Cole & Ward have released their debut album! Released in conjunction with Green Bullet Records and available now in our CD Store. Twelve original songs, all co-written by Mark and Liam across the variety of American roots musical genres – hence the title. The album not only highlights their songwriting but also their prowess as multiinstrumentalists, as between them they play nearly all of the instruments on the recordings.
The songs range in mood and subject. For examples, Deep Blood Moon is a tongue-in-cheek werewolf song, Midnight Motorway Blues about the inconvenience of nighttime road closures, Food off My Table a plea and protest against uncaring politicians and Itinerant Waltz is a lament by a musician who misses his missus. All the basic human day-to-day ‘truths’ are represented including love, money, alcohol, food and sleep. Inspired by traditional music styles of the American Deep South it's a roller coaster ride of emotions. You’ll laugh, smile, reflect, ponder and if no-one is watching (or you just don’t care) you’ll dance!
Review Quotes
"Catchy, diverse in style and, above all, astonishing…"
ROOTSTIME.BE
"On my list for album of the year. Grab yourself a copy and enjoy the ride!”
PETE CLACK, BLUES IN BRITAIN MAGAZINE
"This is a really strong album, a fine celebration of two very talented musicians."
ANDY SMYTHE, FATEA
"Two fine musicians on top of their game and they work so well together. A fantastic album and I strongly recommend you give this a spin."
GED WILSON, BLUESINTHESOUTH.COM
Robbie Fisher passed away in December 2023 and left behind him a legacy of great songs. Robbie was a mainstay on the Cheltenham and Gloucester live blues and (what we now call) Americana scene in the 80s through to the 00s. He was a mentor to Mark Cole and helped him get started in the music business. In Mark's words:
"If it hadn't been for Robbie showing me the ropes and those basic first steps on slide guitar and harmonica, I wouldn't be performing music. Also, his wonderful songwriting inspired me to write and to try and equal his lyrical genius. I was lucky enough to be asked to sing with him on some of his earlier demos because I had borrowed the four-track cassette recorder from a friend so that he could get his ideas down and I was there at the sessions to help with the technical stuff. He was generous like that. Later on we formed the Dockery Boys so for a few years I got to perform with him. It didn't last forever and most bands of Robbie's didn't as he was very particular about his vision of what he was trying to achieve and if he felt he wasn't getting there he would pull the plug, much to the annoyance of those in the band. This made him difficult to work with sometimes but I guess talented, driven people can be like that. It's the flip-side of genius, the balance if you will. He was definitely driven, passionate and strove for the sound he desired. He should have been far more widely known and more successful than he was, but it wasn't to be."
He did have some success with a song he co-wrote with Pete Douglas called "Medicine Man", which went on to be recorded by blues guitar legend Johnny Winter on his "Let Me In" album and there was the possibility of more songs being placed with other artists but again him being sometimes difficult to work with prevented publishers from taking him on board. They couldn't see his talent through their need for an easy relationship. Their loss, ultimately.
Robbie didn't leave any partner or dependents so with his brother's blessing a Bandcamp page has been set up with many of Robbie's original recordings, until now only heard by a handful of people as he didn't embrace the internet as a means of getting his music out to a wider audience. They have been restored and remastered and are available to purchase, with all proceeds going to the British Heart Foundation charity. Please visit, listen and buy. If you like what you hear you can buy the whole collection and get a 20% discount. And that's a superb deal! Thank you.
