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Slamm Music Magazine

This is one of the most wonderful records I've ever heard.  I'll be honest: I've heard Flannery and his band a lot, gigging around the county doing their Parrothead schtick.  Because of that, I suppose, I've never really considered him a "real" artist.  I've got to apologize right now for that -- sorry, Tim, I was way wrong.

Pieces of the Past is an eye-opener produced by Matt Manning, a truly organic masterpiece.  Any song on it would sound at home on a Robert Earl Keen or Bruce Hornsby album.  The musicianship is wonderful; Flannery assembled an amazing cast of characters including Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby, Dennis Caplinger, Steve Poltz, Kieran Kane, and the awesome Irish folk singer, Mick Hanly.  It's also nice to see former Joel Rafael bandmate, Jeff Berkely, make a welcome appearance.

A journey in search and remembrance of Flannery's Irish ancestry and Kentucky coalminer forebears, Pieces is loaded with roots and soul.  The first thing that occurred to me as I listened was that I'd never heard such power and soft emotion in Tim's voice before.  The second thing was his writing; freed from the constraints of Margaritaville, the emotion and feeling come pouring out, as on the awesome "Million Miles Away" or the post-biographical "Kentucky Hills," as perfect a Rick Nelson country song as anyone else could ever write.

I'm not given to handing out high praise every day -- so believe me, this is an absolute masterpiece.  It's destined to take its place on my shelf alongside John Prine's Sweet Revenge and Gram Parson's Grievous Angel as one of my favorite folk records ever.