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FROM Ermanno Labianca's Blog http://erlab-61.blogspot.com/
LOWLANDS - Guitars, Bonarda and Bourbon - quality American singer-songwriter rock music - born in Pavia
In between we all live our lives more or less in between, those of us who listen to American music, allowing ourselves to be transported to Texas or California every time one of those records comes on, one of those records capable of taking us across an ocean
Then there are those musicians, who also live in between – those who, with instruments and feet firmly planted in Italy, play, dream and write as if that mythological world was just around the corner and not far away across the sea
For all these reasons, LOWLANDS are a band in between – as of today, Italy’s best American rock 'n' roll band. They are first among equals because, from Pavia, they look west with the passion of true music fans (for whom a new Steve Wynn record is ALWAYS a special event) and with the connectivity of those who make music hoping to take it (or have it take them) far and wide
Some months ago, LOWLANDS gave me a demo, then another and then their precious debut album, “The Last Call” (recorded in Italy, England, America and Australia). At track 5 you’ll find the song “In Between”, in which Edward Abbiati writes and sings: “you travel a million miles but never move on”. It’s a song of both hope and regret, one of those where the protagonist appears immobile, trapped in between a desire to leave and a mysterious restraining hand. Five sad minutes, reminiscent of “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, delineated by violin, acoustic guitars and pedal steel, lie amid a beautiful record, which in other parts exudes Americana- of the good type
LOWLANDS celebrate, with character and originality, the many facets of classic American songwriting and the sound of the many bands that have preceded them in the genre. Towards the end of “In Between” there is a line: “every now and then something happens”, which seems to capture the essence of ..LOWLANDS..’ ambitions. While it is true that sometimes something happens, here things are happening and will continue to happen, thanks to the brilliant song writing of Edward Abbiati (a bilingual Pavese, with Australian blood in his veins), coupled with a vocal performance that, round here, where only 3 or 4 can sing so credibly, is almost unsurpassable
So, you happen to fall in love with “Leaving NYC”, a song of travels and promises, among the most touching on the record, where the protagonist crosses America on a Greyhound bus - an America of a thousand faces (trapped in between their dreams and reality…just like me, just like you) – an America of a thousand promises and a thousand betrayals. An America where you flee like thieves from New York, where you cheer for those who made it and mourn for those left behind forever, where you can get high in Toronto and get caught in Buffalo - an America that, just when you need it, sends down rain to ease the pain - an America that we’ve heard sung about so much, we are almost bored of , without ever knowing with any certainty if we’ll ever hear another song that will make us love her again
“Leaving NYC” is one of those songs, because WILLIE NILE could have written it, or STEVE FORBERT or MICHAEL MCDERMOTT - and because that verse, where you come out of the Lincoln Tunnel and get on the New Jersey Turnpike, to see Sandy’s ghost drifting lost down Thunder Road, is not only a homage to SPRINGSTEEN’s music but a crossroads of unique emotions that carry you far away.
The unity of this record and the harmony of its ambitions are exemplified also by bitter sweet songs such as “Ghosts In This Town” - hybrid poetry, which seems to start in the garage rock of GREEN ON RED only to land, just around the end of the first verse, in HOTHOUSE FLOWERS territory, in the ancient land of Ireland, which is the birthplace of much of the music that, transported across an ocean, became American music
In between dark nights, orange skies, street corners, pale moon lights, where to party, Friday nights (two songs centre on this theme: “Friday Night” and “That’s Me On The Page”) and beaches fronting the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find the best record of American music made round here since the all too short lived and fabled ROCKING CHAIRS of Emilia
Take each and every one of these songs and make them yours without delay. If you do, you’ll find echoes of THE DREAM SYNDICATE (on “What Can I Do”) and enjoy something that sounds like nothing but pure LOWLANDS (“38th & Lawton”), because the talent of Edward Abbiati (voice, guitar and excellent production) and those who travel with him: SIMONE FRATTI on bass, PAOLO MAGGI on drums, CHIARA GIACOBBE on violin, the guitar players SIMONE “JOHN” PRUNETTI, STEFANO SPERONI and FRANCESCO “LEBOWSKI” VERRASTRO, plus various noble guests such as CHRIS CACAVAS and NICK BARKER, is to steer close to the roots of American music - walking down those backstreets - while adding their own colours, not as easy to do as it may appear.
