Steve Parry

Steve Parry is the kind of songwriter who has the ability to connect with people through truth. He weaves that magic into his music and it's beautiful.

Best Country Albums of 2011

As the year winds down, we'll be taking time off to spend with family and to reflect on the year that's passed. One of our great joys this year was being able to share with you some of our favorite new indie Country artists. So here's our list of best Country Albums of 2011, including many of our new friends. (The list is alphabetical, not ranked.)

Hayes Carll: KMAG YoYo
Beautifully sloppy underground Country.
Chicken Tractor Deluxe: Nightclub Jacks & Undertakers
Great retro charm.
Casey Donahew Band: Double Wide Dream
A double dose of Texas road house energy.
Michael Donner & Southern Renaissance: No Better Time
Poetic and beautifully arranged debut with punches of guitar flurry.
Family Reunion: Family Album
What can we say? We made it, we like it!
The Far West: The Far West
Good old fashioned cry in your beer country.
Merle Haggard: Working in Tennessee
Still working, still legendary.
Robert Earl Keen: Ready for Confetti
The party never ends for the seminal Texas songwriter.
Toby Keith: Clancy's Tavern
Another great sing along (drink along) collection from Toby.
Miranda Lambert: Four the Record
Her amazing hit streak continues.
Martina McBride: Eleven
Her most heartfelt album to date.
Brad Paisly: This Is Country Music
This is great guitar work, sly humor, and an all star musical guest list.
Steve Parry: The Fight Left in Me
Real cowboy songs that pack emotional punch.
Kelly Thomas & The Fabulous Pickups: Fly
An anthem to dysfuntional relationships.

Merry Christmas to all y'all! See you in 2012!

Before I even read the blurb that came with Steve Parry’s “The Fight Left in Me”, after hearing the first few bars of the very first song I thought to myself, Guy Clark.

In his bio, he states he drew from the strong story lines artists such as Mr. Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Steve Earl have exhibited during their illustrious song-making careers. Mr. Clark and Mr. Earl are still pounding them out. They lived through so many hardships they could have written books and may someday. Instead, they put their stories to song. We lost Mr. Van Zandt much too early, but his music is immortal.

Minnesota’s Steve Parry, a seasoned folk singer who has lived life on the road performing for live crowds decided to put his stories in the guise of musical notes himself. It is obvious who his mentors are and that is fine, because rather than copying his mentors, he has expanded on what they have done, taking his experiences and relating them to us in song.

Mr. Parry’s experiences, growing up on a Midwestern farm have given him the material needed to get events put to either music or even a screenplay. Nevertheless, Mr. Parry’s forte is music and that is where his stories fit best. His voice is as good if not better than any other of the three fore mentioned artists. His lyrics are deeply textured, so much so, that you can almost smell the dust coming off the planked floors, I imagined his boots stomping on as he played.

He has the talent to paint stark pictures with his music and he proves it song after song. I guarantee this. If you love Guy Clark, you will also love Steve Parry and his debut album, “The Fight Left in Me”. His style is reminiscent, but I believe Mr. Parry’s voice is much smoother. I don’t intend to take away from Mr. Clark’s voice. I love it. It’s just that Mr. Parry has a stronger singing voice, which I believe would appeal to a larger, more diverse audience.

I suppose a more fair statement would be; if you love Texas music, then you’ll love Steve Parry and “The Fight Left in Me”.

It is available now and ‘Rebel’ Rod says to check it out!

Album of the Week: Steve Parry - The Fight Left In Me

The best music has the power to transport you to another time or place and to fire your emotions. The music on Steve Parry's The Fight Left In Me definitely has that power. Listening to this album, I am instantly transported to the Great Plains of yesteryear. I can almost hear the campfire crackling in the background as Steve sings earnest songs of love and loss and hopes and dreams.

For some reason, I hear Steve Parry sing and I envision the Marlboro Man and that iconic image of a self sufficient man ready to face any challenge. Steve faces the challenges of human drama in the many characters he creates on this album. In "My Name Is Martin Gibson," he sings about a shame so deep it passes through generations: "My name is Martin Gibson, you can't blame that on me. I'm just another dying branch on this family tree." Steve paints a beautifully melancholy portrait of the farmer in "Till I'm Dead:" "I stare out on that red horizon, God I hope there's better days ahead. I guess it don't matter what tomorrow brings; "cause I'll work this land till I'm dead."

Like Marty Stuart and Merle Haggard, Steve Parry is a true Western troubador. His acoustic guitar and his strong, yet yearning baritone voice bring each of his characters to life and straight into your heart. With subtle touches of violin, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and accordian (expertly arranged by producer Chris Cuunigham of Storyhill) the songs are each a beautifully woven tapestry of music and story. But the greater harmony is that of a man in tune with himself. Like that old Marlboro Man, Steve understands the peace that comes with self awareness. In "Tao of Betsy" he sings: "The secret to life is simply this, find what you love and you follow your bliss." This singing cowboy is clearly doing what he loves, and the result is pure bliss for those of us lucky enough to ride along.

