Tag: Brooks Williams

For their 4th recording, Working In Wood, Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow return to Josh Clark’s Get Real Audio in Bath UK. Also part of the session is Jon Short on double bass. As with all their other recordings, Working In Wood is recorded “live in the studio” giving it the energy and explosiveness of a gig while at the same time capturing the pristine sound of two voices, the acoustic guitar, the fiddle and the double bass. The sound is like no other currently being recorded in the acoustic music scene. All the songs, whether original or by other songwriters, are given the ‘Brooks & Aaron treatment’, which means they are infused with melody and harmony and served up with a generous amount of groove. The opening track is ‘Whatcha Gonna Do About It’ by Kieron Kane, Rayna Gellert and David Francey. It features Williams’ slide guitar harmonising with Catlow’s fiddle.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s ‘Sleeping With The Dogs Tonight’ is about a night out that probably should come to an end soon. Catlow’s whistling features, this time doubling Williams’ guitar riff. As with most of the tracks, it also features rocking harmonies on the chorus. “Tornado Smith”, a tribute to the first Wall of Death rider in the UK, follows with bowed double bass and a gentle country feel. This arrangement is a Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow original. If you like story-songs, this one’s for you. Williams’ banger “London Road” follows, with its old-timey crooked melodic hook and its raise-your-voice chorus. If you ever traveled on London Road, you’ll recognise where you are. “The Ballad of Hendrix The Cat” is an instrumental conceived by Catlow when the duo’s tour took them to Saltburn-by-the-Sea. There they heard about the exploits of the legendary feline, Hendrix. It opens gently with Catlow plucking the fiddle like a guitar, then doubles with the guitar, finally soaring with bowed flourishes and open-tuned guitar chords. “Working In Wood”, by Buffie Groves, is a rock-ballad about a character finding their life’s calling working as a ship builder. The pulse of the guitar and lilt of the fiddle’s melody is almost cinematic in scope.

Long a favourite in their concerts, the classic ‘Deep River Blues’ gets an Everly Brothers-like treatment, with both Catlow and Williams harmonising the whole song. In between the verses the fiddle and guitar take turns dazzling with technical brilliance.

Closing out Working In Wood is the duo’s signature encore ‘Hesitation Blues’. This traditional country-blues standard gets a jazzy treatment, with a swinging groove and rocking solos. Can a fiddle and acoustic guitar play blues? After listening, I think you’ll agree they can.

Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow create a fiery, fearless sound of Americana, folk and country blues. Their musical chemistry is a spark that sets the stage ablaze with a spontaneous high-energy. There literally is no one performing today creating this kind of acoustic music. Their repertoire is genre busting and audiences love it! At the Blue Room Sessions in The Netherlands, at Cambridgeshire’s Ely Folk Festival, at The Atkinson in Southport as well as North Yorkshire’s Victoria Hall. At Paisley’s Arts Centre and St. David’s Hall in Cardiff, audiences can’t get enough of the high-energy Williams-Catlow collaboration.

Artists’ website: https://brookswilliams.com/brooks-aaron

‘Deep River Blues’ – live: