Bobbo Byrnes Releases A Compilation Album and A Book
- BuzzSlayers
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
A new album release from Bobbo Byrnes serves as a sort of greatest hits type of record. It's a bit of a compilation that's pieced together from different releases previously dropped.
He's taken songs from different records and compiled the best of them into one really big piece of work, and it has an amazingly consistent flow that blends country, folk, Americana, rock, and more, all in one record.
One of the biggest aspects of why this record works so well is the storytelling. The stories that are told can be from a personal perspective or from an outside one, but either way, you're getting great lyrical content that you end up sort of holding on to.
Lyrics can be personal, detailed, very descriptive, and at times can help you paint a picture in your head as songs unfold, which is beautiful
The album is called Too Many Miles, and it opens up with the track called "Heart Like Mine", which serves as a great introduction to the full release, because you're getting some of these amazing staples that you hear through the entire thing, and this first track definitely has that folk rock influence with hints of southern undertone flowing through its veins.
You can hear the country influence, layers of acoustic guitars, and belting vocals delivering melodies that just sort of stick with you.
It's got a lot of classic country style hooks, especially during the choruses, and these vintage-feeling organs that are consistently there in the background of the track, adding a bit of thickness and beckoning certain elements of vintage tone and even classic rock at times.
I definitely dig that sort of natural, roots folk underbelly, and a lot of the other songs touch on that in different ways as well.
"Millsboro" certainly hits that aesthetic. It's an acoustic ballad with amazing backing vocals that follow along some of the melodies sung by Bobbo, but an octave higher and a female voice.
I love this because it just adds a different layer to the whole vibe of everything.
This one also has some amazing acoustic slide guitar work that also lets things feel sort of emotionally pushed or even cinematic at times.
A lot of the songs branch out in different directions at times, but again, it is still consistent and it all fits properly on this one record.
"Massachusetts" also has beautiful organs flowing through it, giving it this bit of brightness, while it delivers a classic rock sort of vibe, again just touching on that southern feel, but not letting it go over the top.
This is a track that can be on a country radio station or a classic rock radio station, quite easily.
It's got some amazing guitar work and robust vocals that feel good when you listen to them.
"Winter of 71" definitely delves into the descriptive aspect of lyrical approach, and sort of has this strange stripped-down way of putting you in the moment with the song.
This is one of the tracks that paints a great picture and doesn't need a lot to get you there.
The whole album has a great mix of tracks. Some diversify in different ways, but they're all songs that pull you away from whatever you're doing and put you in his space for a bit of time.
It feels good to listen to stories like this, hear the warmth of the tones when it comes to the instruments and even the vocals, and what songs hit you in a certain way.
A lot of these tracks are kind of inviting or welcoming.
Bobbo is absolutely the kind of artist that gives pieces of himself with this music, and I definitely dig how this record compiles some of what are most likely his favorite released tracks from previous records.
The album is 18 tracks in length and spans just over an hour.
Listening to this gives you such a depth in terms of, not just his musicianship, but his experience in history as a songwriter.
He's been releasing music for a long time and has a lot of outstanding work under his belt.
The songs are pulled from several albums or EP releases, and when you go through this record, you end up wanting to go through his entire catalog.
You know that there is more to chew on just from listening to this sort of robust piece of work.
One of the coolest things about this record is that it also comes with an accompanying book. A lot of it has to do with his travels as a musician, and it's something that I find very unique.
You don't always see this aspect of creativity from a musician, but I think that for Bobbo, it may have been a driving force behind the entire record release.
Obviously, there's only one way to find out.
After listening to the album, I needed to sit down with the artist and ask a few questions as to where this came from and what might be coming up next for him.
So, while you listen to this album, I have a read through of our interview with Bobbo Byrnes below.
Remember where you heard it first.
Thanks so much for taking the time! Let's jump right into Too Many Miles! This had a blend of folk rock and Southern undertone and plenty of storytelling along the way!
Where did this record come from and what was it about?
Too Many Miles, the album, is the companion piece to my new book: Too Many Miles: On the Road with an Unofficial Rock & Roll Goodwill Ambassador. It musically fills in the gaps and are the songs I talk about in my book. It's kind of like my Greatest Non-Hits.
