006. Gillam had just returned from a string of dates at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival and was planning to finish recording his fourth album. On
the way home from the Philadelphia airport, he started having chest pains. His wife, Caroline, drove him to Virtua West Jersey, in Marlton, where he suffered a heart attack and flat-lined. He was rushed to Lady of Lourdes in Camden, where he flat-lined again. Following surgery, he woke up three days later in the ICU, where his doctor told him that it was rare to survive a heart attack at such a young age—Gillam was then in his mid-40s.

Though Gillam had survived, he was hardly in the clear. The doctor told him that his abuse of alcohol had contributed to his heart attack, and ordered him to cut out drinking for good. Amazingly, Gillam managed to do just that.

Looking back, it’s not his willpower that surprises Gillam the most. It’s that sobriety has actually boosted his creativity. “If I would’ve known that my playing, my writing, my singing would get to this level, I would’ve quit twenty years ago,” says the guitarist.

Gillam did complete his fourth album, which came out in September. The title, Never Look Back, comes from a song that Gillam’s guitarist, Craig Simon, wrote well before the leader’s medical emergency and sobering up. “I thought it was a good song,” Gillam says. “But after the heart attack, it became a great song. It was like, Okay, this is my theme. My life had changed completely. There was no way I was going to go back to the way I was.”

It had taken Gillam a long time to find his voice. In seventh grade he had decided to be a rock or pop musician. But he bounced from genre to genre for two decades until he found his metier in a fusion of country and rock. Suddenly, he recalls, “There was no end to it. I started to write more and more and more.”

Gillam’s band, Tractor Pull, plays most of its shows in Texas, where he’s well known. “I get off the plane there and people go, ‘Hey, it’s Tom Gillam,’” he says with a laugh. “In Jersey they go, ‘Hey, that’s Ozzy.’”

Country-Roots | Tom Gillam
Never Look Back | 4 out of 5 stars

We're fortunate that Tom Gillam is still around, because in March 2006 he suffered his third heart attack, and it was nearly fatal. Never Look Back, recorded mostly beforehand, shows just how gifted an artist we would have lost.

Backed by his band, Tractor Pull, Gillam packs the album with guitar-driven, country-tinged rock that echoes the '70s, in a good way. (In other words, up there near the likes of Petty and the Allmans, not down there with the Eagles.) Gillam's songs, however, exert their own pull -- they're well-crafted, sturdily melodic, and full of catchy choruses. For all that, he also can shift gears, as he does on the brooding Where Is Bobby Gentry?,which comes with a string section that echoes the one on Ode to Billy Joe.