Already mentioned and reviewed by several American (and international) magazines and websites, LOWLANDS are a good bet, having started from this country where you can drink Bonarda, to end up drunk in the land where bourbon whisky flows like a river.
Knowing that very soon Lowlands will be busy playing (17th of april) at Spaziomusica in Pavia, their own Asbury Park, I want to once again borrow their words and raise a pint to wish them luck, convinced that, these rockers from the plains, taken the last call, have already left
Every now and then something happens.
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LOWLANDS - Chitarre, Bonarda e bourbon. Quando il buon rock americano e la musica d'autore dei "grandi spazi" arrivano da Pavia.....
In between, ovvero in mezzo, ci stiamo un po’ tutti. Ci stiamo noi che ascoltiamo la musica americana, facendoci trasportare in Texas o in California ogni volta che ci arriva uno di quei dischi che hanno il potere di farci saltare l’Oceano; e ci stanno i musicisti, quelli che con piedi e chitarre sono ben saldi in Italia ma suonano, sognano, scrivono come se quel mondo tanto mitizzato fosse dietro l’angolo e non al di là del mare. Per la somma di questi motivi, In between ci stanno anche i Lowlands, attualmente la migliore banda italiana di american rock’n’roll. Ci stanno più di altri perché da Pavia guardano a ovest con la passione dei fan della musica (quelli, appunto, per cui un nuovo disco di Steve Wynn è sempre un evento) e con la comunicativa di chi la musica la fa con la speranza di portarla lontano. Mesi fa, i Lowlands mi fecero avere un loro demo, e poi un altro, e poi il loro prezioso esordio, Last Call (registrato – bene - tra Italia, America, Inghilterra e Australia), dove alla posizione 5 c’è “In Between”, in cui Edward Abbiati scrive e canta “you travel a million miles but never move on”. E’ una canzone di speranza e rammarico, di quelle dove il protagonista sembra immobile, stretto tra la voglia di andare e quella mano misteriosa che lo trattiene. Cinque minuti dolenti, alla Ghost of Tom Joad, incastrati con il loro violino e un accompagnamento essenziale di chitarre acustiche e pedal steel, in un disco bellissimo che altrove sprizza Americana, quella buona, celebrando – con personalità e originalità - le molte facce della canzone d’autore made in USA e il suono di tante band di cui questi ragazzi vedono la scia. Sul finire di “In Between” c’è una frase - “every now and then something happens” – che da sola sembra raccogliere ogni segreta ambizione di casa Lowlands. Se è vero che ogni tanto qualcosa succede, qui di cose ne succedono e ne succederanno parecchie, e il merito è di una scrittura davvero brillante, che Abbiati, un pavese bilingue che ha sangue australiano nelle vene, supporta con un’interpretazione che dalle nostre parti – dove a cantare certe cose in modo così credibile sono in tre o quattro – è quasi impossibile battere.
