Jeffrey Foucault - Miles From The Lightning (2001)

With his rugged Midwestern sensibility and rich, evocative voice, Jeffrey Foucault is a songwriter in the tradition of the classic American country-folk troubadours. Citing heroes like John Prine, Greg Brown, Chris Smither, and Townes Van Zandt, Foucault received accolades from the roots rock community in 2001 with the release of his stark and compelling debut LP, Miles from the Lightning. Marrying blues, rock, Americana, folk, and country, Foucault released a string of well-received albums in the 2000s and 2010s, and became an in-demand producer as well.
Following a 2003 trio album with wife Kris Delmhorst and Milwaukee songwriter Peter Mulvey, the Wisconsin native went on to release a pair of acclaimed solo LPs for the Signature Sounds label (2004's Stripping Cane and 2006's Ghost Repeater) before recording a 2009 tribute album of John Prine's songs. A year later he began a collaboration with Boston-based poet Lisa Olstein, resulting in the debut of his first full-band project, Cold Satellite. Cold Satellite's 2010 debut introduced a sound that was more electric and rock-based than the country and folk of his previous albums. Folding traces of Appalachia and dark blues into his pastoral Americana, he returned in 2011 with Horse Latitudes, his fourth solo album of original material. A second Cold Satellite release, Cavalcade, arrived in 2013, after which Foucault began a foray into production, helming albums by Hayward Williams, Caitlin Canty, and John Statz. He returned to his solo career once again in 2015 with the blues-based Salt as Wolves, the first release on his own BlueBlade label. The album heavily features drummer Billy Conway (Morphine), with whom Foucault began a musical partnership in 2013. 2018's more eclectic Blood Brothers saw Foucault dialing back on the blues in favor of a more intimate affair that looked to country, R&B, gospel, rock & roll, and folk for inspiration.