If one believes the info. sheet of the disk company give may, then the US American Tom Gillam stands in his homeland on the threshold to the large break-through. Its meanwhile fourth album "Never Look bake" appears now as his the first over Blue rose record also in Germany. After its debut "it put roofridge OF universe" (1998) in the states with "Dallas" (2001) and "Shake My hand" (2004) after, before it tourte several times as a Slide guitarist in that volume of Joseph Parsons in the years 2005 and 2006 equal by Europe.
It was time to tackle its album number four. During the photographs in the studio then however the stress and life-style of the last years became apparent; Tom Gillam suffered three cardiac infarcts within shortest time and jumped Gevatter death only times straight in such a way and in the all-last moment of the schippe. Which one the finished product "Don't Look bake", from the texts times apart, however in keinster way listens to!
Gillams of new Longplayer sits down from eleven strong, erdig skirt-ends, well composed TRACKS together, which beyond that unite also still several kinds of style in itself. It the burr migration brought, here one mix from native, in addition, commercial Rocksongs à la Bruce Springsteen or young John Cougar Mellencampto get Westcoast elements in form of a dirtier version of the Eagle and also still another prize Southern skirt under a hat.
Can function such a thing? And if, then how? In the case of our Protagonisten works particularly for two reasons very well: First of all times the Songwriting failed very well and the pieces goes fast into the ear secondly has the man super Backing volume at the start. And too these volumes, which calls itself Tractor Pull, one should absolutely still lose therefore a few words, there her more than a usual, angeheuerte Studio Begleitcombo is far. Rather Tractor Pull are not only already for many years together, but involves in addition also still nearly just as for a long time with Tom Gillam, which brings the advantages that one knows oneself in the best way, is one on the other brought in and knows, how that different one ticks in such a way in each case.
How firm this connection is, also the fact shows that the guitarist Craig Simon two its Songs on otherwise kompositorisch from Tom the Gillam determined work accommodate could. Nearly each of the eleven TRACKS has a strong Hookline and mills itself very fast into the consciousness of the bent listener. "Another BREAK UP Song" makes the beginning, which does not make prisoners with sharp-edged sound of skirt and wummerndem bass. Wow, here is made correct everything and the piece convinced immediately.
Likewise class are the further Rocker "Never Look let us bake", "Devil in My Heart" and "Rainbow Girl". In addition, slower and thoughtful like "Where Is Bobby Gentry?" to please with acoustic guitars and Streichern white, completely to be silent of the titles, with which the instrument variety is increased. There "Medicine Train" (banjo) would be or also "Carolina" for example (mandoline). Not unmentioned to remain also "I Ain't Waiting" may, which has very large hit Potenzial and at least in the states probably soon in the radio up and might down-run.
Altogether one can certify Tom Gillam a strong fourth caper, which makes each quantity of desire on the first three! Native Songs, erdiger sound, skirt with corners and edges, strong, never slower TRACKS slipping in the shallow and bear-strong volume is the reasons, which let me zuecken gladly 8 RockTimes clocks! In addition we press the thumbs that Tom Gillams health remains stable in the future and we thereby in or other disk by it to still expect to be allowed!
LINE UP:
Tom Gillam (lead vocals, electric & slide guitar, acoustic guitar)
Craig Simon (lead & rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals)
Joe Carroll (acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, mando guitar, mandolin)
Tim mm aster (bass guitar, background vocals)
Dave Latimer (drums & percussion)

Guests:
Lee Schusterman (piano, key board)
Dave Falconi (stringer arrangement and piano on # 5)
Ben Arnold (background vocals)
Joseph Parsons (background vocals)

TOM GILLAM , Never Look Back (Treehouse): A road-scarred survivor of the Philly rock scene, Gillam almost didn’t get to make this album after being sidelined by three heart attacks last year. Happily, he rebounded, and the music here pulses with wry humor and a dogged belief in the value of life and love — even when the latter kicks you to the curb. Onstage, Gillam looks like an unrepentant holdover from Ozzy Osbourne’s glory days, but loose-limbed, guitar-churning rockers like “Another Break-up Song” and “Devil in My Heart” and midtempo “I Ain’t Waiting” are reminiscent of classic Joe Walsh, while the slow-burning “Where is Bobbie Gentry?” unleashes Gillam’s inner bluesman. It’s a smoking highlight on a solid platter of roadhouse soul.

He was familiar with the artist and her signature song, but only recently did singer/songwriter Tom Gillam become consumed with Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe." It led to Gillam writing and recording "Where Is Bobby Gentry?," which can be found on his latest album, Never Look Back (Treehouse).

Tom Gillam: "I was working with this friend of mine who owns a used vinyl store -- you know, just trying to help him out in between tours and make a little extra money. He gave me this office with three walls of vinyl LPs and said, 'Go through these records – the good ones, put in a pile and we’ll sell on eBay; the junky ones, you can chuck.' And he gave me a turntable and said, 'You can listen to anything you want.'

"I came across Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe. When I was a kid, I was infatuated with Glen Campbell – big, big fan of Glen Campbell when I was in grade school. He had a television show, and she was on it. I remembered her; I kinda knew that tune, but I wasn’t well-versed in Bobbie Gentry.

"I came across the record, and I thought, 'Let me put this on.' I put on the record, and it’s probably in my Top 5 favorite albums of all-time -- records that really turned my head around.

"[After listening to it for about a day], I picked up a guitar. You've read this a million times in rock bios where a guy says, 'And I just played it and it just came out.' But I literally hit this D7 chord, and I went, 'Hmm,' and then I sang the words 'Where is Bobby Gentry?' I wrote the song -- it probably didn't even take me 10 or 15 minutes to write it, and that's a first for me.

