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Album Review: Johnny Miles & The Waywards – When The Saints Sleep

Johnny Miles & The Waywards
When The Saints Sleep
(TREE Records, 2010)

Track list:
01. When The Saints Sleep
02. Hangin On To The Hoping
03. The Story Of My Love
04. Slow Like My Memories
05. Down On The Ground
06. In Rise And Fall
07. Born To These Bones
08. Sweet Sigh Of Relief
09. Who Could Believe
10. Already Gone Away
11. At Least I Can Dream

Johnny Miles‘ new album When The Saints Sleep is his 3^rd full-length album. This is Miles’ 1^st album with The Waywards a band featuring: Carl Cheeseman (guitars), Nate Gonzalez (keyboards), Al Gibson (drums), and Jeff Hiatt (bass, producer, and engineer). Yes, those are some of Philly’s best musicians. Johnny Miles & The Waywards do a fantastic job on this album.

“When The Saints Sleep” is an attention grabbing title track but “Hangin’ On To The Hoping” provides an almost tangible energetic flow. With lyrics “dreams change, commitments are made, and promises get broken – the most important things are left unspoken.” Miles sounds the happiest on “Sweet Sigh Of Relief”. The recording at the end of “Born To These Bones” delivers part of the album’s message “there’s only one life and this is it.” The other part of the message lies in the beautifully harmonized (thanks in part to Dawn Iulg and Christine Miles) refrain “or at least I can dream so” from the final track with a similar title.

Miles’ songwriting is about everyday people making his music easily accessible, true-to-life rock and roll, with a healthy dose of Americana and folk. This album has moments of solo, seemingly personal refection to moments of finely crafted rock and roll by The Waywards. In the control of those extremes Miles tell his stories so well. I can understand the Johnny Miles to Bruce Springsteen but I have to agree with the Ryan Adams comparisons too.

Congratulations to Johnny Miles & The Waywards on the release of When The Saints Sleep and thank you for filling my and fellow music lovers ears with great music.

[LISTEN] “When The Saints Sleep” by Johnny Miles and The Waywards

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Johnny Miles & The Waywards: cd-release show for When the Saints Sleep is at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 at Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia, PA) | 21+ show | tickets: $10. With: Joshua Park, Liz Fullerton, and Psalmships.

Johnny Miles: website | Facebook | Myspace