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First Things
First
Released 6-1-06
"This little gem
is one of the better singer/songwriter albums that have come my
way. Jim Halfpenny and his band have created a well rounded package
that seems to have everything well in check. Catchy songwriting,
experienced musicianship, and a quality well-polished production.
Instrumentation includes soprano sax, mandolin, accordion, violin,
and fretless bass for added depth. Halfpenny writes deep,
thought provoking lyrics. "Like the cradle and the hearse, first
things first" is a great way of saying death is just another
beginning. The opening song "Pentagrams" has lines like: "She goes
in 5 directions like the points on a pentagram, and when I look for
haven in her eyes, I just see reflections of the fool I am." The
insert contains complete lyrics with landscape photography and cool
graphics. With it's musically KGSR friendly feel it's a bit
hard to categorize. Bluesy pop rock with a bit of Texas twang comes
close. A dash of Americana? Sure, why not. Most songs are good, but
my favorite is the final bonus track "The Long Bar". A great
classic drinking song and an ode to friends and family no longer
with us, it wraps the disc up nicely. While he is also deeply
involved in soundtrack work in his backyard hill country studio, Jim
Halfpenny's time would be better spent on projects like this."
- Maria Mesa, Austin Daze Magazine, Issue #59, June 2006
From the
Southern California desert to the Texas Hill Country and everywhere
in between there are stories and songs that reflect the very
traditions and origins of the human condition. In his debut CD,
"First Things First", Jim Halfpenny has managed to infuse his humble
beginnings and earthy roots with a pure devotion to telling
lyrically exquisite stories and creating music that dares to cross
many boundaries and encompass the emotions we have each experienced
in our lives. From the acoustic driven rhythm of each song to the smokey vocals of Halfpenny which are only complemented by additions
of spacey saxophone arrangements that linger in the distance, the
simplicity of each song creates an experience that is anything but
ordinary. By creating an album that dives into the rich history of
American music and yet embracing the popular music that has come to
fill airways across the country, Halfpenny has managed to build a
bridge between generations and has produced a piece of work that
will take you back to your roots, no matter what they may be.
Although compared to the likes of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Dave
Matthews; Halfpenny clearly stands his own ground and creates a
sound that is sure to pull you in close and and keep you listening
for the long haul. Jim Halfpenny has accomplished what many have
attempted with a debut album that is truly unforgettable. If you
haven't heard this artist, let alone the album, be sure give him a
listen and I promise you wont be disappointed. -
Zak McKinney, AustinTXLive.com,
November '09
Though this
album is a couple of years old, it’s only recently landed at
Maverick Towers and made such an impression we thought you all
ought to know about it. California-born Jim Halfpenny was raised
in a rural desert farming community and spent twenty-odd years
in Los Angeles writing film and television scores. Then seven
years ago, following a short vacation to Austin, Texas, Jim and
his wife upped sticks and moved to the hill country just outside
of Austin. This album, recorded at his own Back 40 Studios, is
best described as rural, rootsy rock with strong country
influences. All twelve songs are penned by Halfpenny—who plays
guitars, mandolin, harmonica, organ, piano—and are best
described as life-stories. The word pictures he paints in
Paul Revere’s (a typical American bar), Nowhere Town
(young lovers desperate to escape to find something better than
no future at home) and Walkabout (the freedom of just
living life without today’s stress and expectations) all make a
big impact. Yeah—highly recommended. - Laura Bethell, Maverick
Magazine, Kent, England, December '09 Issue
"First
things first, LISTEN to this CD! Jim Halfpenny writes from the
heart about things we all love and fear and then puts them to a
beat you can cruise to." - Bryan Beck, Morning Host/Imaging Producer, KGSR Radio, Austin
Texas, January 2007 "An
Austinite since 2002, Jim Halfpenny escaped L.A. after a
successful career as a composer of film music with more than 20
feature films to his credit. His band debut, First Things First
(Strong Domino), is filled with sturdy roots rock and occasional
treks to Dave Matthews' space jazz thanks to sax work from John
Mills. Vocally, Halfpenny recalls the reedy sound of Drivin' N
Cryin's Kevin Kinny, but unfortunately his music never
approaches that Georgia group's boisterousness." -
Jim Caligiuri, The Austin
Chronicle, Vol. 25 #50, August 11, 2006.
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Truth
Trust & Other Ghosts
Released
7-30-10
"My first
impression of Jim Halfpenny’s
Truth Trust & Other Ghosts
focused on his voice. It’s clean
and clear, but in an imperfect
way — in other words, it has
character. You may notice
“character” as a quality lacking
in the folks who make it onto
shows like American Idol.
It’s character that makes a
voice interesting. Lots of
people can sing — pop into any
bar on karaoke night, and you’ll
surely hear a couple performers
who can truly sing — but holding
a listener’s attention goes far
beyond simply holding a note.