Review: Steve Parry “The Fight Left In Me”

"It’s rare that an album comes across our desk that at first listen, might be mistaken for a new Guy Clark release.  But, Steve Parry’s surprisingly impressive debut, The Fight Left In Me is an exception.  This is an album that showcases Texas songwriting at its finest. Yet, oddly enough, Parry isn’t from Texas, at all. Still, somehow the influence of legendary Lone Star State native singer/songwriters, successfully found its way up to the snowy trenches of Stillwater, MN.  Then again, Minnesota is no stranger to great storytelling, Bob Dylan is from there after all.

With bare-bones acoustic instrumentation, Steve Parry seems to have convincingly mastered the art of American character based songwriting.  “Til I’m Dead,”  featuring soft, subtle, Emmylou Harris style accompanying harmonies, tells a woeful, Steinbeck-esque, Grapes of Wrath tale of a man who moved west and lost his love to dreaded illness, but will continue to persevere and “work the land” until he’s dead.  In “Raise Hell,” which  includes dark, haunting lyrics and a picking style similar to Townes Van Zandt, Parry, like Merle Haggard did with “Mama Tried,” sings of a good seed gone bad, post sufficient tragedy, turning to a life of “whiskey, women, guns and beer.”

Whether or not Parry has actually lived through the sorrow he sings (let’s hope not), he never ceases to sound authentic.  The Fight Left In Me begs the listener to grab a glass of whiskey, sit down for a good cry and join along wallowing in self-pity.  Though it’s filled with themes of death, heartache and disappointment, with the closing track, “Hope,” Parry, determined to “not die alone,” proves that despite it all, he won’t give up on life and really does have the fight left in him."

For more information on this artist, visit:  www.stevenparry.com

October 29th, 2011 - 15:13  in CD reviews

Steve Parry - The Fight Left In Me

Before you chastise me for writing a review of Steve Parry in an Americana/Roots website, rest assured this is a different Steve Parry. This Steve Parry’s voice carries a leathery grit that I could best describe as a cross between Guy Clark and Jeffrey Foucault.  In fact, this Steve Parry is in every way the opposite of his more famous namesake.

I’ve heard Parry perform live several times and was excited to hear his recently-released first CD, The Fight Left in Me.  However I was not prepared to be blown away. The song-writing and production are top-rate, as are the backing musicians. Parry’s weathered voice blends especially well with his female back-up singer and a well-placed mandolin.

The Fight Left in Me moves you from tales of broken dreams —“Pocket Full of Dreams” and “So Sings the Cowboy”; to guarded optimism—“Tao of Betsy” & “Hope”— to wistful reflection – “What You Meant to Me” and “Gum on Your Shoe”. One of the disc’s highlights is the darkly humorous “My Name is Martin Gibson”, a song no doubt inspired by Parry’s own naming misfortune.  In a rarity, perhaps unheard of for a first effort, every song on the cd works, making it the perfect cd to add to your IPod rotation and listen to the whole way through. 

Almost as good as Parry’s well-spun tales is the story of the man himself. Parry is one of those got-laid-off-and-followed-my-dream stories of American folklore. But unlike most become-a-singer dream chasers, Parry has the song-writing chops to pull it off.  When this Steve Parry sings of heartbreak and disappointment, you’ll know he’s been there.  

There are very few CDs I could hand to any folkie or Americana fan and guarantee them they’ll love it. The Fight Left in Me is one of them. These tunes grab you then continue to grow on you with each listen, much like some of Slaid Cleaves’ best work. Try it out, add it to your IPod rotation for a few days, and let me know what you think. 

There’s a new Steve Parry in town and I think you’ll love him.

Note:  I haven’t been able to find The Fight Left in Me yet on I-tunes. I’ve been directing my friends to his website, www.stevenparry.com where you can preview some of the tunes before you buy the CD.  It’s also available on Amazon.com.

“The stories that live in these songs get up, meet you at the door and shake your hand.... they walk with you across the room, and offer you a chair to relax in while you get comfortable with their voice, their poetry, they're meaning... and all the while they're reminding you of your own.”

“Steve Parry's new release, The Fight Left in Me, is about as satisfying as a conversation on the front porch with an old friend. Steve's songs are filled with hope & heartbreak, love & loss. The lyrics are about as real as it can get and they are set to some fine music to boot.  The Fight Left in Me is a firm handshake from a calloused hand, and five miles of fence posts.”