"To this day, I have a great feeling when I hear the song or when I think of the song. But there's no cashing in on Bobbie Gentry, obviously, and I didn't do it with the idea that she would ever contact me, and I doubt very much that she ever would."

-- Introduction and interview by Chris M. Junior

Never Look Back
Tom Gillam
Treehouse Productions
On the opening track “Another Break-Up Song,” Gillam has a slide-guitar solo that distills his musical philosophy into 12 seconds of Allman-Skynyrd-inspired Americana/classic-rock goodness; it’s enough to put a smile on anybody’s face.

Four albums into his solo career, New Jersey-based Gillam himself has reason to smile: He’s honed his sound, vocals and now lyricism. Some of it comes from experience and having an outstanding band; but a lifestyle change, brought on by three heart attacks in one day last year, probably was a catalyst.

The above-mentioned band – Tractor Pull – boasts two guitarists who supplement Gillam’s slide perfectly. Lead guitarist Craig Simon is a former Nashville session guitarist and staff songwriter, and contributes the title track as well as one of the disc’s two slow numbers, “To Hell With It All.” Guitarist/mandolinist Joe Carroll is also the group’s producer, engineer and mixer. Throw in some acoustic rhythm by any of the three, and the result is a spellbinding waterfall of guitars.

Rockers such as “Rescue Me” and “Rainbow Girl” and midtempo cuts like “Medicine Train” and “That’s How It Goes” are sure to please, but the album’s centerpiece is the swampy “Where Is Bobbie Gentry?” with its subtle strings and howling harmonica accents.

Blending alt-country with 1970s American muscle rock, Tom Gillam’s new release Never Look Back is the perfect follow up to 2005’s critically acclaimed release Shake My Hand. Gilliam’s knack for a strong hook and edgy Americana roots influence has never been in finer form.
Never Look Back was almost the album that never was. During its recording, Tom Gillam suffered three heart attacks, nearly dying. After a brief recuperation period, Gilliam summoned his band, Tractor Pull, back to the studio to complete the recording of his fourth album.

Tractor Pull (Craig Simon on guitar; Tim McMaster on bass; Dave Latimer on drums; and producer Joe Carroll on acoustic and baritone guitars) are a strong compliment to Gillam’s songwriting, voice and slide guitar. The songs on Never Look Back flow effortlessly between straight-forward rock, moody ballads, and simple acoustic. Together, the eleven tracks are a strong collection of tales from years of past rock history which Gillam has lived.

The resulting lyrics are deeper than his other albums, while still entertaining emotionally. “Where Is Bobby Gentry,” a tune inspired by the’60s country pop songstress who penned “Ode To Billy Joe,” is sure to be a favorite, with a haunting string arrangement conducted by jazz pianist Dave Falciani.

The title track, one of two contributions from guitarist Craig Simon, is another standout, summing up the album’s theme with the appropriate lines “with no regrets, no debts to pay, there’s nothing standing in my way.” Never Look Back is an album that will delight Tom Gillam fans, and certainly earn him several new ones.
Never Look Back is now out on TreeHouse Productions.

> Hello Tom
>
> Never Look back is the great hit in our hous. Maartje, our daughter,
who
> is
> 11 year, sings it every day. One day I was playing hte record in my
room,
> I
> heard hte same song in the children room What happended was that
Maartje -
> my daughter - did found found the song on You Tube. The next day she
did a
> real karaoke vrsion. She knows all the words........
>
> Send this message please to Tom Gillam,
>
> Greetings
>
> Bart
>

Country Standard Time

Never Look Back – 2007 (Treehouse)

Tom Gillam
Reviewed by Andy Turner

CDs by Tom Gillam
Never Look Back (2007)
Shake My Hand (2004)
For other CDs, see the CD Review Archive
Back from the dead. It's not that Tom Gillam hasn't released an album in a long time; he put out the well-received "Shake My Hand" just in 2005. No, the Philly-based musician says he actually died March 20, 2006, after suffering 3 heart attacks. But Gillam miraculously survived, recuperated and quickly returned to the studio to record this.

