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Lisa Loeb, Dudley Saunders and Mr. Woodbury
The Brian Woodbury Songbook performed as an ensemble starting in 1994 at the Knitting Factory, CBGB’s Gallery, Fez, Dance Theater Workshop and La MaMa in New York, and at Fais Do Do in Los Angeles. Performances have featured a host of singers, including Lisa Loeb, Jill Sobule, Terre Roche of the Roches, David Yazbek (composer/lyricist of Broadway’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Paul F. Perry of the Blanks and Sean Altman of Rockapella. The CD was released in 2000.
The Brian Woodbury Songbook CD is a collection of 17 songs in 17 far-flung pop idioms, sung by Jill Sobule, Terre Roche (the Roches), David Yazbek (composer/lyricist of Broadway’s The Full Monty), Brian Dewan (the Raymond Scott Orchestrette),Sean Altman (Rockapella), Keith Fluitt, Suzy Williams (Stormin Norman and Suzy), Deb Hiett-Borgia, Lee Munn-Arvinger, Carmen Borgia (Orson Welk), Elma Mayer, Dudley Saunders, Paul F. Perry, Joe Moe, Nancy Howell (Clovis Noches), Stephanie Courtney (“Flo” from the Progressive Insurance TV commercials) and Bill Burnett.
Musicians include Jonathan Feinberg (of Church of Betty), Marc Muller (of Shania Twain), Oren Bloedow (of Elysian Fields) Chris Wood (of Medeski Martin Wood), Guy Klucevsek, Michael Webster, Frank London, Dan Levine, Aaron Heick, Matt Darriau, Mark Feldman, and many more.[/one-half-first]
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Rave Reviews
Consummate songwriting Craft! Wildly eclectic & celebratory. This music is built to last, with its constant element of surprize. Bright scansion that infuses hope into the lyrical art…with effortless ease. Not since Esquivel and the wondrous works of young Brian Wilson in his lettuce years have I heard sound of this romantic design. World beat with an American watermark… Indispensable.
Van Dyke Parks
Mr. Woodbury has earned his degree as an eclectic.
Neil Strauss, New York Times
Renaissance man Brian Woodbury could be the heir apparent to Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. A writer, keyboardist and producer, he dabbles in musical theater, television theme music and esoteric pop music, with an ear for the kind of production values that the two masters have always shown: an ever-changing sound generated by the lyrical material and a propensity for the head hums, the ability to get a melody rattling in your brain for days. Front and center [is] Woodbury’s penchant for writing the perfect pop song.
Paul Anderson, Entertainment Today
A fine and clever songwriter with weird (B. Wilson-V. D. Parks) L.A. roots.
Richard Gehr, Village Voice
Rhythm is the heartbeat of music, and melody is the lifeblood whose flow is regulated by the heart. If biochemists were to play Beatles or Beach Boys songs for test subjects, they’d surely discover that melody elevates endorphin levels. The Brian Woodbury Songbook is an ongoing project for TV-theme songwriter Woodbury and his infectious mixture of pop-rock and show tunes is sung by a gaggle of vocalists.
Michael Simmons, LA Weekly
L.A. songwriter Brian Woodbury apparently has many special friends, and he invited a big bunch of them to sing on his latest collection. Jill Sobule appears on the chirpy pop tune “Another Thing Goin’” and Terry Roche of the Roches croons on “Explain the Rain,” a cacophony of funk guitars, strings, horns and rain sticks. “Depending on You” delves into disco territory; “She’s Looking for Him” feels like a Joe Jackson tune. funky, poppy, showy, fun … and that’s just the music! The songwriting’s also not to be missed.
Performing Songwriter
A unique personality for a unique style. Poetic … and intelligent. Delectable harmonic sense. Extreme eclectisicm, fantastic. A real discovery, highly recommended.
Jeremie Noyer, Dreams Magazine (France)
Woodbury is multi-talented and his album is singularly entertaining.
Tony Peyser, Santa Monica Mirror
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