Così capita di innamorarsi di “Leaving NYC”, canzone di viaggi e promesse, tra i momenti più toccanti del disco, dove il protagonista attraversa in Greyhound l’America delle mille facce (“intrappolate tra il sogno e la realtà, come me”, canta Abbiati), delle mille possibilità e dei mille tradimenti. Dove si scappa come ladri da New York, dove si plaude a quelli che ce l’hanno fatta e si piange chi è andato via per sempre, dove puoi “sballare” a Toronto e venire beccato a Buffalo, quell’America che quando serve manda giù una pioggia benefica a lenire il dolore. E’ l’America che abbiamo sentito cantare tanto a lungo da averne quasi noia, senza mai sapere per certo se arriverà un’altra canzone a farcela amare di nuovo. “Leaving NYC” è una di quelle, perché avrebbero potuto scriverla Willie Nile, Steve Forbert o Michael McDermott, e perché quella strofa in cui si esce dal Lincoln Tunnel per incontrare il New Jersey delle Turnpike, del fantasma di Sandy e delle thunder road non è solo un omaggio alla musica di Springsteen ma un crocevia di emozioni uniche che porta anche altrove. La completezza di questo disco e l’armonia delle sue intenzioni sono testimoniate infatti anche da quegli episodi di bellezza mista, come “Ghost of This Town”, poesia ibrida che sembra nascere nel garage dei Green On Red per approdare, giusto il tempo di finire il primo verso, dalle parti degli Hothouse Flowers, in quella terra d’Irlanda che dalle nostre parti è il primo oblò da cui si vede davvero l’America. Tra notti scure, cieli color arancio, angoli di strada, la luce pallida di una luna piena, venerdi in cui fare festa (due canzoni si abbracciano grazie a questo tema, “Friday Night” e “That’s Me On The Page”) e spiagge davanti al Pacifico si consuma il più bel disco di american rock prodotto dalle nostre parti dopo la favola troppo breve e ormai lontana degli emiliani Rocking Chairs.
Prendete ognuno di questi brani e fatelo vostro senza indugio, per ritrovarci i Dream Syndicate che non ci sono più (“What Can I Do”) o per godere di qualcosa che non assomiglia a nulla se non ai Lowlands (“38th & Lawton”), perché la bravura di Abbiati (voce, chitarre e ottima produzione artistica) e di chi viaggia con lui (il bassista Simone Fratti, il batterista Paolo Maggi, la violinista Chiara Giacobbe e i chitarristi Simone "John" Prunetti, Stefano Speroni e Francesco "Lebowski" Verrastro, più ospiti vari e nobili, tra cui Chris Cacavas e Nick Barker) è proprio quella di rasentare i muri maestri della musica americana o percorrere le strade di retrovia aggiungendo i propri colori, cosa non sempre facile come appare qui. Già segnalati, con merito, da magazine e siti americani, i Lowlands sono una bella scommessa che parte dalle nostre campagne dove si beve la Bonarda per arrivare a stordirsi nelle terra dove whisky, bourbon e birra scorrono a fiumi.
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Sapere i Lowlands impegnati tra breve (il 17 aprile) a Spaziomusica di Pavia, la loro Asbury Park, mi fa venire voglia di rubargli di nuovo le parole e fargli una pinta di auguri, certo però che questi rocker di pianura, raccolta l’ultima chiamata, siano già partiti.
Every now and then something happens…....
From "Le Cri du Coyote" issue #110
(Le Cri du Coyote n°110)
*LOWLANDS: The Last Call* by Christian Labonne
The magic of music that crosses the world, is to appreciate this
group of Americana-reverent musicians without knowing anything about them. To try and identify what their musical gurus may have been and just guess Springsteen, Steve Earle and Uncle Tupelo (and possibly the Silencers), but they are definitely part of the rock family, leaning towards the grunge side but roots at their core. The lead voice is perfect, strong or sensitive according to the track, guitars, harmonica, fiddle and lap steel are highlighted leaning on an irreproachable rhythm base. "Friday night" is a compendium of energy, "You can never go back" is the ballad that sticks and "The last call” ends in beauty. Finally, that this band comes from the town of Pavia (northern Italy) becomes secondary.
*LOWLANDS : The Last Call*
La magie des musiques qui traversent le monde, c‘est d‘apprécier les musiciens de ce groupe d‘obédience Americana sans rien savoir d‘eux.