Regardless of music, Gillam is to be admired for his determination (and good fortune), but his eclectic new disc also deserves praise. Backed by an excellent band, the friends-since-high-school Tractor Pull, Gillam touches on country, classic rock and pop for a hardy but accessible sound. An album highlight and simply a damn cool song, "Where is Bobby Gentry?", complete with a spooky string arrangement by jazz pianist Dave Falciani, slides along on a subtle groove. The radio-ready "Rainbow Girl" and bluesy reflection of "Carolina" showcase Gillam's versatility, and guitarist Craig Simon's two contributions, the title track and especially "To Hell With It All," are both knockouts. Give Gillam a good welcome back.

eview by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.
It's the same old story: men and women (or men and men, or women and women) meet, fall in love, and, sooner or later, one leaves. In one sense, the opening cut of Never Look Back tells yet another story of another man -- who should've know better but of course didn't -- being left behind. Tom Gillam is smart enough to know, however, that this story, no matter how clever the singer/songwriter might be, is a cliché before the ink dries, leading him to offer the clever title, "Another Break-Up Song." That doesn't mean that Gillam, despite the rocking backdrop and a well-delivered lyric, escapes walking on familiar ground, but he does make the point that living through the pain is never a cliché for the person who has to live through it (especially if he or she just happens to be a singer/songwriter). Never Look Back's original songs, mostly by Gillam and guitarist Craig Simon, are bolstered by solid rock arrangements and background vocals. Gillam easily moves between the heavier country-rock of "Devil in My Heart" and the slow blues-rock of "Where Is Bobby Gentry?" Gillam never attempts to reinvent the singer/songwriter genre on Never Look Back, but he does manage to deliver a consistent and enjoyable set.

Tom Gillam - Never Look Back
Written by Gregg Geil
Saturday, 13 October 2007

Tom Gillam died two days after playing our AmericanaRoots.com SXSW event down in Austin, Texas. It was my first time and almost my last time to see him live. You see, Tom suffered three heart attacks two days after our show in a New Jersey hospital. It was a scare for us all but thanks to the great doctors and some hard work by Tom, we have him back again. Tom is on a mission with his 3rd CD Never Look Back. The title alone says it all in that Tom has a new lease on life and these collections of songs are here to prove it.

In 2005, Tom released Shake My Hand which spent 14 weeks on the Americana Radio charts. That same year, Tom was also nominated for Best Emerging Artist of the year by the Americana Music Association. Tom Gillam and band known as the Tractor Pull have a sound all unto their own. The band’s hometown is up in the Philadelphia / New Jersey area which is also quite unique for this music scene. You will find the live show of Tom Gillam’s Tractor Pull to be full of energy with some of the best vocal harmonies around. The live show is like taking a trip down through some of the best southern rock bands around. You’ll hear some damn fine guitar riffs, slide guitars, along with purposefully placed guitar solos.

The new CD Never Look Back contains 11 new songs. I have many favorites on this new disc starting with Another Break-up Song, Never Look Back, Rainbow Girl, I Ain’t Waiting, Carolina and Medicine Train. Never Look Back has the energy of the live show experience which is often hard to capture. When you combine the lyrics, music and understanding of what went into this CD, I’m sure you will find like me that this is no doubt one of the best CD’s to come out in 2007.

