Adam Gaffney And The Balladeers

Product Of Another Sad Song

Independent

Adam Gaffney was born and raised in the small farming town of Litchfield, Illinois. His parents were divorced when he was five. At seventeen, he decided to join the Navy. Gaffney decided that after the Navy he wanted to play music, and when his tour was up, he bought a brand-new guitar.

Vocalist Gaffney plays guitar, harmonica, and piano and is accompanied by Austin Jones on guitar and vocals; Ryan Gillespie on bass and vocals; Laura Nodani on drums; Kendall Scott on pedal steel; Karen Choi on vocals; and Evan Farris on keyboards, accordion, and vocals. Included are thirteen songs and four poems (St. Louis local legend Fred Friction recites two Gaffney poems and two of his own).

“Product of Another Sad Song” is a somber and emotional exploration of losing his mother to cancer, loves lost and found, and returning from the brink to embrace sobriety. The album gives nods to traditional country troubadours like George Jones, the folk-influenced lyric structures of Bob Dylan, and the obstinate, rebellious spirit of Neil Young.

The album opens with “Darlin’,” as Gaffney sings “Darlin’ won’t you take my hand…you will light this fire…if you wouldn’t mind a little company…huggin’, kissin’ and lovin’…I like to spend my days wastin’t away with you…if you wouldn’t mind a little company,” with some great pedal steel from Kendall Scott.

On “Lay Me Down,” with more great pedal steel from Scott, Gaffney chimes “Last night I went out drinking…I was looking for a reason to give…but the song feels so deceiving, lay me down beside the river, lay me down beside the mountain in my mind…lay me down to hear the words once unspoken, lay me down, drive me out sweet sunshine.”

“Conversation Blues” features vocalist Gaffney with some harmonica, as he chants “when I woke up this morning there was no one to be found, I reached for my companion lying on the ground…my baby gets me out sometimes so I tried to sober up, I guess I drank too much, don’t know where I’m gonna sleep tonight.”

“Bears” is the first of four poems: “I was in my kitchen when I heard a bear outside my door…”

On “Don’t You Cry,” Gaffney moans “headed down to my hometown, nine to five, to settle down, trying to wrap my head around…don’t you cry anymore, don’t you cry anymore.”

The Dylan-styled title track, “Product of Another Sad Song,” features Gaffney as he groans “Don’t I know everyone here, even the nights what I can’t see clear…they tell me the things I want to hear, I was so drunk, I could feel lies, and the difference between the deaf and the light, cause livin’ in sin id a joke written by men who’ve never been broke…if you asked me how I’ve been I might cry and I might binge…but keep them coming…keep me company til I’m gone…somebody carry me back up the stairs…”

“Shear Will Power” is another poem: “by shear will power running from my mistakes…”

On “Pretending It’s You,” Gaffney cries out “Well I wish I could go back in time, I wish I could swear you were mine, well I wish I could go back in time…well I wish I could spend one more day,,,I could be next to someone pretending it’s you, I rise in the morning I rise in the night…rise on a bar stool…will I be next to someone pretending it’s you.”

“Come on Back for Good” features Gaffney as he belts “If it’s me…can I change…I tried all night…if you gave me a reason I’d come back…if you gave me a reason I would come back for good…I would drive, I would drive all night…I’d come on back for good.”

On “Cut Off Again,” Gaffney bursts “I’ve written about women and heartache…sometimes I play when I’m sober, mostly I play when I’m drunk…sometimes I just need to go home…another girlfriend went off and left me…I just got to find my friend Joe, he left an hour ago, I just need to go home, I guess I’m cut off again.”

“The Thunder” features Gaffney on harmonica, as he shouts “It was in January….she showed her devotion…would she come on out…after the thunder.”

On the third poem, “Shear Will Power, Matrimony”: “You know shear will power, I committed matrimony once…”

On “Cryin For You,” Gaffney confides “This morning I woke up cryin’, feelin I’m dying, memories of you stuck inside my mind, so I’m holding out for you to come back my way, it’s all I could do to help me get through the days.”

“Pinch Me (I’m Dreaming)” features Gaffney as he wails “Somebody pinch me I’m dreaming, these four walls are cavin’ in….pinch me I’m dreaming, this must be some mistake, pinch me when I drink all night all night ’til morning, pinch me when I’m dreamin’, ain’t got no internet to play on my phone…”

On “Nomad,” Gaffney howls “I pack up my car and suitcase…I’m a nomad livin’ on the run..I’m a nomad livin’ lie to lie, I’m trying to make a livin’ in a world I can’t get right…I got bills to pay, if I can go back to Litchfield, I can play from time to time…I spend my days all alone…”

On the last poem, “Before You Turn The Carpet Into Tile,” Gaffney reminisces about his mother: “the toilet still flushes, don’t move the chair, I want to see her smile, I’m all that’s left of her now.”

On the closer, “When Tomorrow Comes Around,” Gaffney croons “When tomorrow come around, you know you can’t be found…I can sing a song for you again…oh, it’s better for me to sing with the wind…and the sadness in my heart starts to sing a song for you again…when tomorrow comes around, I know you can’t be found…I can sing a song for you again, all that’s left for me is to sing with the wind.”

I believe I’ve got the correct spirit that Gaffney wants to project. The album marks a turning point in his life, where he’s learned how to be a better person. There’s a bold bluntness to the escapades encapsulated and an overshadowing melancholy; Gaffney’s self-awareness when it comes to his own greed, loss, and redemption are salient.

Richard Ludmerer

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