Alan Bradford (www.reverbnation.com/alanbradford) is one man, one guitar, and on his 2010 CD titled FROM THE HEART, he has one hell of a message: open your eyes. Alan is a singer/songwriter who refuses to look the other way, and in refusing, he opens our eyes and ears to the entirety of the world around us. Through his songs we see it all, hear it all, and come to understand it all: the good, the bad, and the ever changing. With the prose and passion of Pete Seeger (think WALKING DOWN DEATH ROW from DANGEROUS SONGS!? – 1966, Columbia) and Jim Croce’s smooth acoustic sincerity (think OPERATOR from YOU DON’T MESS AROUND WITH JIM – 1972, ABC), Alan’s song make us look, listen and learn. In a cornucopia of visions, Alan’s CD harvests all of life’s facets. Opening with PARADISE, we remember that everyone has dreams, even the homeless. The lovely lilt of FOOTPRINTS fade away in sand like love slipping through our hands. SEMINOLE MAN gives rebirth to the tribute ballad in the tradition of Marty Stuart’s WOUNDED KNEE (BADLANDS: BALLADS OF THE LAKOTA – 2005, Superlatone). He sings about walmartization when GOING HOME, and he pays homage to the LADY OF THE NIGHT whose love for herself dies a little each day. He memorializes his grandfather in FROM THE HEART, and accents his poignant HEALING MISSION with recorded excerpts of Richard Nixon giving his famous Silent Majority Speech (November 3, 1969). Alan Bradford cannot ignore, will not deny, and refuses to forget. Yet, his songs memorialize without glorifying, recognize without justifying, and give us the chance to acknowledge all of life’s wonders and challenges. You won’t forget Alan after listening to FROM THE HEART, and you can see him at 8pm on May 13, 2011, when he performs live as part of Nita’s Direct Connection concert series at Your Big Picture Café (4900 S. University Dr, Davie).
Dr. Bob