In prepping for our annual Top 6 Songs of the Year episode of my podcast, I’ve been combing through some releases from 2024 that may have been overlooked. I major oversight is For the Life of Me from Will Kimbrough, which came out back in the spring.
A storied career
Fans of ‘80s-era college radio rock will remember singer/songwriter Will Kimbrough from his stint in the band Will & The Bushman. Their eponymous 1989 debut album contained the singles “Blow Me Up” and “Book of Love.” A follow-up, 1991’s Blunderbuss, contained the very fine track “Moosehead.”
Will and the Bushmen record label promo photo circa 1989
Kimbrough later formed Bis-Quits, a band that pursued the roots style of music popular in the ‘90s and gained quite a dedicated following along with critical acclaim. When that band closed up shop, he became a solo artist, while also writing and producing for other artists. For the Life of Me is his tenth (!) solo album, and it shows his songwriting has only improved over the years, whereas some of his contemporaries have long since run out of gas.
A well laid out album
The album starts off unassumingly with “Walking in the Shadow of the Valley.” Where most artists would front load an album with a banger, Kimbrough instead sets the stage with a gospel tune of sorts that outlines the overall theme of the project.
Things build up from there with the reflective and almost prog rocky “Southern Wind.” It’s straight ahead country-fried rock from there as “The Other Side” kicks in. It sounds like it could have appeared on a Will & The Bushmen album from back in the day but also sounds fresh and not at all dated. Killer guitar riff in the bridge too.
Kimbrough drifts back into a sixties gospel vibe with “River Roses,” complete with Hammond organ, while “I Don’t Want to Start a War” leans more towards his country and western sensibilities. Now a longtime resident of Nashville, Kimbrough makes these shifts effortlessly.
Checking all the boxes
The back half of the album goes to extremes in that Kimbrough gives us a few reflective ballads in “Isolation,” “Margie’s Shadow,” and the title track. However, he shows he’s just as capable of good time and producing optimistic toe-tappers like “Clotilda’s on Fire,” “Every Day” and the closer “When This is All Over,” which chugs to the finish and leaves the listener wanting more.
PF Wilson has been writing about music, TV, radio, and movies for over 20 years. He has also written about sports, business, and politics with his work appearing in Cincinnati CityBeat, The Houston Press, Cleveland Scene, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincy Magazine, Atomic Ranch, and many more. Check out his podcast PF’s Tape Recorder available from Podbean or in iTunes.