You can purchase Never Look Back at http://www.TomGillam.com

09/18/2007
Get set for Tom Gillam's rock attack at Puck

By: W. Peter Seweryn - Correspondent

This Friday at 8 p.m. Tom Gillam and Tractor Pull will perform at Puck Live in Doylestown. Having just released its latest album, "Never Look Back," the band is looking forward to playing selected songs from it in front of a somewhat hometown audience. Even though Gillam and the members of Tractor Pull are all from New Jersey, Puck Live in Doylestown is closer than most venues where they regularly perform. Touring mostly in Texas and other Southern states, Gillam and Tractor Pull have not had a huge following in the Northeast. Despite these circumstances, Gillam is still excited about this upcoming show, because of the musical atmosphere that (he has heard) makes Puck Live a special place to play.
Gillam has been writing songs and playing the slide guitar since high school. After he graduated, he played with a few bands, but it wasn't until he started to work at a music store that his career took off. It was at this music store that he met his friend and producer Joe Carroll. Gillam recalls that he started to go over to Carroll's house after work; they would drink a couple of beers and lay down songs onto Carroll's four-track audio recorder. Over time, these recording sessions became habitual. And as they began to record on better equipment, the number of songs grew. It is from these sessions that Gillam's first album, "First of All," was created.
Gillam began touring with Tractor Pull in support of that album, and has been playing with them for the past 10 years. They have recorded three albums in that time, and have gone through the peaks and valleys of the musical business together. And with the support of his fellow band members, Gillam made it through the most traumatic event in his life.
In August of 2006, Gillam had just finished a tour of Texas when he flew home to New Jersey. His wife picked him up at the airport and during their car ride home, Gillam began feeling chest pains. His wife took him to the hospital, where they learned he was having a heart attack. His situation became grave when he flat-lined twice before he could be transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes in Camden. When he arrived at that hospital he again died (flat-lined) while on the operating table. The medical staff repeatedly tried to bring him back, but he was not responding. The doctor was ready to call the time of death, but someone suggested that they try him again. Gillam was brought back to life on this last attempt, and as he retells this story, he said, "If I ever find out who that person is, I will kiss him on the lips."
After this brush with death, Gillam has had a new perspective on life. He remembers, "There was never a time in my adult life where alcohol didn't play into the situation." Gillam knew in recovery that it was this type of lifestyle that had caused his heart attack, and he was determined to change. He didn't have a choice but to quit drinking, and the biggest test he would face is to see if he could continue touring without the booze.
Now more than a year later, Gillam has continued with his touring and has also finished "Never Look Back." He is excited about playing at Puck Live, because it is a good place to see a live show. Gillam says that his sound with his band, while playing live, is different from his albums. He says that he was heavily influenced by the Allman Brothers Band as a teenager, so the audience should expect them to "stretch things out a bit" during a jam. Tractor Pull excels in a live show situations, and they will put on more of a rock-and-roll show as opposed to a singer-songwriter set.

If You Go:
Tom Gillam & Tractor Pull
will perform
at Puck Live,
1 Printers Alley,
Doylestown, PA 18901,
Friday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $10.
Info: 215-348- 9000 or
www.pucklive.com

Tom Gillam’s fourth CD, Never Look Back, possesses profound meaning in title alone. The fact that he suffered three heart attacks midway through its production, two of them on the hospital ER table, is surely enough reason for the Philly/South Jersey based slide guitarist/vocalist to look ahead and never look back. That said, the album is basically very uplifting and inspiring, certainly a good way to approach life when looking forward to new days.

I’m sure some listeners of earthy roots rock have yet to hear of this interesting musician and his band, Tractor Pull; that’s quite understandable, as I’m fairly new to them myself. Quite often these days, good music ends up immersed in the shadows of a pop-oriented culture, waiting for a deserved nudge into the limelight of attention. That nudge is finally beginning to exert itself here, because Tom Gillam is getting a lot of praise in certain circles lately. It appears others are catching wind of his mesmerizing music, a sound that’s raw, authentic, and heavy on rhythm guitar and lethargic melody. His 2004 release, Shake My Hand, spent 14 weeks on the Americana Top 10, earning him a Best Emerging Artist nomination from the Americana Music Association. That’s an impressive accomplishment in itself, one definitely deserving of attention. The word is out and the door has been opened for his latest release, Never Look Back.


* * *

Listen to "I Ain't Waiting" from Never Look Back


* * *

"Another Break-Up Song" starts the album. The driving rhythm guitar quality that sustains throughout most of the album is immediately discernable. Multi-instrumentalist Joe Carroll appears to be behind much of this, lead player Craig Simon as well. Besides being the album’s producer and engineer, Carroll plays guitar, mandolin, lap steel, and more. Tom’s vocal aptitude, incredibly suggestive of Joe Walsh at times, floats along in relaxed verse while leading up to his terse yet stunning slide guitar solo.

