VIDEO PREMIERE: Vance Gilbert Croons Soulful 70s Folk on Title Track “Good Good Man” Off Forthcoming LP

“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might have been something close to the great Vance Gilbert.” As the above quote from Richmond magazine suggests, Vance Gilbert defies stereotypes. It’s little wonder then that he also exceeds expectations. In this case, those two qualities go hand in hand.

“I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” Gilbert insists. That may be a broad statement, but it rings with truth.

What he does do is make memorable music, as evidenced by the 13 albums he’s released so far, as well as the mark he’s made on the folk and acoustic music scenes in general. Over the course of a prolific career that extends back to the early ’90s, he’s recorded with his good friend Ellis Paul and shared stages worldwide with Aretha Franklin, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, the Milk Carton Kids, George Carlin, Anita Baker, the Subdudes, Paul Reiser and any number of others.

His remarkable rapport with his audiences and his free spirited performances inspired one critic to hail him as “a folkie trapped in a vaudevillian body,” with “a voice that could have been on the opera stage, a wit that could have been on a comedy stage and a songwriting talent that’s thrust him on the folk stage for decades.”

Those descriptive phrases come to full fruition on Gilbert’s upcoming album, the appropriately named Good, Good Man, out January 24, 2020. Recorded with an A-list support cast that includes bluesman and singer/songwriter Chris Smither, Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade, Tommy Malone of the Subdudes on guitars, Mike Posner on backing vocals, and Celtic harpist and vocalist Aine Minough it sums up the strengths that Gilbert’s always had at his command — that is, a gift for compelling melodies, insightful lyrics, a witty and whimsical point of view, and the ability to maintain an inherent humanity that translates to his connection with his audiences.

In short, it’s Gilbert at his very best, a set of songs that deserves to bring Gilbert the wider recognition that’s eluded him for far too long.

Today Glide is excited to premiere the title track and video for Gilbert’s upcoming album. Featuring Gilbert decked out in an array of different suits, “Good Good Man” is a slowly percolating nugget that showcases Gilbert’s smooth and calming vocals that seem to exude a sense of warmth and comfort. His musical talents are on full display as he effortlessly fuses sunny 70s folk rock, soul, and R&B for a sound that is entirely his own. For most of the video, we get a contrast of Gilbert singing and playing jazz-laden guitar solos in the park alongside the visions of what is presumably his real self and his “good” self. With the lyrics, he seems to be saying that, despite what we believe to better versions of ourselves, we need to embrace who we are. Though he has already had a long and varied career, “Good Good Man” finds Gilbert very much in his prime and still taking the kind of musical risks that have garnered him a cult following as a songwriter.  

WATCH:

Vance Gilbert – “Good Good Man” from Summer Love Films on Vimeo.

Good, Good Man is out January 24, 2020. For more music and info visit vancegilbert.com.