Album Review: Tim Gartland – Right Amount of Funky

Nashville-based singer and harmonica player Tim Gartland has lived a lifetime in the blues. After witnessing Muddy Waters live onstage, the then-teenage Gartland knew the path he would follow. Subsequently earning his stripes in the Chicago blues scene, Gartland played with Carey Bell, Bo Diddley and Pinetop Perkins. Relocating to Boston, he earned a spot as a finalist in that city’s International Blues Challenge and hit the festival circuit. During his Boston years, Gartland released his 2011 debut album Looking Into the Sun, and a followup, 2014’s Million Stars.

By 2015 Gartland had moved again, this time to Nashville. That move brought with it membership in the Nashville Songwriters’ Association, and publication of his book, The Talking Harmonica: Harmonica As a Second Language. A collaborative blues effort, 2016’s The Willie Project was released in 2016. Meanwhile – and in rapid succession – he released three more solo albums: 2017’s If You Want A Good Woman, Satisfied (2019) and Truth in 2022. Gartland keeps up his steady stream of new records with his sixth full-length, Right Amount of Funky.

On the new record, Gartland is joined by a core lineup of musicians including electric guitarist Robert Frahm, bassist Mike Joyce, keyboardist Jody Nardone and Jack Bruno on drums. Additional vocals are supplied by Andy Peake, Dennis Drummond and Jolie Grace Wareham. Gartland takes front and center stage on lead vocals, chromatic harmonica and diatonic harmonica. Gartland composed six of Right Amount of Funky’s eight tracks on his own; two others, “A Better Life” and “Walk Away” are co-writes with songwriter and noted music publicist Karen Leipziger.

“Waste a Worry” is a minor-key yet uptempo number that showcases Gartland’s down-home, unassuming vocals; his harp work figures preeminently in the song as well. The title track delivers on the advertised funkiness, in an understated, good-timing manner. Gartland lets loose with a soulful harmonica solo that puts his melodic virtues on prominent display. Framm takes a solo that fits the song’s aesthetic.

“A Better Life” opens with a catchy acoustic guitar figure courtesy of Drummond; from there the tune shifts into a loping, New Orleans-flavored character with some gospel-tinged backing vocal work. A sassy country blues flavor informs “Walk Away.” The soul-stirring “If This Ain’t Heaven” is a funky blues reminiscent of Mac Rebennack aka Dr. John the Night Tripper. “Alone Times” adds a bit of reggae flavor to the mix. “About to Cry” folds in some country textures, applying them to a weeper of a tune. The album closes on an upbeat note, however: “Stop Working Me” is classic cutting blues with a sinister edge leavened by Gartland’s warm and friendly vocal character.

Fans of Gartland’s style will welcome this solid addition to his growing body of work.