Reviews    



Fret Magazine

 Rudy van Dam no longer has to pioneer , neither renew so all that remains is pure craftsmanship and that, so it appears Van Dam has enough to his disposal to make a delightful album out of "Haunted by an Angel"
Delightfully uncomplicated that is, because in spite of a choice of instruments and music styles, varying from pure country to blues and from hillbilly to cajun, Van Dam stays at the roots of all this beauty; music that has its origins in the Southern part of the United States.
Haunted by an Angel in one word can be called heartwarming and that, in this time and age, is more then welcome
(Ferenc Koolen)
 
Country Gazette

".....roots music related to Texas and Louisiana"
".....influences by Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and John Prine"
".....14 self penned songs with expressive lyrics about every day cozy, intimate and real life"
".....melodies that linger after 2 or 3 times"
".....a tribute to Van Morrison in 'Van the Man Shuffle'
".....the album is a musical painting with many hues"
".....never overdone but always audible, present instrumentation
".....14 musical pearls in a fine lookin' box, skilfully made and intended for music-lovers"
 

 

".....a mixture of joy and melancholy, with a lot of soul"
".....no excessive orchestrations or arrangements. Fourteen self penned down to the bone
compositions with Van Dam's voice clear on top
".....no wonder his previous albums had praising words by connoisseurs in the USA like David
Olney, Gurf Morlix, Greg Trooper, Jud 'Scrappy' Newcomb and Toni Price




 

 Music Maker
Haunted by an Angel:
".....a spicy mix of cajun, country, zydeco & folk"
".....fourteen self-penned songs with sympathetic words"
".....Rudy van Dam has a great craftsmanship as song smith at his disposal"

Plato Mania on One Tough Town by David Olney

 

.......Only a few times, like in the countryballad NO LIES, the singer gives way to sentimentality. This song deserves special attention because it is written by

fellow Dutchman, Rudy van Dam, who, in his own right, in the past years, released 3 great records with alternative country........

                                                     Dick Tersteeg

 

Review on David Olney’s performance in Eine, Belgium

 .......Olney almost always sings his own songs but the times he strays from that path, he has good reason to do so.

The beautiful, hurt little lovesong NO LIES is by Dutchman Rudy van Dam and

hits you, like BIRDS, smack dab in the middle: it doesn’t even take an iceberg

to make you go under.......

                                                      Folkroddels by Twan

Alt. Country.nl

 ........One Tough Town by David Olney contains 13 songs, including a cover

by Dutchman Rudy van Dam. His NO LIES is done in typical Olney Style......

                                                      Leo Katterstaart

........Compare a romantic Townes van Zandtlike song as NO LIES

(by Rudy van Dam from Leiden) to...........

                                                      Bart Ebisch

City Paper on line May 22nd

David Olney
 One Tough Town
(Red Parlor)
David Olney is alternately acerbic, tender, angry and reflective on this new collection, which contains several numbers spiced by either traditional jazz and classic blues influences. They range from “Who’s The Dummy Now” and “Oh Yeah (Dead Man’s Shoes)” to “Postcard From Mexico” and “Rainbow’s End,” although in each case the focus is on edgy collectivism rather than individual instrumental assertion.
Indeed it’s Olney’s biting, expressive delivery that adds the improvisational edge and punctuates their themes, augmented by outstanding clarinet/sax work from Jim Hoke, trombone/tuba solos from Bill Huber and Olney’s fine contributions on guitar, harmonica, ukulele and other instruments.
His cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Snake Song” inches more into country territory, while “One Tough Town” and “No Lies” are other outstanding selections on a fine date from a prominent singer/songwriter who stretches, challenges and expands musical frontiers.