Essayer de repérer quels ont été leurs gourous musicaux et deviner
juste avec Springsteen, Steve Earle ou Uncle Tupelo (et faux avec les
Silencers) mais ils sont définitivement de la famille rock un peu
grunge sur les bord mais bien roots au milieu. La voix lead est
parfaite, énergique ou sensible suivant les titres, les guitares,
harmonica, violon et lap steel sont mises en valeur sur une rythmique
irréprochable. "Friday night" est un condensé d‘énergie, "You can
never go back" est la ballade qui scotche et "The last call termine"
en beauté. Finalement, que ce groupe soit originaire de Pavie (Italie
du Nord) devient secondaire. (*Christian Labonne*)
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From http://www.zesitian.blogspot.com/
eddie abbiati e simone fratti
Ma che bello era,
il concerto dei Lowlands, venerdì scorso a SpazioMusica. Avevo sentito il disco, aspettavo di sentirmelo passare dentro, come è sempre stato negli anni che andavo ai concerti praticamente tre sere a settimana. Puoi sentirti tutti i dischi che vuoi, ma dal vivo c’è qualcuno che te li racconta e te li mette in scena. Ti ipnotizzano le mani sulla chitarra, le facce dei musicisti che si intendono a smorfie e ridono, la concentrazione estatica dell’assolo, il basso che ti sussulta in petto, l’applauso che nasce e muore a trequarti di canzone, perché non ce la fai a tenerti.
E poi il suono pastoso e ruvido di Spazio.
E con queste aspettative, alle 10.25 io e la mia birra ci siamo seduti sul pavimento ad aspettare. Passa il duo di supporto, Ses Cordas, e comincio a divertirmi. Mi guardo anche intorno:
oh cazzo non conosco più nessuno. E pazienza. Scambio qualche battuta con Eddie che è teso e si vede lontano un miglio che l’attesa del palco se lo sta mangiando da dentro. Conosco la sensazione e no, non se ne va mai via. Ogni volta è lo stesso. Coraggiosamente, fa pubbliche relazioni con la faccia di quello che preferirebbe mettere una mano sulla piastra e sbocconcellarla tra due fette di pane.
Compare l’ineffabile Daniela.
Poi le presentazioni e la chiamata al dovere (il concerto è per il CSV di Pavia – per l’Abruzzo). Poi arrivano gli amici. E infine si parte.
roberto diana
Per me è apnea. Sono sempre stato un cattivo recensore, perché quando c’è un concerto mi trasformo in avatar di me stesso, e perdo la nozione del tempo. Fluttuo e ballonzolo, canticchio e urlacchio: un imbecille seduto a mezzo metro dal palco. Nei rari momenti di lucidità, però, realizzo alcune cose, che mi fanno sgranare gli occhi come un bambino.
Prima di tutto,
Eddie sul palco ha una gran presenza: orso fino al quarto pezzo, poi qualche battuta, poi la raffica di dediche e alla fine è addirittura in piedi su una cassa. Poi,
cazzo quanto suonano bene.
In between e
That’s me on the page riescono ottime – c’è sempre un momento di un concerto in cui si realizza perfettamente l’intesa tra suoni, strumenti e strumentisti, qui è proprio evidente. Trascinano
Ghosts in this Town e
In the end. Ma la mia sorpresa è tutta nei
brani nuovi. Eddie e labbanda aprono con il prossimo EP, in uscita a luglio, due brani notevoli. E poi infilano due gran pezzi come
Gipsy Child e
Without a sigh, anteprima di ciò che sarà il prossimo album. Rimango un poco stordito dal piacere di essere messo a parte del lavoro che stanno facendo: un nuovo sound, un poco più duro, pieno, giocato sugli equilibri tra il basso (Simone Fratti) e la coppia violino e chitarra solista (Chiara Giacobbe e Roberto Diana), sul tappeto assai convincente di piano e chitarra (Stefano Brandinali e Stefano Speroni). La batteria (Phil Ariens) è un po’ troppo presente e impastata (‘pestare’ a Spazio è sempre stato un problema: sound check a parte, è un ambiente piccolo con un’acustica limitata) ma efficace. E la voce di Eddie è –come dire – più convinta, consapevole. È in quella (lunga, lunghissima) fase durante la quale si diventa interpreti.
chiara giacobbe
Per essere un lavoro in corso, cazzo se è buono. Per quello che ho sentito, potete già prenotare il CD.
E poi, qualche chicca, tra cui i Waterboys di When we will be married (da Fisherman’s blues, che è uno dei miei dischi preferiti di sempre) in una curiosa e divertente versione rocker. Pezzi acustici nuovi e ancora in fase di affinamento, ma già strutturati.