The singer has to have a nuanced
enough delivery to, for lack of
a better phrase, keep it real.
Well, that’s how it is in my
little world, anyway. Welcome. Keeping it real. That’s exactly
what Halfpenny does here. He
sings about life — yours, mine,
his — yeah, the experiences we
all share even if we grew up at
opposite ends of the world. His
lyrics describe the world and
the players on it in a
wonderfully poetic yet
understandable, earthy yet
refined way.
In “Blind Pigs”,
when Halfpenny writes: "She's a
liar. She's a saint. She’s a stone cold sculpture
of everything you ain’t.
She's a mother. She's a wife.
She’s a shadow in an alley
with a switchblade knife."… we can be
pretty sure this song is about
someone who used to be the love
of his/your/my life, but things
have gone, shall we say, a bit
sour. The imagery is undeniably
darkly beautiful, while the
meaning is crystal clear.
My favorite
track on the album is “My Class
Ring”, which is a fun jaunt
through my, um, I mean
Halfpenny’s, high school years.
The song has a perfectly
understated B3 backtrack, a
beautiful piano lead, and
brilliantly placed guitars,
that, along with the short
staccato repeated words finish
to the chorus and just the right
amount of whitespace, give the
song a special sound I’ve not
often heard.
My other
choice for favorite song is one
that struck me the wrong way the
first time I heard it, because
it’s just so damn sickly sweet,
and, let’s face it, I’m not a
sentimental guy. But, you know,
“Super Sam” grew on me, and I
believe it’s because of the
melody and instrumentation. The
song is a perfectly produced
love ballad, with a cute mix of
guitars and keys and a low-key
rhythm section. Gorgeous.
As I hinted
above, producer Keith Davis
deserves a lot of credit here.
Davis has always been good at
bringing out the best in the
talented people he works with,
including Tres Womack, Cody
Hughes Davidson, and others, so
I’m not surprised to see his
name on yet another of my
favorite recordings. Davis, a
noted guitar player, seems to
understand what it takes to let
a song shine. I mean, the album
gets almost jazzy in some — in
fact, in just the right — spots.
Mentioning Davis’s production,
though, without mentioning Pat
Manske’s brilliant mix would not
be fair to Manske: there is not
a note out of place here.
Truth
Trust & Other Ghosts
makes me want to seek out other
Jim Halfpenny albums and also
see a live show. I suspect it
will make you want to do the
same. See you there!"
 RATING:
5 out of 6 Bullets
Steve
Circeo Americana Music Times -
Sept. 26, 2010
5 out of 6
"Jim Halfpenny has
been an Austinite for only a small fraction of his life,
but you’d never guess it from his music. Sure, his songs
are full of sun-washed guitars that nod to his former
career as a film composer in Los Angeles. But beneath
this bright sheen is an earthy, country-tinged roots
rock sound that’s right at home in the Hill Country.
Halfpenny’s second album, “Truth Trust and Other
Ghosts,” stays true to the elements that made his debut
a solid effort. The music marries mainstream ’90s
alternative with Americana to produce tightly crafted
songs that sit somewhere between the Wallflowers and Tom
Petty.
But the album really punches when Halfpenny drives the
music home with stark, relatable images. “Strokes of
genius and poetry and gloom/I stored them all in paper
balls in the corner of the room,” he sings on “Aims and
Wishes.”
You can catch Halfpenny at the Nutty Brown Cafe on
Wednesday nights, where he hosts the open mike." -
Alex Daniel, Austin American-Statesman, July 11, 2010
"Californian Jim Halfpenny has done a really good
job on this, his second album; with all 12 songs
steeped in West Coast harmonies and jangly guitars
with hints of the Byrds, Bob Seger, Tom Petty and
even Paul Simon oozing out of every corner. He has a
really ‘cool' voice without actually being
whisky-soaked but it definitely sounds like it’s
been used on a lot of stages over the years.
The more I play the album the more it actually
sounds like a band rather than a singer-songwriter
and some studio musicians. All of the songs are very
listenable with Aims & Wishes probably being the
most radio-friendly and My Class Ring running it a
close second with its tale of life in a small town
on a Friday night. The haunting ballad, Dandelion
was released as a single in the US and apparently
got lots of local and College airplay but I don’t
think it’s quite strong enough for UK radio. As an
album I like this a lot and I suspect that if Jim
Halfpenny can bring the core of this band on the
road with him they will put on a mighty fine live
show. Okay; there’s nothing new here, but if you
prefer your rock being more of the ‘soft’ variety
(and I do) TRUTH, TRUST AND OTHER GHOSTS will slide
into your record collection very easily and be
frequently played in the car on sunny days. AH"
- Laura Bethell,
Maverick Magazine, Kent, England, October '10 Issue.
"Totally dig your CD!
I've
been reporting spins to both AMA and RMR charts."
- Wildman Steve, Owner/Program Director, Wildman
Steve Radio - Auburn, AL
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