"Never Look Back" keeps the earthy, roots rock ambiance going strong. The incredible rhythmic quality sustains, pressed on by the potent drive of drummer Dave Latimer and bassist Tim McMaster. The melody is classic rock in essence, and its approach is pleasing. The song’s lyrical content is enlightening and insightful. Tom’s slide solo, obviously a signature stamp, and extremely diverse and stylish, adds dimension to this wonderful song. It’s actually two slide guitars played in harmony, in an interesting George Harrison vibe.

Dave Latimer’s percussive entrance into "Rescue Me" marches into another potent roots rocker. Tom’s vocal in "Devil In My Heart", in my opinion, possesses that Joe Walsh air once again. The interesting aspect about Tom’s slide work is that he seems to utilize a different approach for each song, keeping them fresh and exciting.

"Where Is Bobby Gentry?" is a bluesy ode to the Mississippi vocalist who fell into obscurity in 1978, leaving fans mystified by her sudden disappearance from the public eye. It’s heavy on acoustic uniformity and it includes a string section that’s grippingly reminiscent of the Gentry hit "Ode to Billie Joe" in places. A resounding harmonica supplements the emotion and Delta atmosphere in an interesting manner.

It's Neil Young meets Joe Walsh meets the Black Crowes in "Rainbow Girl". There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. The resemblances point to performers I enjoy. The lead guitar work is unmistakably like Young throughout. The rhythm guitar has that steady driving flow, and a very satisfying tone.

With its pleasing 12-string guitar resonance, Tom Petty-ish in nature, "I Ain’t Waiting" sounds like a classic rock ballad of yesteryear. It’s a song of love lost and the challenges one has to endure to get over it. Gillam sings: "I listen to Tom Waitts. I think about church. I took all o’ your pictures and threw ‘em outside in the dirt. And you know that it’s true and it’s all because of you, that I ain’t waiting. I ain’t waiting. I ain’t waiting for you no more."

"To Hell With It All" possesses laid-back amiability in melody and instrumental tone, with a lyrical muse dealing with the notion to "go down to the banks of the river where the grass grows so tall. Lay low as the water rolls by, and say to hell with it all." The background vocal "oohs and ahhs" in the second verse, evocative of classic Johnny Rivers ballads, add a nice touch to Tom’s emotional vocal performance. This one has another nice slide solo as well.

"Carolina" ends the album in a subtle and satisfying way. Gillam sings "I’m down in Carolina and everything’s just fine." That sentiment describes the general atmosphere of the album pretty well. Lyrically, musically, and especially with respect to listening quality, everything is just fine with Tom Gillam’s Never Look Back.

Lovers of earthy classic rock, a style gradually becoming a genre of its own, will love this CD. Give Never Look Back a good listen for your own pleasure, and then write me at my email address telling me how much you enjoyed it. I’m confident of its potential.

Never Look Back Track Listing
1. Another Break-Up Song
2. Never Look Back
3. Rescue Me
4. Devil In My Heart
5. Where Is Bobby Gentry?
6. Rainbow Girl
7. Medicine Train
8. I Ain’t Waiting
9. To Hell With It All
10. That’s How It Goes
11. Carolina

"Never Look Back" and "To Hell With It All" written by Craig Simon.
All other songs by Tom Gillam

Treehouse Productions
Release date: September 12, 2007

Tom Gillam: vocals, slide guitar, songwriter, bandleader
Joe Carroll: producer, engineer, guitar, mandolin, mando guitar, baritone, lap steel, b-bender
Tim McMaster: bass, background vocals
Craig Simon: lead guitar, background vocals
Dave Latimer (DL): drums

A dandy dose of edgy Americana that rocks, Gilliam rounds up his band,
Tractor Pull, to be there in the background and help deliver the
goods. Most of all, this hits the mark for solid songwriting fans that love
a meaty tale told well. And here it rocks as well. Check it out." -
Chris Spector

Man, this project R A W K S! You guys let it all rip. More artists should take a hint that THIS is the way to follow-up a cd-project. From the writing to the composition to final production, all of you should be proud to have a product like this…nothing short of awesome.