E poi ancora istantanee: Debbie (moglie di Eddie) in piedi su un lato che sorride e tiene il tempo. Alzarsi e scoprire che il locale è strapieno. Una pacca sulla camicia coi buchi di Eddie, sfinito ma credo soddisfatto, col pensiero che la babysitter va via tra meno di un’ora.
Seratona, insomma. E anche se non poteva essere altrimenti, perché le premesse c’erano tutte, me ne sono tornato a casa con una sensazione strana addosso.
Avrei svegliato Normanna e Normannino per raccontare loro tutto il concerto. O avrei bevuto un’altra birra, a casa,da solo sul balcone. O forse sarei stato ancora un poco a curiosare tra la gente del locale, tra le facce rosse e gli occhi accesi. Non so.
Mettiamola così: c’è della bella gente in giro, stasera.
From Chiara Meattelli's Blog
http://thebrixtownmassacre.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/lowlands-tra-il-mondo-e-pavia/
Finora non mi ero azzardata a parlare dei Lowlands per, diciamo, un piccolo conflitto di interessi, visto che il mio nome compare tra i credits del cd per aver messo delle backing vocals. Non in questo che vedete qui sopra. Ma io non c’entro proprio nulla con “The Last Call”, il piccolo prodigio di musica indipendente che questi 7 ragazzi si sono autoprodotti senza etichetta o management e poche lire, anzi eurisss. A cantare e scrivere tutti i pezzi è Edward Abbiati e “In Between” è una delle più intense, di certo quella a cui sono più legata per un milione di motivi. Edward sta “In Between” tra Londra, il resto del mondo che si è girato in ogni angolo e Pavia, dove oggi vive con la sua splendida famiglia. “In Between” tra il polveroso roots rock, l’Americana e l’asfalto della tangenziale illuminato da un tramonto inquinato. Mi fermo qui sennò dite che sono di parte ma l’album è bello e si sta facendo strada, i singoli vengono suonati nelle radio dall’Australia agli States passando per la Nuova Zelanda e l’Europa. Anche la stampa italiana comincia ad accorgersene, oggi su di loro è uscito questo pezzone sul sito del Corriere della Sera. Se volete saperne di più, questo il sito della band: Lowlands. A dimostrazione che nei sogni bisogna crederci e portarli avanti con ogni sforzo… Go Eddie boy go!!!!!
APGG BLOG - TOP 5 Albums for 2008 by Evan Goldman (USA)
http://egcanes.blogspot.com/2008/12/apggs-top-albums-of-2008.html
4- Lowlands - The Last Call
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. The Last Call is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. Ghosts in this Town hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration.
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1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"
2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"
3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"
4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"
5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
Album review posted on Springsteen-forum "Greasy Lake" by Magnus Lauglo of Backstreets Magazine (Norway/USA)
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration. 1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?showtopic=81957
Lowlands – The Last Call
It makes feel old to admit this, but I rarely hear music by new bands anymore that really moves me. But every now and then an album by some new talent finds its way into regular rotation in my stereo. And Lowlands’ The Last Call has been one of my most played albums this year, alongside recent efforts by long time favourite bands of mine that I’ve been listening to for years. It is a dark, atmospheric, and striking debut album that hits you like a clear blast of cold air on a cold Tuesday night. Its songs of despair and hope should resonate with anyone who has loved, lost, and lived to see another day.
This is not your traditional “breakup album” so much as a “post-breakup fallout album.” The lyrics are personal and often confessional - painfully denying the reality of a breakup in “Ghosts in this Town” and “What Can I Do”; studying states of depression and lethargy on “In Between” and “That Me on the Page”; and recalling memories of places, moments once taken for granted, and good things that didn’t stand the test of time on “38th and Lawton”. There are images of cups of coffee clutched to warm cold hands, and rounds of beer bought to dull painful memories.
But the undying memories of lost lovers in the songs are not the only ghosts on the album. The album is infused with the spirits of rock n roll’s rich heritage – the most obvious to this listener being that of Springsteen. There’s the Nebraska-evoking album cover to start with, and a few choice lyrical references in “Leaving NYC”; “I swear I saw Sandy’s ghost/she was drifting, she was lost down thunder road.”
