Tony Furtado releases 'These Chains' new CD out now

NEW YORK (Funzalo Records) - Tony Furtado is no newcomer to recording - he boasts a hearty catalog of recordings, primarily instrumental or with guest vocalists. But with his new album titled These Chains, his debut for Funzalo Records and hit the streets July 27, Furtado emerges a full-blown singer and songwriter as well as the world-renowned slide guitarist and banjo player his fans already know him to be.

These Chains was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Dusty Wakeman (Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Anne McCue) and features nine self-penned songs - revealing him to be a writer of considerable stylistic breadth and emotional depth. Furtado also enlisted some notable writing collaborators - Al Anderson from NRBQ ("The Prisoner"), Jim Lauderdale ("Need A Friend") and Jules Shear ("Standing In The Rain.")

He also brought in some expert help in bringing the songs on These Chains to life. Wakeman (who played bass as well as producing) assembled a killer crew consisting of drummer Jim Christie and guitarist Doug Pettibone from Lucinda's current band, veteran keyboardist Skip Edwards, percussionist Michael Tempo (Bonedaddies), the two members of eastmountainsouth, and backing vocalist Gia Ciambotti (Badly Drawn Boy.) Shear also sings harmonies on a Dylan cover, "One Too Many Mornings." Most of the album was cut live in the studio with a full band.

Furtado comes to his current sound as a long-time fan FM radio during its most eclectic era. "I've always been into playing a lot of different styles of music," he says. "When I was mainly playing banjo, I would study everything from old Charlie parker albums to traditional Irish folk music to trying to figure out ways to play blues on the banjo." All the while, he listened to Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Richard Thompson and Bruce Cockburn - really good singer/songwriter/guitarists.
There's no telling where Furtado's nomadic muse will lead him from here. But either way, this wide-ranging artist will be hard-pressed to top his latest accomplishment.