For those not in the know, Danny O’Keefe is a revered American Songwriter whose songs have been covered by Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson, Elvis, Jackson Brownie, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tom Jones, Alison Krauss and more!

His first official release of new material in 25 years, this brand new album entitled Circular Times (out via Sunset Blvd. Records) contains previously-unreleased studio and concert performances spread over 2 discs.

Danny O’Keefe famously wrote the lyric “Highways and dancehalls/A good song takes you far,” and for more than 50 years he’s proved himself right. On his new album, O’Keefe shows off his songwriting prowess with 17 tracks he recorded from 1999-2018, plus a live album featuring his classic “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” and other favorites.

CD 1:
1. Angel, Spread Your Wings
2. Magdalena
3. Runnin’ from the Devil
4. The Hereafter
5. You Don’t Have to Be Right
6. The First Time
7. When You Come Back Down
8. Siamese Friends
9. Well, Well, Well
10. Steel Guitar
11. We’re All Strangers Here
12. The Road
13. Sleep
14. Soul Provider
15. Alone in the Dark
16. Litany
17. Last Call

The first CD here on the magnificent Circular Turns includes new arrangements of several of O’Keefe’s best-known songs and opens on the beautifully free flowing Angel, Spread Your Wings and the ornate hipsway of Magdalena and then we get the mid-tempo rocker Runnin’ from the Devil, the upbeat blues found within The Hereafter, the languishing You Don’t Have to Be Right and then we get brought forth the porch swing storytelling of The First Time, the pleasing When You Come Back Down and the dutifully embodied Siamese Friends.

Next up is the playfully flirty guitar work of Well, Well, Well and the Texan blues grooves found within Steel Guitar and they are then in turn followed by the veritably ethereal, low slung country balladry twang of We’re All Strangers Here, the aching yearn of The Road, the quietly melodious Sleep, the first disc rounding out on the impassioned Soul Provider, the stoic classic children’s bear Corduroy coming to life within Alone in the Dark, the disc closing rhythmic Litany and the piano ballad Last Call.

CD 2:
1. Help Me Up (Live) (4:49)
2. Steel Guitar (Live) (3:20)
3. Just Like A Girl Again (Live) (3:18)
4. More Than Eva Braun (Live) (4:04)
5. She Said, “Drive On Driver” (Live) (5:50)
6. Well, Well, Well (Live) (6:09)
7. Pieces Of The Rain (Live) (5:32)
8. In Northern California (Where The Palm Tree Meets The Pine) (Live) (4:05)
9. Sleep (Live) (4:34)
10. Covered Wagon (Live) (3:47)
11. Let’s Go Fishin’, Frank (Live) (3:20)
12. Mad Ruth / The Babe (Live) (6:35)
13. The Road (Live) (4:14)
14. The Sidewalk Symphony (Live) (5:04)
15. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues (Live) (3:31)

The 2016 Minnesota house concert on the second disc (which O’Keefe calls “... the Carnegie Hall of House Concerts,”) opens on the stirring Help Me Up and the Texan blues grooves found within Steel Guitar and then we get the emotional Just Like A Girl Again, a song that he admits he hadn’t sung for a while, and which is now dedicated to Kelly Anne, the infectiously sculpted More Than Eva Braun, his furtive city song She Said, “Drive On Driver” and then comes the playfully flirty guitar work of the Bob Dylan-originated Well, Well, Well, and the atmospherically-charged Pieces Of The Rain.

Along next on this live collection of pop-oriented, many Americana-based tunes is the dutiful storytelling found within In Northern California (Where The Palm Tree Meets The Pine) and the quietly melodious Sleep, the rambunctious Covered Wagon, a song dedicated to the guy who taught him to fish, Let’s Go Fishin’, Frank, and then we are graced with the simply beautiful pairing of Mad Ruth / The Babe, the aching yearn of The Road, the live set rounding out on the provoking The Sidewalk Symphony, closing on the well-received stalwart Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues.

I just want people to enjoy my music, he says. That’s the greatest compliment that you can have as a writer and performer – that people like what you do and want to listen to it. I hope they do. I hope it’s a successful record.

Musicians – Joel Tepp & Bill Cooley (guitars), Jay Turner (bass), Vince Melamed, Beth Chandler & Brooke Lizotte (keys), Ben Smith & Mick Radovsky (drums), Jeff Busch (percussion). Keely Whitney, Lena Bundy. Liz Aday, Tina Hart & Terry Wilson (bgv).

Danny O’Keefe - Angel Spread Your Wings [Official Video]