Will Beeley’s Album “Passing Dream” Reviewed By Paste Magazine

Will Beeley probably isn’t a name that most people are familiar with. This talented singer-songwriter managed to pass beneath the radar of many with the release of his Malaco Records debut “Passing Dream”. The album was truly something special and featured excellent production, songwriting and a unique sound that wasn’t closely related to his predecessors. Thankfully, Robert Ham over at Paste Magazine had the opportunity to listen and wrote an entire review about the project and it’s missed chance of being a hit. It’s also another testament to the ability Malaco Records has at finding talent that is timeless. Read an excerpt below:

“By this time next year, the larger community of alt.country and Americana fans might be singing the praises of Will Beeley. Or at least marveling at how such a talented singer-songwriter, now pushing 70 years old, could have slipped under their radar for so long.

That’s because Beeley will, in early 2018, finally release his third album, about 41 years after his second LP Passing Dream was issued. You can’t really call it a comeback since his work from the ‘70s, including 1971’s Gallivantin’, didn’t make a dent in the country and folk scenes he aimed to break into.

The bitter truth is that both of his early albums (reissued recently by Tompkins Square Records) arrived at exactly the wrong time. The gentle acoustic ruminations of Gallivantin’ came along about a decade after the folk music revival caught commercial fire here in the U.S. It didn’t help that the original album was a private press release of about 200 copies. Passing fared only marginally better, released as it was on an offshoot of Mississippi gospel/country label Malaco Records, but its zonked, outlaw spirit didn’t gibe well with the sleeker sound adopted by Beeley’s forebears like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.

With 40+ years of hindsight in his sails, Beeley is perfectly poised for discovery beyond the cratediggers who have paid upwards of $400 for original copies of his LPs. And what they’ll find is a fully-formed talent, indifferent to the trends of the times. As well, these two albums provide a quick snapshot of how far this singer-songwriter from Texas evolved in the span of just eight years.”

• Robert Ham for Paste Magazine

Read Full Article Here: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/will-beeley-gallivantinpassing-dream-review.html