Owsley

Personnel: Will Owsley (vocals, guitar, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Mellotron, Chamberlin, bass); John Catchings (cello); Jonathan Hamby (Hammond B-3 organ, Mini Moog synthesizer, Chamberlain); Phil Medeira (Hammond B-3 organ); Millard Powers (Mini Moog synthesizer, bass, background vocals); Spencer Campbell, Bob Parr (bass); Chris McHugh (drums, percussion); Rebecca Walker (background vocals).
Producer: Owsley, Millard Powers, Jeff Balding.
Engineers include: Owsley, Millard Powers, J.R. McNeeley.
Recorded between October 1995 and December 1998.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
OWSLEY was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non Classical.
Personnel: Owsley (vocals, guitar, Wurlitzer organ, chamberlin, Mellotron); John Catchings (cello); John Mark Painter, Spencer Campbell (strings); Jonathan Hamby (piano, Wurlitzer organ, chamberlin, mini-Moog synthesizer); Chris McHugh (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixers: Mauricio Iragorri; J.R. McNeely ; Tom Lord-Alge.
Recording information: Outhouse (10/1995-12/1998); Sound Kitchen (10/1995-12/1998); White House (10/1995-12/1998).
Photographer: John Clark .
Owsley is a mono monikered musician who has done time with both Amy Grant and Shania Twain but whose debut is actually a power-pop trove of harmonies, big guitars and studio magic. After spending two years in his home studio, Owsley took a page out of Tom Scholz's book and shopped his completed album around to record labels with the caveat that his debut be taken completely unadulterated. This confidence was well warranted as songs such as the punk-pop "Oh No The Radio" and the synth-drenched quirkiness of "Zavelow House" made it apparent that this Alabama native's tastes skewed more towards Andy Partridge than Lee Roy Parnell.
Elsewhere, Owsley's penchant for mixing up swelling choruses, Chamberlain and strings turns "Coming Up Roses" into his "Hey Jude." Like Jellyfish before him, this pop savant has a gift for coming up with paisley-flavored hooks whether its the sing-songy loopiness of "The Sky Is Falling" or the dreamy yearning of "Sentimental Favorite." Ever the sentimentalist, Owsley makes the trip down memory lane on "The Homecoming Song" and "Class Clown" a delightful jaunt overflowing with crunchy guitars and swirling Mellotron.