The Circus & The Gallows

3 songs • 16 minutes • 
Released 10.07
All songs written by Bill Price ©2007 Mr. Quill Music (BMI)

Song Samples

About the Recording

The Circus & The Gallows is a CD single with three original songs. Most of the recording was done in one big session on March 26, 2003. With exception of vocals and a couple of small parts, the recording was done live with all the musicians playing together. Released October, 2007.

Tracklist

1. The Circus & The Gallows
2. Lookin’ Crooked (Mannix Version)
3. Go Away Nicely

Credits

Produced by Michael Graham, Bill Price and Gordon Bonham
Recorded mixed and mastered at The Lodge by Michael Graham

Horn arrangements by Joshua Silbert

Garry Bole: Hammond organ
Gordon Bonham: Electric lead guitar and harmony vocals
Dan Dolan: Bass
Paul Holdman: Electric lead guitar
Bill Price: Acoustic and electric rhythm guitar and vocals
Jamey Reid: Drums
J. Wesley Smith: Piano and Wurlitzer electric piano
Jason Curry: Saxophone
Demian Hostetter: Trumpet
Joshua Silbert: Saxophone

The Artwork

The cover painting was done by Indiana artist, Jerry Mannell
Check out his work here: www.jerrymannell.com

Reviews

www.musikansich.de  2008

18 out of 20

I couldn’t really find out a lot about Bill Price as a person. My research showed that this CD is the fourth album and had been previously released in the United States in September 2007. Mr. Price describes himself as singer and songwriter, which is quite alright, although I see (or hear) him deeply rooted with blues-rock.

The three songs on this album had been recorded on the same day and all I can say is: Hats off!! These songs have style, especially the Hammond organ and guitar. The melodies carry me away and there is just the right combination of commercial appeal, raw energy, and uniqueness. In particular the last piece “Go Away Nicely” nails it with a touch of melancholy, the fantastic sound of the organ and guitar. It strikes a chord of every Moore, Clapton and Pink Floyd fan.

Terrific disk, unfortunately barely available, try Kuenstlerpage or Amazon, it’s worth it!

By Joachim ‘Joe’ Brookes, www.rocktimes.de

7-8 out of 10

The guitarist and singer Bill Price, who lives in Indianapolis, is a member of the band The Brains Behind Pa. He recorded together with Garry Bole, Gordon Bonham (also members of The Brains Behind Pa.) and other musicians a 3-track-CD full of magnificent melodies, great guitar sounds and hook lines.

At times Paul Holdman’s guitar playing reminds me of Carlos Santana and besides the soft voice of the protagonist the horn section performs very well, adding a touch of big-band-character. You’ll feel that all musicians recorded the songs in the studio together live and the fun transferred to the listener. Due to the fact of having several guitars involved in all of the three songs, this CD offers multilayered sound.

The Circus & The Gallows was the latest CD they recorded completely analog in The Lodge Studio. That’s what makes the sound so warm and comfortable.

Garry Bole delivers great Hammond interludes and the songs sound really voluminous. Dan Dolan plucks gently the bass throughout and the drummer Jamey Reid’s drumming is diverse.

The brass takes center stage in the opening track “The Circus & The Gallows,” in “Lookin’ Crooked” the guitars do as well. “Go Away Nicely” is a wonderful song to be listened to more than once or twice. It emphasizes the songwriter capabilities of Price, besides you can’t appreciate the guitar parts otherwise, they deserve multiple listens.

The Circus & The Gallows is already the second CD, after Bones & Apples, and we are already anxious to see the third masterpiece, ’cause Bill Price’ gentle rock with solid guitar sounds has that je ne sais quoi.

By Patrick Donders, www.hanx.net  2008

Still more Westcoast on The Circus & The Gallows, the 3-song EP from Bill Price. We know Price from The Brains Behind Pa. Off-hand the title track, the single, is country rock with a swinging piano and jubilant horns, like a “let’s turn the car window down” moment. The horns are also on “Lookin’ Crooked,” a bluesy and soulful rhythm grove. “Go Away Nicely” is the logical but more serious follow-up. Price tries to get out more than his voice allows, but the musicianship makes up for the effort. And we are glad to find that delightful 70’s Santana-like guitar solo.

By Freddy Celis, www.rootstime.be, 2008

Finally released in late 2007, even though pre-recordings were made in 2003. Left-overs from Bones and Apples? Not quite, it only includes three songs, and those three songs only come by means of a coincidence of circumstances. Bill had written the songs, and he says they begged for horns. They needed horns and it was possible that friends who had worked on Brains behind Pa were enthusiastic to try it out, and so these three songs were included.

The title track is a song in line with what we heard on Bones & Apples, but with a different use of the horn section, the number has something of a Van Morrison style, but naturally Bill’s voice is completely different, even though instrumentally it hits right on the mark. And now for “something completely different,” to put it in Monty Python terms, “Lookin Crooked” is unexpectedly pure blues, extremely clever with beautiful piano and sax passages, and with some Hammond organ, Gordon Bonham can finally live up to his role as a blues guitarist.

“Go Away Nicely” delves further into the bluesy realm and is a somewhat straining, driving song, but in this way so beautiful, the Gordon guitar solos is celestial. I am sorry that this is only an EP! This is what he should give us on a full CD. Bill, bring on horns again, give Gordon enough room and write more of these songs right away.

www.folkworld.eu  2008

A big fan of the Beatles (the circus?) and Bob Dylan (the gallows?) as a teenager, the singer-songwriter from Indianapolis published a CD single with three original songs. Very bluesy, though very catchy too.

RocknReel, UK  2008

Bill Price combines elements of R&B and a taste of funk that adds considerable authority to his brass-soaked singer-songwriter sound and cooly assured vocals on his The Circus & The Gallows EP