dirty little secrets by sam sherwin

Depending on the song, he can stretch and twist it into variations rich with feeling and emotion. Though a lot of the songs center on loss and betrayal, when the moment demands it, he

also knows when to let it soar.

No one writes lyrics like Sam Sherwin. This is not a CD for ten-year olds. The words are riveting because they capture life in all its screwy unpredictability. Lines like, "I'll never throw in the towel, if I ever get back on my feet," and, "Pose nice for the picture baby, all gesture no pain," are perfect indictments on the singer's rattled sensibilities. On "Miss Me," the opening song, there is a kind of glee in the fury that must have fueled the love affair: "You miss the boat, you miss the train, you miss the blood inside my veins."

What's especially great on "DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS" is the play on musical forms. The music celebrates urban folk, jazz, pop, rock & roll, straight blues and even Broadway. The songs perfectly conquer each form as if Sherwin is saying, it doesn't matter what language you say it in... love is a bitch.

"DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS" has deep roots. Listeners will hear twinges of David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Paul Butterfield, The Velvet Underground, and Peter Gabriel. Sam Sherwin knows the musical past and when you drink beer, you tend to sweat a little. But Sam never copies; he only borrows the feelings that lurk in the grooves and blends them together to make what is both surprising and familiar.

Producer Randy Crafton has given the CD the right amount of

polish and rough edges. Crafton,who produced Richie Havens and Dayna Kurtz among others, knows how to blend the raw fruit with all the right ingredients to make your mouth water, because "DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS" has sizzling production. Like Sam, Crafton understands that love is not the apple, but the pie.

The other reason the CD sounds so good is the cast. Sam's

guitar work is expert; but also included are Broadway's LION KING percussionist Glen Fittin, who also worked on the vocal & musical arrangements; multi-talented John Kruth, who has collaborated with everyone from Garth Hudson to John Cale, on woodwinds and strings; "Blood Sweat and Tears" bassist Ed Iglewsky; Renee Cologne from "Meatloaf" on background vocals; session virtuoso Pete Vitalone on keyboards, plus singer/guitarist Walter Parks who is Richie Havens's guitarist.

That is the package. Like a six-sided magic cube, no matter how you throw the die, you always come up a winner. Listen to Sam on WUSB FM 90.1 especially on DJ "WORKHORSE'S" show. WUSB.org on the internet has lots of Sam's work on simulcast.

— Written by Martin Fitzpatrick, author of "THE BITTER

END: HANGING OUT AT AMERICA'S NIGHT CLUB"

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