Obvious influences notwithstanding, Lowlands has carved out its own sound; highlighted by a rich blend of violins, lap and pedal steel, and harmonica that don’t distract from the lyrics, but rise and swell melodically between verses to fill out the songs. The music evokes nature at its most unforgiving, through chilling segments in between verses - like blasts of cold wind on the ominous “Lately”; or stormy rain on the restless, desperate “Friday Night”.
While the overall feel of the album is sad and resigned, Lowlands really rocks out on a couple of tracks, showing the band’s dynamism. The album may not become a party favourite, but there’s a rock solid rock band just waiting to be completely unleashed, perhaps with the next recording session? The most raucous of all, is the penultimate track, “In the End” which is sequenced a lot like an upbeat, self-ironic encore number used to reward an audience towards the end of an otherwise dark live show. Ultimately it’s just a drunken, honest, and vulnerable come-on to a stranger at a bar; but it’s also a rare moment of light at end of a dark tunnel. It captures a rare moment of resilience and survival, and showcases Lowlands playing some good, ragged, and punchy rock n roll. That’s a mode I’d like to hear them in again soon, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter of the story.
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“Lowlands. Album of the Year” from Donald MacNeil’s (Scotland) MySpace Blog Sunday, December 07, 2008
Note from Edward: this one has made my year and needs a quick preamble.
In the early nineties, for some obscure reason (I have a few ideas though…), I did not spend my summer chasing Italian girls at the beach but ended up, after a 48 hour bus, train and boat ride, on Oronsay, a Scottish Island in the Inner Hebrides. In front of my window…there was Canada…literally. You get the picture. My Uncle and Aunt had a farm up there and I spent the summer working with them, my cousin, 28 cows and 4000 sheep. I think I also managed to crash a tractor into brick wall! The next island, Colonsay, Population: 78, reachable on foot at low tide or by boat was a metropolis by comparison: it had a pub, a road, cars, a shop, a pub…did I mention that already? and more work to do… My cousin Daniel and I were sent over there to help out during the shearing season. Communism in fact and not on paper…everyone helped each other out in turn. That’s where I met,Donald “Pedie” MacNeill, ex-Math teacher, ex island emigrant, Farmer, Father, husband, football lover, music lover and musician…and what a musician.
I recall at the end of the shearing. Exhausted…totally knackered…sandwiches, whisky and water was passed around and Pedie played a few songs (with a fiddle player from the mainland)…I’ll never ever forget them. He had gigs every week back on Colonsay and I loved’em.
I remember being mesmerized by his songs…tough songs about leaving and trying to stay, a theme that still haunts me today, songs about death and harsh nature but also some funny, songs of beauty, love, life…I bought his tapes and for years listened to them…”What’ll we do” “Fair tides “ Half-hebridean” “Wear something Simple” the St.Kilda’s songs are within me as much as any Dylan, Guthrie or Springsteen tune I have ever heard. I could hear Richard Thompson in him as well as Woody Guthrie…but mainly it was his vision of life that shone through. To quote an old favourite of mine…I was blinded by the light.
A few years ago my Aunt sent me those songs now collected on CD (as well as a new one!)…they sit proudly between Lucero’s latest (Ben Nichols solo EP is a gem!) and the Magnetic Fields’ “69 Love Songs”.
I was in awe of him and for many years remembered how he was a worker, a father a husband and an artist…a complete man. I’d be proud to be half of what I saw back then. How do you combine it all and still give it all at everything you do? There is only one other man I know that achieved that (my father)
I did not have the guts to send him our CD…My Aunt Dinah did that for me…I owe her, and her family, so much…yet another unpaid debt.
Seeds were sown that summer…one of the best I have ever had. (Although I did appreciate heading back to Mediterranean beaches in subsequent years!)
Do yourself a favour and beg him to sell you his CDs…one day I’m gonna convince him to come to Italy for a tour.
