There Was A Time

Pacheco,Tom

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Description

Veteran singer-songwriter Tom Pacheco wears his world on his sleeve. In a career spanning more than 35 years, over a dozen albums and 2500 original songs, Pacheco has addressed social and political issues, depicted a gallery of real and imagined characters from the past, present and future, and created a living treasury of unforgettable images. On 'There Was a Time,' Tom's twelfth solo album and first American release in six years, he adds still more memorable people, places and events to his songbook, but it's a darker world that he describes. Despite an avowed dislike of nostalgia, the death of his mother, serious illness of his father, and loss of three friends in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11 plunged Pacheco into a period of uncertainty and reflection about the passing of time - many of the songs on 'There Was a Time' take stock of what's vanished from Tom's and our world and what needs to be recalled and reclaimed. The songs on this CD express anger, irony and regret at corporate greed ('What About Us'), the betrayal or failure of the American Dream ('There Was a Time,' 'Indian Prayer,' 'What We Left Behind,' 'Saint Christopher and the Cornfield'), and personal loss ('Provincetown,' 'If I Could Come Back'). But, as Tom writes in the liner notes, 'there are still glimmerings of hope and spiritual resurrection' in these and other songs. He honors the brave and inspirational chance-takers among us - 'Butterfly' is a tribute to Julia 'Butterfly' Hill, who took up residence in a California redwood tree to save the surrounding forest from a lumber company; 'Heroes' thanks our professional guardians and their unpaid everyday counterparts called to greatness by emergencies such as 9/11, and the CD ends with the exhortation and challenge, 'You Will Never Be Afraid Again.' Pacheco's stoic, understated baritone and guitar playing are embedded in a warm musical backdrop provided by noted producer/bassist Scott Petito, guitarist Jim Weider and Rick Bell (both latter-day members of The Band), renowned fiddler Jay Ungar, Norwegian country music star and longtime Pacheco collaborator Steinar Albrigtsen on guitar, and special guest Pete Seeger on banjo. This is a folk album in the best sense, transcending time even while describing the topical and painting mental pictures that will not fade. Bio: He's been recording since 1965. Some of his 2500+ original songs have been covered by Jefferson Starship, Richie Havens, The Band, and Rick Danko. He's written a series of Number 1 hits for Norwegian country star Steinar Albrigtsen. He was dubbed 'one of America's greatest songwriting treasures' by the Folkwax e-zine, and England's fRoots (Folk Roots) magazine raved, 'If anyone deserves to be mentioned in the same hushed tones of reverence as John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Tom Russell, Guy Clark, and Steve Earle, it is he.' But in a lengthy recent feature article about him, Dirty Linen magazine all too aptly described Tom Pacheco as 'The Lost American Songwriter.' In great part, Tom's refusal to play kowtow to record label politics and to tailor his music to industry fads has led to his status as 'The Outsider' (ironically, the title of his 1976 RCA album, which was so hamstrung by the label's censorship that he left the music business for more than a year). Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1946, Pacheco was learning to play guitar by the time he was ten. Before he was 20, Tom had released the first of his twelve solo records and had moved to Greenwich Village, where he performed as a solo act before forming The Ragamuffins, a folk-rock group that cut two singles and frequently opened for Jimmy James (later Jimi Hendrix) in Village clubs. When The Ragamuffins broke up, Tom and fellow bandmember Sharon Alexander formed Euphoria, an acoustic quartet whose recordings were mutilated by record company overdubs - Tom's first of many encounters with the industry's corporate priorities. After cutting a duo album for Columbia, Tom and Sharon separated, and Tom resumed his solo career, taught guitar and occasionally toured upstate New Y