• Richard Brown - guitars, vocals
  
  
• Fred James - Hammond organ, bass, drums, background vocals
  
• Billy Earheart - Hammond organ
  
• Jeff Davis - bass
  
• Doug Phelps - background vocals
  
• Ricky Phelps - background vocals
  

After Dark

Richard Brown is a songwriter, singer and guitar-player from Nashville, Tennessee. Could there be a more ordinary statement? Maybe not - but be sure not believe in the stupid analogy that says 'behind every ordinary name there must be an ordinary talent' before checking out Richard Brown for yourself. Why? Because this guy is one of the most talented artists from the ever-busy Nashville roots music scene. AFTER DARK is his solo debut, a great roots and songwriter album by one of the most convincing successors to the works of Steve Earle and Tom Petty.
AFTER DARK was recorded and produced by a small but select crew of musicians from Nashville. Again masterminded by the almost insanely busy and multi-talented producer/player Fred James (guitars, drums, bass, keyboards), Richard Brown (vocals, guitars) is joined by two originals from the ranks of the Amazing Rhythm Aces: Jeff Davis (bass) and Billy Earheart (keyboards). We can also report a cameo appearance on background vocals by two former members of the Kentucky Headhunters, namely Doug & Ricky Phelps. This has a special background, in fact which gives us a good enough reason to take a quick look backwards to past activities of the man friends like to call "Dickie."
Born and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Richard Brown has been present on the Nashville roots scene for more than ten years. There were only a few good jobs for him at the beginning but things improved at a slow and steady pace. Personal contacts started to develop and Richard got to know the very popular Kentucky Headhunters who persuaded him to not just open their shows, but also sing with them occasionally. A welcome chance to present his material for a larger audience. At this point the Phelps brothers were about to leave the band and, as they were very taken with some of Richard's songs, they asked for permission to cover his tune "Let Go". Shortly thereafter Richard Brown's credits included a # 1 smash hit on the country charts. His original version of the song is included on AFTER DARK for sure. And so Richard was blessed with the most desirable twist of fate for every songwriter – a stable ground to work from. But there was positive feedback coming from other directions as well. As a player and engineer, Richard Brown worked for names like Donnie Fritts, Bleu Jackson, Mary-Ann Brandon, Mac Gayden, The International Submarine Band, Freddie Weller or Buzz Cason, to name just a few.
And now there's the flawless AFTER DARK. An unpretentious, energetic and well-rounded roots/singer-songwriter album by a great talent. But on first listen it's a specific Westcoast influence that can not be overheard – The Byrds. The name just cannot be avoided. The opening "Trippin' Back" delivers the classic 12-string Rickenbacker jangle so convincingly, with Richard Brown's singing voice echoing the rugged introversion of Roger McGuinn, that it's easy to be transported back to the band's heyday. It's a classic folk-rock touch that can be experienced on other cuts of AFTER DARK as well and that is not all. There are also Dylan-like acoustic tracks and southern boogie'n'slide parts in the album's palette of sounds. Richard Brown's lyrics alternate between a narrative focus on storytelling and a more direct "rock" style. His subject matter includes elaborate autobiography as well as more concise lyrical structures. Underlying is a spirituality based on Christian beliefs – but without the leaden sense of mission so dominating in other writer's work. AFTER DARK is a folk-rocking roots record with a Southern taste where the personal meets the universal and the spiritual meets the profane. There's a place for everything in the songs of Richard Brown. And so it goes – another fine chance to meet a great and rootsy songwriter from the Nashville scene:"Better catch him while you can – he's a mover.... The Troubadour."