![]() ![]() Oliver Wood and Phil Cook began collaborating on "Soul Of This Town" over a year ago, but the downtime created by the pandemic gave them each the space in their individual schedules to complete the song. We recorded what we thought would be a demo of the song, but it turned out we loved having captured our first performance together and it felt special enough to keep and release." He got excited and wrote a few verses too, and by the time we got to the studio it didn't take us long to flesh it out and perform it live together. I immediately wrote a few verses and a chorus and sent it back to Phil. Cities are literally selling their souls in the name of growth and progress, which obviously doesn't benefit everyone (though you’d think it should and could). "I loved Phil's ideas and thought about Nashville, and then thought more universally about a lot of cities where gentrification is not only changing the look of the place, but displacing so many people. He didn't have lyrics, but he did reference Bob Dylan’s 'Nashville Skyline' and mentioned the present day rapid growth of Nashville, cranes everywhere and the face of the town changing with every visit," explains Oliver. The week before he came he sent me chords and a melody he had. A few months later Phil was coming through Nashville and we booked a few hours in the studio. We didn't know each other then, but when a mutual friend introduced us, we hit it off immediately, and made plans to write together. ![]() The first time I heard Phil's music I knew right away I wanted to sing and play with him. "'Soul Of This Town' is a full-on collaboration with my friend Phil Cook. ![]() Oliver's son Kieran Wood adds horns to the recording, marking their first documented collaboration, as well. "They say they cleaned up all the projects, welcomed everyone to stay, but the rent keeps on rising and pushing everybody away," mourns the song's narrator. Like the best of Oliver's songwriting over the years, its lyric speaks for the underdog, in this case those displaced by gentrification under the guise of progress. Co-written and recorded with acclaimed Raleigh, NC-based singer-songwriter Phil Cook, the song is rooted in rugged gospel-blues as it laments the loss of "soul" in cities across the U.S. It envelops you like a warm hug and draws you into Cook’s world, where it’s always just a little bit sunnier than our own.Oliver Wood, one third of the treasured roots/Americana trio The Wood Brothers, has shared his first ever solo release-a single entitled "Soul Of This Town" ( listen/share). “Tupelo Child” is filled with the dreamy, wide-eyed wonder of youth, and on “Deeper Kind,” Cook reaches fiery heights in a spiritual jam session.Ĭook taps into his love of the blues, gospel, twangy country music, and troubadour folk on People Are My Drug, creating a sound that comes easy to him and comes from his heart. And Cook proves himself to be a vocal force on a song like “Another Mother’s Son,” a commentary on fatherhood and racial injustice. Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath’s heavenly croon shows up on her co-write with Cook, “Miles Away”, a simple, moving song about pining for the ones you love. Songs like “Steampowered Blues” and “Tide of Life” are collages of voices (like Tamisha Waden and Chastity Brown, and Mountain Man), and both leave you with all the warmth you’d get walking the streets of New Orleans. This love of people is evident in the collaborative spirit of People Are My Drug, which features countless guests, like a big ol’ party. ![]() Each song leaves you feeling what he’s feeling, and feeling it so deeply you almost feel like you’re a part of his creation. Cook is a true lover of people and all their nuances and flaws, and he meditates on that with this record. People Are My Drug is full of thoughtful observations of humanity – what makes us tick, makes us laugh, makes us love. And there’s no doubt about it – Cook will have plenty more fans with the release of his follow-up, the aptly titled People Are My Drug. A master performer and maybe the kindest man alive, Cook had already amassed his own following as a sideman to HGM’s MC Taylor before releasing his excellent solo debut, Southland Mission, back in 2015. Typically stage right and positively tearing it up on the keyboard, he can barely keep his butt in the seat as he gives himself over so completely to the groove. If you ever saw Hiss Golden Messenger’s live shows, you know Phil Cook. ![]()
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