Personnel: Robert Bradley (vocals); Michael Nehra (guitar); Andrew Nehra (bass); Jeff Fowlkes (drums).
Full performer name: Robert Bradley's Blackwater Suprise.
Personnel: Robert Bradley (vocals, acoustic guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer piano); Andrew Nehra (vocals, guitar, Wurlitzer, bass); Kid Rock (vocals, guitar); Tim Diaz (acoustic guitar, guitar, Leslie guitar, Clavinet, Wurlitzer, organ, background vocals); Michael Nehra (acoustic guitar, guitar, percussion, background vocals); Jeff Fowlkes (drums); James Bevelle (programming).
Producers: Michael Nehra, Andrew Nehra, Kid Rock.
Recorded at White Room Studios, Detroit, Michigan.
Personnel: Robert Bradley (vocals, piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ); Michael Nehra (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Andrew Nehra (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, percussion, background vocals); Johnny Evans (saxophone); Ed Hawrysch (organ, Wurlitzer organ); Jimmy Bones (organ); Jeff Fowlkes (drums, percussion, background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Michael Nehra.
Recording information: White Room Studios, Detroit MI.
Photographer: Ian Gittler.
Fifty year-old blind blues man Robert Bradley comes into his own as a formidable rock & soul presence on TIME TO DISCOVER. The Blackwater Surprise's '70s-influenced sound is at once both familiar and distinctive; Bradley's young band freshens its blues-rock riffs with grungy blasts of Motor City funk.
Fellow Detroit musician Kid Rock adds rap star muscle to the wah-wah guitar-driven "Higher," as the musicians carve out a solid groove and Bradley preaches a righteous funk gospel. The heart of the album really starts pumping with "Baby," where Bradley sings reassuringly in a honey-coated, grits-and-gravy voice to a lover over a smooth, gospel-style groove. "You and Me" and "Take Love and Receive It" are a mid-set duo perfect for a wind-blown midnight drive; here Bradley mutters his prayerful longings over atmospheric waves of organ and the band's gentle, seductive roll. On TIME TO DISCOVER, Robert Bradley projects a seasoned sensibility onto songs of time, memory, and love.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p.127) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Smooth and rounded-out...close to a rum buzz....the band gives vintage styles fresh, sometimes even ecstatic, new spins. It proceeds as though the coolest job in town is rocking your neighborhood..."
Entertainment Weekly (3/31/00, p.70) - "...compelling....explifies their strange old-fashioned-soul-meets-pop-rock synthesis..." - Rating: B+
CMJ (4/3/00, p.28) - "...Impressive....a roots album unafraid to keep its eyes on the future while planting both feet in its historic past."