I am hearing a few different styles on this album. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Well, it starts off with "Heart Like Mine" which is me in full Rickenbacker 12 string, 80s REM/The Church glory just jangling away. From there it morphs into some Americana-ish dobro slide and me songwriting about working in an old mill (which I did actually do). All the songs are story songs in the traditional folk style - I just dress them up with different guitars and instrumentation. Some carry that Tom Petty classic rock vibe or a Paul Westerberg/Replacements heart on my sleeve vibe or the atmospheric Daniel Lanois vibe. It's all in there. We can't escape our influences.
Let's talk about the book you released with the record. Why did you decide to do that, and what does the book focus on mostly?
I've always kept tour journals while traveling around the U.S. and Europe, going back over 20 years now. I've shared bits and pieces along the way online, in blogs and with friends and had been told that I should write a book. For the longest time I just sort of shrugged it off as them just being nice - you know how your friends say nice things like that. Then my wife started encouraging me to write a book. And she reads like three books a week. Just full on avid reader, she even worked in a library during college. Anyway - I started pulling together as many of the journals and bits and pieces over the past year I edited it down into a cohesive narrative of a life on the road, a musician's life. Not a memoir of huge success or excess just constant trial and error, being on labels, not being on labels, touring and keeping on. It also became a book of it's time because the past ten years alone have been challenging as an American out in the world. I always strive to bring positivity and lead with love when I'm out in the world but when Trump entered the world stage as the ugliest American - my job internationally became more than just musician. I also had to show that we are not all like him or support his ugly rhetoric. More than anything else though, my book is about persistence, being adaptable to change and gratitude.
Are you performing live right now?
Always. Shows have changed a bit as I am now also booking bookstore/reading events where I read from my book and perform songs that tie into the narrative. It's an intense type of one-man show. I will be going across country on a solo tour in April-May. California south across Texas and the Carolinas before heading north to Massachusetts and then west to Ohio and through the mid-west before getting back home in SoCal. Oh and I'm heading back to Europe in September/October performing in 7 countries so far.
How did this all start for you as a songwriter?
My mother's Charlie Rich, Jim Croce and Irish Rovers tapes were what I was listening to before I was even in grade school. When was ten, my uncle turned me onto U2 and The Clash. I always loved being inside the sound of music, headphones were my escape. When I started in bands, I was just the lead guitar player and then I ended up with a collection of songs I had written that no one else was going to sing unless I sang them. I didn't set out to be a solo singer/songwriter. Being adaptable and open to change is what led me to this place.
Did you work with a producer on this album, or was this all you?
For the most part it's just me - with some help. The last song on the album was recorded at Hansa Studios in Berlin. I have my own studio - Wandering Star Studios - that has had four physical locations but I've also made it mobile so it can be wherever I am.
What are you performing on the album?
All guitars, piano, organ, slide guitar, pedal steel, mandolin. Probably other things too. I played the dumpster on one song. For real, I was wacking it with a metal pan to get an industrial sound. Recorded it in stereo with ribbon mics too. My wife sings and plays bass on all of it. My buddy Ben sings one of the songs. My friend Geo added some violin here and there. Matt Froehlich plays drums on most of it.
What's next for you? Working on more new releases?
I am writing new material right now. In my spring U.S. tour, I'll be traveling some of the same path that Kerouac took in his book On the Road and I'm writing some new material inspired by that and I'm planning on recording it along the way in hotels, motels, bus and train stations. We'll see how that goes.
What kind of advice would you give to other up and coming songwriters or artists trying to get heard?
If something isn't working, try something else. I used to say that no one is going to discover you if you don't get out of your bedroom and play live but with TikTok and the interwebs - anything is possible as long as you try.
What would you say people can expect to hear on this record?
I cover the five big songwriting topics - 1) Love. 2) Cars. 3) The Industrial Revolution. 4) Existential Dread. 5) My old band in the 90s. Ok, I don't really have any songs on here about cars.
Before we go, what would you want to express to fans of the music?
Thank you for listening and hope to see you out at a show. Oh and don't forget to pick up your copy of Too Many Miles: On the Road with an Unofficial Rock & Roll Goodwill Ambassador available on my website and wherever you get your books, e-book, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and soon audiobook.
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