And I hope to return to Colonsay.I hear things have changed. I hope the Guinness is still good… I am sure the sunsets and weather changes are as breathtaking as ever and above all I Hope Pedie will play me some new and old songs.
Edward
Back to the Blog: http://www.myspace.com/donaldmacneillcolonsay
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=417821354&blogID=454650248
Lowlands. Album of the Year
"Ah but I was so much older then"
The sheep shearers.
Two young, one not so,
One left hander, one half Italian, one half-hebridean
On Colonsay.
Where the half-Italian town dweller
And supporter of Inter
showed remarkable aptitude
and fortitude
In the shearing of sheep.
17?, 18?,19?
And me
Ancient at 37 (ish)
A farmer and singer of songs.
You, the fair, dark-horse
Incubating your songs in secret,
like all the best poets.
What a revelation: the pasta.
Italians can cook
And write
And play music
But I suppose we knew that!
One day to meet again
And play music.
"Tonight, the ghosts are all around"
Two decades ago in the shearing shed. Two lads Daniel /Edward sent by mum/aunt to sample the joy of sheep. 100 sheep later, lots of cross-cultural talk, a bit of instruction and I understood slightly more about Italy.
(I sent my daughter to view the San Siro, she was in Milan for shoes but dutifully made the pilgrimage on my behalf. A fine photograph was taken)
"I'll come and cook a meal," says Ed. "Here's a list of ingredients," says Ed. "What the hell's Conchiglie" says I, a man familiar only with macaroni and spaghetti. Keith supplied and Ed delivered one of the best meals ever featuring bacon, onion, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and was that it? I've been trying to re-create it for 20 years. Some, no doubt inferior red wine.
Often we've spoken of Ed, every time we try to make the dish which is about twice a month. So, do the sum……480?
Then, a package from the Aunt. A CD. "The Last Call" by Lowlands. The message ambiguous enough to leave me guessing as to the origin. Stuck it on the player and . How do you get all that music on one CD? Read the notes, was Abbiati his name. Rod Pickott? I've got one of his CD's. Internet, myspace…..the technology too much for the ageing crofter. E-mail the Aunt surely I can manage that; yes, the gypsy troubadour I have researched through the wonders of google is Edward.
What can I say about "The Last Call"? It rocks, it soothes, it lifts the spirits.
Country, blues, rock and some fine acoustic picking. And a fiddler who's better than an orchestra and blues harp and guitar player and where did you find them?
But it's Ed's songs and singing and fingerpicking, and it's my Album of the Year.
Favourite songs:
You Can Never Go Back
Like a Rose
38th and Lawton, but there isn't a bad track.
Visit my space Lowlands or www.lowlandsband.com, listen and buy from www.smartchoicemusic.com………. EXCELLENT CHRISTMAS PRESENT.
And yes we have been in touch. The wonders of myspace.
“Italian Stallions” September 6th 2008: blog entry by Evan Goldman (USA) “A Pretty Good Guy” Blog
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration. 1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration. 1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration. 1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
There’s a simple reason that Lowlands has managed to relegate several of my all-time favorite artists like Reckless Kelly and James McMurtry to the ranks of this year’s Honorable Mention category. They made a better album. is another blogosphere find for 2008. And there’s not a single album that’s gotten more play at APGG headquarters. hooks you in from the start with its hard driving sound and lyrics. New music has gotta have that hook. The rest is Alt-country history. An original sound that has this blogger thirsty for more. Oh, here’s the best part. They’re from Italy! Now if they could only help jettison that Berlusconi fellow… Something tells me they won’t be playing his inauguration. 1 - Drive By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"2 - Chris Knight "Heart of Stone"3 - Marah "Angels of Destruction"4 - Lowlands "The Last Call"5 - The Hold Steady "Stay Positive"
APGG's been looking for a place to land in the cataclysmic event that the GOP steals a third consecutive Presidential election. Malta holds some big-time appeal. They take democracy super-seriously with 95% of the nation turning out for national elections. Venezuela is an intriguing choice. Chavez is such a lovable and progressive teddy-bear. Besides, who wouldn't want to pay $.09 for a gallon of gas?
