Neal Francis – Francis Comes Alive (Deluxe) (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:37:10 minutes | 2,05 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO RECORDS
If you don’t already know about Neal Francis, you’ll walk away from his set wondering why this stellar musician hasn’t been on your radar before now. His work has been critically lauded and BBC Radio 6 even called him “the reincarnation of Alan Toussaint.” Not kidding. His music has a loose-limbed, deeply soulful quality a la Mr. Toussaint, that’s a fact. His piano playing might make you think of Elton John – it’s propulsive, dramatic and melodic, but without the rhinestones and feather boas. His latest record, Francis Comes Alive (a play on Frampton Comes Alive, right down to the cover photo) is perhaps the best first record to get to know. The songs he pulls from his first two records, Changes and 2021’s In Plain Sight leap out of the speakers and into your veins. It’s a fine showcase for his crack band, Kellen Boersma (guitar), Mike Starr (bass), and Collin O’Brien (drums) who layer Neal’s soul-deep songs with color and urgency. He’s a rising star and, we believe, more than lives up to the praise being heaped on him. We’re positive you’ll add your huzzahs, too.
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Neal Francis – Francis Comes Alive (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:23:39 minutes | 1,74 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO RECORDS
Francis Comes Alive is the first official live recording from acclaimed musician Neal Francis. Recorded live at a sold out show at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, Francis Comes Alive is an electric body of work. Francis expanded his normal quartet into an eleven-piece freight train of a band featuring a horn section, percussion, backup vocalists, and keyboards. Ever the analog purist, the album was recorded direct to 1″ tape, mixed by Chris Connors (Bartees Strange, Lady Wray, El Michels Affair), and mastered by JJ Golden. Francis and company tear through twelve original songs, drawing from his debut album Changes and his sophomore album In Plain Sight. There are no edits, nor overdubs–this is Francis at his best. A full concert film directed by Alec Basse will follow later this year.
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Neal Francis – In Plain Sight (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:39 minutes | 867 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO Records
Neal Francis’ sophomore album offers up a body of work both enchanting and painfully self-aware. Recorded entirely on tape and mixed by Grammy Award-winner Dave Fridmann (Spoon, Tame Impala, Flaming Lips), the record spotlights Francis’s refined yet free-spirited piano playing, an instrument he took up at age four. The songs came to life over the course of a tumultuous year spent living in a (possibly) haunted church in Chicago. The result: a portrait of profound upheaval and weary resilience.
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Neal Francis – Sentimental Garbage (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:13 minutes | 659 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO Records
7 track tour EP with 4 tracks leftover from the “In Plain Sight” sessions, one of which was re-recorded “in a style closer to the demo, which was going for a Bill Withers/ Marvin Gaye “Here My Dear” aesthetic” per Neal Francis. The set also includes covers of James Gang and Shuggie Otis songs. Francis has spent 2022 touring the US playing festivals, headlining clubs and opening theater tours with Amos Lee and Marcus King.
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