Quarto Valley 2025
Better Side Of Me
Accessing and assessing his past on most mature record, Tennessee singer-songwriter dissolves soul-searching in peace of mind.
When John McAndrew was an alcoholic, he didn’t pay much attention to the passing of time; when he was following a recovery program, the Nashville dweller used to look forward to the future; an elder statesman now, the American musician finds it easy to finally be able to look back. Taking stock of his life after three decades in show business, McAndrew came up with a dozen fresh cuts that paint him as a self-deprecating person who, however, knows his own value in this world, which is why John’s existential philosophy doesn’t feel didactic. Seeming more homespun than one could expect from him, the tracks on offer still tap into a soft-lit, often solemn splendor the veteran reached for for years and embraced only recently.
Focusing on emotionality of his mellifluous voice and piano and accompanied by both producers of this album, Fernando Perdomo on guitar and bass and Denny Seiwell on drums, McAndrew slowly but surely uncovers various aspects of his artistic personality and talents as a performer. He may start off with a slice of good-time rhythm-and-blues of “Only You” which chugs along with a lot of sweet swagger, let rip on Me My Soul And My Heart” and opt for a vaudeville vibe on “Nobody Knows My Name” that shines a different light on John’s creative approach, yet all the traces of boogie get removed from the ruminative likes of “Up On River Road” which take countrified romanticism to the fore. He’s turning almost hymnal in the warm glow and delicate groove of “Before They All Slip Away” and then becoming immensely intimate on “If It Weren’t For You” which Steve Porcaro’s tender strings drench in chamber sensuality and on “Expecting Nothing In Return” which glimmers with exquisite sincerity. And while “We Changed Our Minds” unhurriedly brings together muscular funk and gentle soulfulness in the way Leon Russell would approve of, “Like A Child” increases the spiritual layer of the singer’s oeuvre through its gospel sway, Durga McBroom vocals and a children choir chiming in for further celestial flight.
However, the record’s titular finale bares McAndrew’s vulnerable side that’s so easy to relate to, and makes the listener think of John as their friend. So even if this record is indeed a display of McAndrew’s better side, the audience should suspect his worse is left behind for good.
****1/2
