Blue Sky The Reverend Shawn Amos

• 1 Stranger Than Today 03:52
• 2 Troubled Man 03:34
• 3 Her Letter 03:10
• 4 Counting Down the Days 03:14
• 5 Hold Back 01:38
• 6 The Job Is Never Done 02:24
• 7 The Pity and the Pain 03:18
• 8 Albion Blues 04:18
• 9 27 Dollars 02:50
• 10 Keep the Faith, Have Some Fun 04:06
• Total Runtime 32:24

Info for Blue Sky

Since the release of 2018's acclaimed, politically charged Breaks it Down, the Rev has been on the road nonstop. 2019 saw him alighting in Texas, where the South begins, the West ends, and something else is taking shape a world away, geographically and culturally, from his native LA. Here, he gathered together the Brotherhood, creating a sense of home in his rootlessness. Blade, Thomas, and Roberts provide not only musical, but also spiritual and emotional support for embracing new territory, artistically and otherwise.

The material showcases Shawn Amos's songwriting like no previous Rev outing; here furious, there vulnerable; here gadabout and crazy, there forlorn and tender; all buoyed by musicians emboldening a beloved family member.

"Standout tracks include the atmospheric folk opener, hard-hitting Texas stomp “Countin’ Down the Days,” with a refrain that’ll snare anyone and everyone (“I swore I wouldn’t get angry – this time”), and the surefire sing-along hit “The Job Is Never Done.” The flawless diamond, though, is “Troubled Man,” the second track. It’s an eerie breakup song to put all other breakup songs to shame, the tale of ex-lovers who fear they’ll “stand up and do it all again.” They suspect, however, that the stories they tell each other may not be 100% true: “People believe what they want to believe, say the world is flat and on fire. I’m gonna preach what I know. I ain’t never letting go of the hope that I hold inside.”

Take it from me: don’t miss the Blue Sky in your search for fantastic blues!" (Rainey Wetnight, bluesblastmagazine.com)

Shawn Ellis Amos, vocals, harmonica
Chris “Doctor” Roberts, guitar
Christopher Thomas, bass
Brady Blade, drums

Shawn Ellis Amos For Shawn Amos, it’s about the story. As a producer, songwriter, musician, author, and keeper of the American blues music flame, he’s made a name as both a teller of tales and an astute shaper of others’ stories.

He comes by the storytelling chops naturally. The only child of William Morris agent-turned-cookie entrepreneur, Wally “Famous” Amos, and singer Shirley “Shirl-ee May” Ellis, young Shawn spent hours in shadowy nightclubs, on the funky streets of 70s Hollywood, and in his own broken home, listening intently to people’s stories. He helped make his father’s cookie hustle real. In young adulthood, he jumped from screenwriting for A & M Films to the stage, crafting acclaimed Americana music that wrestled with race and identity. On the other side of the microphone, Shawn oversaw soul icon Solomon Burke’s last three albums, and produced seminal CD collections Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones, and Grammy-nominated box set Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words from the Harlem Renaissance, among others.

Since 2014, as the Reverend Shawn Amos, with harmonica in hand, Shawn has brought blues to audiences from LA to Amsterdam, delivering unbridled joy – both live, and through recordings. Blue Sky, the 2020 release by his band, The Reverend Shawn Amos & the Brotherhood, hit Number 6 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart, and scored four out of five stars from American Songwriter magazine.

For his 2022 debut novel, Cookies & Milk, Shawn delves into his past to concoct a wildly entertaining story about the strength of family, and the power of forgiveness – plus just the right amount of semisweet chocolate – to mend hearts. Shawn’s doppelganger, Ellis, embarks on hilarious and sometimes harrowing misadventures as he helps his dad open the world’s first chocolate chip cookie store in the multihued 70s landscape of music, ambition, and often-challenging elders.

This album contains no booklet.