But I've made my choice. We're hightailing to Pavia, Italy. I've always said I'd travel far n' wide to see a great Alt-Country band. I've walked the talk, having caught Ragweed in Austin and Reckless Kelly in OKC. I just never thought I'd be compelled to leave the country for Alt-County.
I'm talkin' about Lowlands and their first release, The Last Call. Ed Abbiati masterminds this rocker from a perch in Northern Italy and his creation is alternatively frantic and soulful. Through it all, it the lyrics are majestic. Think Dylan. Or the reigning lyrical master, Chris Knight.
I'm hoping to see more from this group and man, it would be a treat to catch them live. Just don't make me travel to Italy in order to see them. If enough people vote Obama-Biden, it'll be allright "in the end."
http://egcanes.blogspot.com/2008/09/italian-stallions.html
Note from Edward: looks like we’ll have to make the trip then…congratulations on your new president!
John Bardwell
San Diego, CA April 2008
“There’s only 2 kinds of music: good music, and bad music” (Steve Earle, live in London, 1988).
“The Last Call” is a perfectly good slice of music that needs no further categorization. I was at that gig, Ed Abbiati wasn’t. However, we attended a good few gigs together in the late 90s / early 00s. Those days, some grey, some sad, some of the happiest times we ever had, were the genesis of “The Last Call”, the debut album from Ed’s band, Lowlands. A personal journey through elation, despair, loneliness, love lost and found, and hope, one I shared in part and watched in part from a distance.
As road warriors and partners in crime, we shared a lot. Bound by a mutual love for Springsteen and Earle, Waits, Young, the Replacements, Cash and The Clash, Ed educated me about many classics that I’d unfairly ignored (Dylan, Ani Di Franco, Todd Snider, You Am I) and new Americana like Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown and many others. In return, I indoctrinated him with my twisted take on good music – Steve Wynn and the Dream Syndicate, Dan Stuart, Chuck Prophet and Green on Red, Husker Du, the Gin Blossoms, the Black Crowes. This gloriously eclectic mix sustained and inspired us through good times and bad, and most show up in some shape or form on the album.
Back to the music. The band (Simone Fratti, Simone “john” Prunetti, Paolo Maggi, Stefano Speroni, Chiara Giacobbe, Francesco “lebowski” Verrastro) frame the warm, often fragile, always emotion-laden vocals perfectly – this is the sound of friends complementing each other perfectly, with an instinctive knowledge and sense of each other. Even the guest musicians are friends, and it shows. Richard Hunter’s world-class blues harp, Slo-Mo’s achingly gorgeous slide on “In Between”, Chris Cavacas’s keyboard artistry on Friday Night, all blend perfectly with the core values of the album.
“The Last Call” is full of songs about love found and lost (Like a rose, What can I do?), promises made and broken (You can never go back), finding solace and absolution in the bottom of a glass (the heady concoction that is the Cavacas-mixed “Friday Night”, as potent as a pitcher full of Long Island Ice Teas), places visited that were memorable for the best and worst of reasons (Leaving NYC, with Sandy’s ghost to the fore). As Ed says, “There is a bit of everything I think, love, death, traveling, some damage, desperation, hope, friends, ghosts, cemeteries and pubs... Hopefully the music will take you to some of these places...and back again.”
Ed writes a lot of songs about ghosts. The album is guided and haunted by the ghosts, Ed laying his soul bare, recounting the mistakes of the past and the hope that is the new day rising. “The album is about the sensations one has in those moments,” Ed concludes. “There can be rage, loneliness, incredible hope and even strange happiness. But you have to value the things that sustain you. My music and my friends have sustained me. I’m happy to have them both here on this album.”
About halfway between the fabled Jersey shoreline and the West Coast I now call home you’ll find those flatlands, inhabited by the last of the hardcore troubadours we know and love, like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Dave Alvin and Butch Hancock. The spirit of the Lowlands is alive and kicking in the flatlands of Northern Italy.
eddie abbiati e simone fratti 
roberto diana
chiara giacobbe