In a world where robots are inching their way into art, it's good to have Abe Partridge around. An Alabama musician and artist, he spends a lot of time rambling, gathering stories along the way that seed his songs about love and faith. Partridge's latest album, Love In The Dark, is set for release on May 12, 2023. In this track by track, he takes us through the songs.
The cover art is indeed a work of art. Here's what Partridge has to say about it:
"This is a collaborative piece between me and an artist named Ronnie Criss from Nashville. He photographed me at his home several years ago and then painted this image of me from that picture. He gave it to me and I tarred it up and painted all around Ronnie's portrait. I tried imagery that best captures my plight as a songwriter and artist, and the daily choices I have to make to continue to bring light into this world."
The cover art is indeed a work of art. Here's what Partridge has to say about it:
"This is a collaborative piece between me and an artist named Ronnie Criss from Nashville. He photographed me at his home several years ago and then painted this image of me from that picture. He gave it to me and I tarred it up and painted all around Ronnie's portrait. I tried imagery that best captures my plight as a songwriter and artist, and the daily choices I have to make to continue to bring light into this world."
Love In The Dark
I was a baptist preacher for nine years. I left the ministry and eventually the church all together. Faith waxed and waned. This song is a prayer. Its coming to terms with all of that.Abe Partridge's 403d Freakout
This was a song I wrote in about 20 minutes. It took me two weeks to make it rhyme, and then it took me about six months to learn it. I just sat and wrote a couple pages of thoughts as they came to me. It was my attempt at describing my thoughts chronologically as they sometimes occur in my head, before I filter them. It is those thoughts that I often have if I allow myself to mentally wander.When You Go Down
This is a song I learned from the serpent-handlers. Of course, when they sing it, it is sung pretty fast tempo-wise, and in a major key. I slowed it down and put it in a minor key. There is just something haunting about the lyrical content of this song. It is unlike any gospel song have ever heard.Young Love (Alabama Skies)
This is a song about a girl I dated for one summer as a teenager. Young love often turns to nothing pretty quickly. I played this for a guy at BMI one time, and he immediately said a girl's name after I finished the song. I think a lot of folks had relationships like this in their youth.Coffee On The Counter
Here is another song about me coming to terms with my past. I carried regret around for nearly a decade... regret from having wasted my youth in the ministry. It was quite painful to recollect on my past. Now, with hindsight, I look back on my youth and I can see where that experience made me into the artist that I am today.Fake It 'Till You Make It
When I first started out laying my songs in front of folks, people would tell me that you just "fake it 'till you make it." This is a common saying amongst musicians. It turns out that it is terrible advice. This is a song I wrote about it.Helter Skelter
This is a cautionary tale about a séance gone wrong. You gotta be careful about playing with the devil.Pop Country Is For Posers
This is about Nashville and the country music industry that creates caricatures of my people and then packages it in this hokey, aww-shucks get up and sells it to the highest bidder.Look Up
I wrote this around the time the world-wide pandemic began, and my world came crashing down. It is where my mind went when I was seeking for something solid to cling to.Simplicity
This is about my tendency to make things much more complex than they actually are. I can make things so complicated that I end up not enjoying them. This song is a reminder to keep it all simple.May 9, 2023
Here's where you can order Love In The Dark
More Song Writing
