Richard Lee Proudfoot – Broken Hearts & Promises
Self-produced two-CD set
No website – Available on Amazon
45 songs – 2 hours 26 minutes
Based out of Gibsonia, Pa., an unincorporated town in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Richard Lee Proudfoot is an acoustic guitarist enamored by the sounds of first-generation stars Blind Willie McTell, Mississippi Fred McDonald, Lightnin’ Hopkins and others. A masterful songwriter, he serves up a heaping helping of original tunes that are infused with first-generation blues stylings with this beefy set.
A latecomer to the music world, Proudfoot didn’t pick up a guitar until he reached his 20s. But 40 years later, he hasn’t put one down since. He’s been entertaining in the Steel City area for decades, including a long stint as an electric guitarist when he and friend John Pergal founded the band The Pawnbrokers.
They spent the next years serving as the opening act for Anson Funderburgh the Rockets, Little Charlie & the Nightcats and other top acts when not serving as the house band at Pergal’s Thunderbird Cafe. They recorded one album, Guilty Conscience, which contained 17 Proudfoot originals.
A seasoned vocalist, Richard plays 1929 National Steel and Martin 00-17SE guitars throughout this set, which was recorded at the nearby Bairdford Road Studios. Mostly solo arrangements, he’s joined by Joe McGuire, who handles second guitar and background vocals on nine numbers, and Pergal, who handles the mic on six.
Things heat up from the jump as Proudfoot launches in to the fingerpicked “Last Good Day,” which finds his lady packing up and leaving. It dovetails with the tender and bittersweet “Why Don’t You Come Home,” a message he relays in a letter along with a vow to change his ways. Good times are ahead as he parties “All Night Long” in the instrumental that follows before the messages turn darker in “She Got the Diamonds,” “Mean Old Woman” and “Hitting the Bottle Over You.”
Richard takes you to church with the spirited instrumental, “Country Prayer,” before announcing “You’re Drunk Again” and promising “I’ll Quit Tomorrow.” A different view of relationship troubles follow in “Jamie Wilson’s Blues.” In this case, she’s fed up and headed for the door. The instrumental, “Cherry Pickin’,” has a familiar traditional feel before things turn sour again with the minor-key “Meanstreak” in which the lady can go off at any time, and two regrets, “I Always Stood by You” and “Dreamy Blues,” an interrupted reverie about a former lover.
The sweet instrumental, “Johnny’s Blues,” provides solace before “Goin’ Down South” finds a woman heading out to find her man and “Everybody Knows,” which admits that folks considered the singer “half-crazy” because of his choice to be with his former lady friend. The step-down blues, “Delta Sound,” lightens the mood before the next number describes an old man sitting on a bench. He won’t go anywhere without his dog, “Angeline.” The quiet “Down to the Prayin’ Ground” takes you to church again before Proudfoot concludes the first disc with “I’m Comin’ Home,” which is delivered from the perspective of a wayward man.
The second disc follows the same format, weaving tunes about pain and hardship with others that carry both regret and inspiration. Choice cuts include “Long Road,” “Goin’ Back to Shreveport,” “Drive My Blues Away,” “Warm Thoughts,” “Broken Hearts & Promises,” “Nothin’ Left to Spend,” “Mr. Slim’s Boogie,” “The Blues Seems to Follow Me,” “When It Gets Like This” and “This Old World Has Passed Me By.”
If you’re a fan of contemporary acoustic blues with traditional feel, this one’s for you. It’s available via Amazon and other vendors.