Hadden Sayers Has Rolling Soul

Rolling Soul is Hadden Sayers’ newest release on Blue Corn Music and follows up the terrific Hard Dollar. Sayers has seen hard times with circumstances leading him to have given up music for a period. Thankfully, he is back and writing new tunes, part of the amazing Ruthie Foster’s band and this new release full of Texas Roadhouse blues and rock with country, swamp pop and Tex-Mex seasoning. On his latest release he is backed by David DeWitt on keyboards and accordion; Mark Frye on bass and Tony McClung on drums and percussion with Phil Clark on harmonica and Baritone sax, Jim Ed Cobbs on clavinet and Ruthie Foster sings on one track.

Don't Take Your Love (out on me), opens with Sayers’ nuanced sandpaper vocals and blues-rock guitar with his effective use of various effects set against his band’s crisp backing. Something Wrong In the World, was written after learning a mentor of his had passed and is a restrained soulful blues about wanting his baby but knowing someone else is holding her tight,” with a nice guitar solo as DeWitt’s organ provides additional musical colors. Sayers and his band struts on Want What You Have, with effective employment of a riff from You Don’t Love Me. He also makes effective use of his wah wah pedal. Also noteworthy is Sayers’ use of sustain and echo with his spare playing on Alone With the Blues. 

Ruthie Foster joins him for the vocals on Lay Down Your Worries, on which Clark adds harp to support the vocals. Hadden calls The Man I'm Supposed to Be, a love letter to his one and only. It is a lovely performance, marked by restraint in his playing that displays that it is what one plays, not how fast and how many notes that one plays, that matters. Unlucky has a rocking country flavor with some nice guitar while DeWitt is in a honky tonk piano mood. Insomniac Blues is a nice 12 bar blues with a late night feel in the backing and a terrific vocal, before closing out with Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind, a very fine piece of blues-rock.

Hadden Sayers has a knack with words, his vocals ring true and his wonderful guitar playing is complemented by his fine band. The result is that Rolling Soul is another excellent addition to his body of recordings.


I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Hadden in performance although not doing music from this recording. For those in the Washington DC area, he is at Hill Country Barbecue on April 27.