“Gentle On My Mind” from Richie Arndt‘s new album Tennessee & Alabama – Songs Along The Road #2 beautifully reimagines the timeless John Hartford classic, famously popularized by Glen Campbell. The album exemplifies what happens when the journey and destination are one and the same.
Revisiting the concept of his 2015 release, Mississippi – Songs Along The Road, only with a new and improved musical roadmap and 10 years more experience under his belt, Tennessee & Alabama isn’t so much a travelogue loosely recreating Arndt’s 2023 visit to the South as it is homage to iconic songs from the streets of Memphis to the dirt roads of Nutbush, and iconic artists from Stephen Foster to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
“The first record was about my trip to Mississippi,” he relates. “It was all about that; all cover songs from ‘Old Man River’ to ‘Walkin’ In Memphis.’ I took it out on the road as a live presentation, with photos and stories about the songs and my trip. I did it as a solo show here in Germany, and in Switzerland, and had great success with it”
Backed by an array of musicians from the US and Europe, Arndt delivers blues (his home territory), country, pop, americana and soul with a combination of passion and deep respect. “I love a good melody and a well-written song,” he says, “and the ones I’ve chosen to cover here represent just a taste of the diversity in song the American South has given the world.”
