Bob Bradshaw - Live in Boston (2025)

Back in early 2000, ‘Bob Bradshaw’ was a Planning Officer employed by Weatherfield Borough Council, appearing briefly in “Coronation Street”; however, the subject here is not the fictional Corrie character, but Bob Bradshaw the Irish-born, Boston (USA) based musician. After releasing ten albums of original songs between 1995 (initially with the band Resident Aliens and their self-titled release (Bradshaw’s first solo album would be 1997’s “Some Assembly Required“)) and 2023’s “The Art of Feeling Blue“, Bradshaw has elected to do something a little different for his 11th LP. As the title suggests, this record has been recorded ‘live’ with his band, but not in a concert setting, instead in the studio. “Live in Boston” was recorded in a single (long) day at Q Division Studios, Massachusetts (a studio that has previously seen names such as James Taylor, Natalie Merchant and Jerry Douglas come through its doors). Bradshaw sings and plays guitar and is accompanied by Andrew Stern (electric guitar), Andy Santospago who plays electric and steel guitars, James Rohr (keyboards), John Sheeran (bass) and Mike Connors on drums. Noted for his songwriting, Bradshaw names John Hiatt, Nick Lowe and Guy Clark as his own songwriting heroes.

“Live in Boston” consists of 13 songs, all re-worked, based on arrangements crafted through many years of playing them in a concert setting. ‘Talkin’ About My Love For You‘ kicks off proceedings, originally appearing on the album, “Home“; it features a nice atmospheric electric guitar solo. While ‘Material for the Blues‘ is a slower affair, with piano prominent. ‘Hot in the Kitchen‘ from “The Art of Feeling Blue” is an infectious, straight ahead rock song which concludes with catchy guitar licks.

‘Albuquerque‘ is a highlight on this record; compared to the 2018 original, the new version has much more of a country feel to it, featuring steel guitar, whereas the 2018 version features acoustic guitar and fiddle. Lyrically, it paints a picture; “The night that I drove south from Albuquerque, With the top of my convertible rolled down, I little dreamed by morning light I’d park me, In a sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town“.

Much of the guitar work on the album is excellent, with the extended solo on the rocky ‘High Horse‘, the solos on ‘The Assumptions We Make‘ and ‘Every Little Thing‘ being particular highlights.

‘Somebody Told Me a Lie‘ is perhaps the closest arrangement to its original (2023), although it is freshened up a little; it has a slow, deliberate tempo and again features some nice electric guitar playing. ‘Sideways‘ originally from 2021’s “The Ghost Light” has an updated feel to it (and lacking the original’s concertina); sounding like something from a spaghetti western. The record closes with the very dark ‘Exotic Dancers Wanted‘ (originally from 2017 “American Echoes“).

Showcasing a range of different musical styles, from blues, through country and rock; generally the song versions that appear on “Live in Boston” are sufficiently different to the original versions to make this release more than worthwhile; it’s interesting to see how the songs have evolved over time. Bradshaw’s website likens the process of reimagining his songs for inclusion on this LP to pentimento, which refers to a change made by the artist during the process of painting, covering up the original brush strokes with new paint; over extended periods of time (or by using x-ray techniques) it may be possible to see the previous images and therefore shed some light on the development of the artwork.