Coming as part of a series of releases on BBE Music that have been curated by Paul Hillery, Will and James Ragar’s The Acoustic Album is another masterpiece of Americana and the brothers’ folk-soul sound that links to artists including Terry Callier, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Richie Havens. A sound that has a geographical spread from across the USA, and in the case of of James and Will develops a Southern Bayou breeze that drips with AOR, Country and Soul with echoes of Woodstock and Laurel Canyon.
The Acoustic Album features 16 tracks written between the late 70s and mid-90s and recorded as an album over one session through April of 2016 in Conway, Arkansas. With the brothers playing acoustic guitars (Will a Rainsong and James a hand made S. Yairi) this session allowed them to record dual guitar and their vocals into layered harmonics. The album becoming a series of songs that reflect and pertain to periods of transition in the lives of the brothers as individuals and as a musical duo.
Releasing as both digital and a double vinyl LP The Acoustic Album complements the BBE releases of Will and James Ragar’s One LP, the recent Baton Rouge EP and adds yet another ‘must have’ LP in a music lover’s collection.