W.B. and The Geezers – “Bits and Pieces” is the exact shot of country-infused goodness that fans need right now

After hearing W.B. and The Geezers for the first time in 2015, I’m glad Nashville hasn’t found them yet. These fellas make real country music, and not that canned stuff the radio sells you. W.B. and The Geezers is comprised of two Navarre area musicians – William Lake and Bill Crouch. Their past works have included songs about senior dating, the laughable and ridiculous ED commercials, but that’s just on the surface. They have always explored the deeper themes involved with the experience of getting older, and they invite you to listen and embrace it as well. Their latest, and third album, “Bits and Pieces”, is described as “Country/Americana with a touch of Wild Grass”. So if you’re tired of trying to dodge all the noise on the radio today that’s coming out of Nashville, and long for the old days of real country writing, singing and instrumentals, then W.B. and The Geezers and this album specifically is a must have.

The recording kicks off with a hip-swaying groove called “Dixie (Remix)”. But that’s just a prelude to the real stuff that gets going with the fiddle and banjo-filled anthem, “Road to Nowhere”. If you wear bedazzled jeans and foreign made boots to your weekly line dancing class, then stick to your corporate cowboy crooners. If it’s the authentic thing you want, then turn up the resonant sound of the title track, “Bits and Pieces”, with its thoughtful narrative and easygoing melody.

There isn’t a subject that country music hasn’t featured before. However, there is a quality to W.B. and The Geezers song writing that takes the listener to a level that is rarely heard in Country anymore.

Possessing a rich country baritone, W.B. and The Geezers take us across a witty storyline with “Don’t Tell Me You Love”, which teaches us to accept people for what they are, before they switch to “Weekend Angel (Remix)” that takes a sensible look at the lives of truckers.

An album of this consistent quality doesn’t merit a selection of stand-outs but we must highlight the impeccable vocals and melody on the ballad “Tell Me Lie”. “Barney Fife of the TSA” is a tongue in cheek look at the certified body searchers of transport security, and it will certainly put a smile on your face. Up next is the slow-burn strum of “When The Bottle Call’s Your Name”, which is pretty self-descriptive and a common affliction.

It remains to be seen if the world of country music embraces W.B. and The Geezers with quite the same vigor as is reserved for their radio-ready peers. However, these guys have literally worked their butts off to present their brand of music, and there is no better testimony to this than on “Spirit of the Rockies” and “Father Time”, where W.B. and The Geezers lay all their artistic wares out on the table.

All-round, “Bits and Pieces” is an honest and introspective set of songs that establishes W.B. and The Geezers as artists who aren’t afraid to evaluate who we are, and how and why we are, what we are.

They possess a sense, not only of self, but of the world around them and aren’t afraid to let us in with songs that are forthright, meaningful, and some of the finest of the year. Their music and narratives prick just the right nerves. W.B. and The Geezers is the exact shot of country-infused goodness that real country fans need right now.