Local multi-genre, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer John Salaway has been around. He’s a drummer, a guitarist and a pianist. And with his new release, Americana Dreams, he wants to bring even more sounds to the musical table. While earlier records featured Salaway playing nearly every instrument himself, this one is about collaboration, featuring many co-written tracks and an array of guest instrumentalists taking turns in the musical chairs.
Americana Dreams is definitely dreamy. For starters, in physical form the CD itself is designed to look like vinyl—for many people, that in itself is the stuff dreams are made of.
The 10-track collection opens with the laid-back, luxurious Beatles-ish lift-you-up singalong “It Feels Great” (the full message of which is it feels great . . . when you let it all go) then swirls into the slide guitar-drenched ode to taking the straight and narrow on “Take the High Road.”
“These songs are about letting that bad stuff go and saying, ‘Look, life is beautiful. Let’s be thankful for what we have and enjoy our time together,’” Salaway shares.
The folk-influenced “It’s All in Your Mind,” featuring co-writer Bri Murphy on fiddle and harmonies, finds the singer inclined to lean in and whisk his loved one away in mystical escape, before the mysterious slide guitar-and-upright bass-laden “A Little Bit Broken” (don’t worry, he put himself back together) invites listeners to clap and stomp along while Salaway laments scraping up the pieces I’ve picked up before. Featuring co-writer India Ramey on harmonies, “Broken” reached No. 1 on the worldwide indie radio charts.
The sounds dial back a notch in the acoustically enchanting observations of “Inspire You” (one of only two tracks on the collection written solely by Salaway) then plow full steam ahead, armed with guitar and dobro, on the groovy back-and-forth of “You Better Believe” and the charmingly uptempo “Good for Me.”
Solemn topics such as hypocrisy and social issues ruminate on the Southern-rockish “Real With Ya,” but the pensively cello-enveloped “The Beauty That Surrounds Us” (complete with whistling) reminds us to keep on the sunny side, further illustrating Salaway’s range and optimism.
Want to sail away with Salaway? Order Americana Dreams, listen to clips and streams and find out more at johnsalaway.com or onerpm.lnk.to/americanadreams. Salaway will be at Nashville’s City Winery on Feb. 6 (as a band member of Forever Abbey Road), performs regularly at BB King’s Blues Club in Nashville, and is scheduled for Hop Springs in Murfreesboro on Feb. 29.
