"One of the best young talents I've heard in years, a sweet blend of folk and blues. Check it out, you won't be disappointed."-Minnesota Public Radio

11 MP3 Songs in this album (32:49) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Americana, BLUES: Finger-Picked Guitar

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Details:
Josh Harty âLong List of Liesâ (MRC cd)


âOne of the best young talents I have heard in years.â Bob Rhea, Minnesota Public Radio


âHartyâs voice appeals to empathy for the forlorn⦠simply and subtly.â Wisconsin State Journal


âOne of Madisonâs best singer/songwriters.â Dane 101


âJosh Harty is one of those talents who youâre not sure if you should applaud in adoration or strangle out of envy.â Duluth News Tribune


âAn American singer/songwriter prodigy.â The Nenagh Guardian, Ireland


Josh Harty began playing music in his hometown of Kindred, North Dakota under the tutelage of his father when he was only six years old. From the beginning his music was marked by a love of gospel, country, and blues, and over the years Hartyâs sound has mellowed into a catalog of original songs that is at once greater than the sum of its parts and most assuredly rooted in its origins. In a career that has spanned 24 years, Harty has graduated from playing nursing homes and Lionâs Clubs with his father, to opening for music legends such as Iris Dement, Kelly Joe Phelps, Robert Cray, and B.B. King. On his second solo outing, Long List of Lies, Harty delivers on the promise of his immense and singular talent.

Bob Rhea of Minnesota Public Radio has called Harty âone of the best young talents I have heard in years,â and Dane 101 has called him âone of Madisonâs best singer/songwriters.â The Wisconsin State Journal has called âLong List of Liesâ âa more upbeat and measured album than his excellent âThree Day Noticeâ. One might go a step further and declare that it is his breakout album. Backed by a brilliant group of local Madison musicians, Harty has crafted a powerful and celebratory album that exudes the wisdom and contentedness that come with really living and really losing. âLong List of Liesâ is a testament to the beauty of dimly lit bars, broken hearts, and the home that we are all looking for, and it is the clearest indication to date that Harty is destined for national acclaim.

Review of "Long Time Coming Down" from "A Long List of Lies" Isthmus, Madison, WI Tom Laskin 9/04/08
Presumably, the âyouâ Josh Harty addresses in his low-down anti-love song âLong Time Coming Downâ is a woman. But really it could be anyone with whom the veteran singer-songwriter has tried and failed to cement an honest relationship. Thatâs part of the power of this artfully ambiguous country-folk tune, a highlight of his new album A Long List of Lies. Even after Harty has tired of waiting and decides to move on, itâs unclear exactly what heâs left behind.

Such is the strength of his smooth, world-weary baritone voice that the listener doesnât really care. One thing is plain: Hartyâs been left waiting one too many times.

In some ways, both Hartyâs ominous baritone and the up-tempo snare work that powers the tune along at a brisk clip, recall some of Rodney Crowellâs less pop-oriented material. However, Harty, who hails from North Dakota, doesnât have Crowellâs ironical Texas sensibility. Instead of suggesting his state of mind with some well chosen details, Harty lays bare the essential conflict of the lyrics straight away, and asks anyone who dares to feel the existential ache of his disappointment and frustration.

A lot of singers canât pull off that kind of unmediated honesty. Fact is, they donât have the richness of character or depth of soul or whatever it is that makes you want to crawl up close to the emotional core of a musical performance. But Harty has it, and if you let him heâll stroke every bruised emotion and baleful thought thatâs ever touched your troubled mind. Iâve said it before and Iâll say it again: The pros in Austin and Nashville have nothing on this guy.