photo by: Melissa T. Colombo
With the release of Keller Williams’ first-ever all-covers collection only 2 weeks behind us, Thief is already making its mark on industry charts and rave reviews are pouring in.
Thief debuted this week at #28 on Billboard’s Heatseeker Albums chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart. Meanwhile, Thief’s much buzzed-about videos are getting love at sites like Hype Machine and YouTube (the Keller Williams channel was just recently launched), and press reviews are hailing the album:
“impressive…. a great effort that’s bound to bring in a few more fans.” – Blurt
“One helluva good time. One helluva good record.” – My Old Kentucky Blog
Recorded with the Keels—husband and wife duo Larry and Jenny Keel—Thief includes songs originally written and recorded by as wildly diverse an assemblage as anyone’s ever likely to dream up. Thief offers up Keller-versions of songs by an [almost] unthinkable collection of artists: from Amy Winehouse (“Rehab”) to the Grateful Dead (“Mountains of the Moon”), the Butthole Surfers (“Pepper”) to Kris Kristofferson (“Don’t Cuss That Fiddle,” which opens the album, and “The Year 2003 Minus 25,” which closes the album). The set is filled out with tunes by Ryan Adams, the Presidents of the United States of America, the Raconteurs, Patterson Hood, Danny Barnes, Cracker, the Yonder Mountain String Band and Marcy Playground. All over the place, indeed, but that’s the way Williams likes it. And in his hands it all makes sense—like everything he’s ever touched, whether from his own pen or someone else’s, it all becomes Keller Williams’ music.
Next up for Keller, listen to him live from the Telluride Bluegrass festival, streaming on koto.org at 1:00 PM Mountain Time on Thursday, June 17. Catch Keller on tour throughout the summer, including a run in The Rhythm Devils with Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, and festival appearances at Mile High Music Festival, All Good, Gathering of the Vibes, and many others.
