Love, Money & Revenge (2006)
Hot on the heels of "Broken Hearts & Bitter Ends" comes LOVE, MONEY & REVENGE, Shandy Lawson's fourth full-length release.
Decidedly more upbeat than previous releases, LMR covers familiar ground (odd personalities, unfortunate coincidences, bitter ironies and even a little revenge from beyond the grave) but does so in an upbeat way.
For those not familiar with Shandy, this CD is going to be lyric-driven folk, mostly acoustic, and fascinating. The lyrics tell stories and introduce characters that are not soon forgotten. "Love, Money & Revenge" stays true to Shandy's "Folk-Noir Ballads & Acoustic Brawls" motto, and touches upon:
Death row, the bright side
Homeless romance
An appearance of the Virgin Mary in an elderly woman’s driveway
Loose change and what to do with it
One tired cop
Love (gasp!)
Something that Shandy did, which may be great or may not be very great at all
A badass teacup
Lots of good friends in a small, small room
LMR was honored as Just Plain Folks’ Traditional Folk Album Of The Year, and also helped to garner Shandy the JPF Lyricist Of The Year title in 2006. If you have any sense at all, there's really no reason for you not to like this album. Four out of five doctors agree. Cheers!
Broken Hearts & Bitter Ends (2004)
Picking up where "Hellbound" left off, Shandy returns with the familiar themes (incarceration, ironic demise, the sinister hand of fate) but gives them a brand new suit.
Shandy's 'folk-noir' style is complete with the usual lyrical edge ("A humorous sense of wicked," says one) as well as inspired and memorable melodies, quick and dirty mandolin solos and production that is proudly non-Nashville. "I didn't want 'Broken Hearts' to sound like a slick over-produced twenty-dollar CD. I wanted folks to listen to it and feel like I'm sitting there playing in front of them." These tracks have a sense of intimacy about them.
Perhaps the core of this record is track number twelve, "Dreamland." Sure, it's eleven minutes long, but it's packed with destiny, Baptists, roofing, the Civil War, a fall from the gable of a church and the afterlife. Now that's a bargain.
If you liked "Devils & Crows" and "Hellbound," you'll love "Broken Hearts & Bitter Ends." If you didn't like them, you'll love it anyway.
Hellbound (2002)
Folk-noir at it's weirdest & darkest.
More stories from Shandytown. Robberies, last rites, ghosts, freaks, talking dogs, serial killers and lonely old men. More entertainment than you can shake a stick at.
(Careful with that stick.)
Ninety-five percent acoustic music here: guitar, mandolin and vocals with "character" combine to weave some odd tales indeed. In "The Threads Of Jack Dupree," a rampant Vermont killer's victims get their revenge, one button at a time.
HELLBOUND won the 2002 Just Plain Folks Traditional Folk Album of the Year award, and the songs "When I'm Gone" and "Slick As Sin" were both nominated for Traditional Folk Song of the Year. We'd hate to think you were missing out on something REALLY cool, so maybe you should check it out. You deserve it.
 Devils & Crows (1999)
The seeds of Shandy Lawson's folk-noir stories and style are sown here on Devils & Crows. The characters and personalities on this disc are rusty, busted-up suckers and heroes-in-waiting, sometimes on their own adventure, sometimes the shady target of a candid snapshot. Some of them are familiar.
Buckle up and lock the doors when you pass through Shandytown: the West End is somewhat residential, with few complaints other than the occasional pet on the lam ("There's a dog that's been running loose, impregnating everything") and the guy in the mail truck who doesn't deliver any mail-- he just drives around "giving everyone the eye."
The North End is home to the local psychiatric clinic and tracks six, eight and eleven. The south side of town's only real landmark is the bus station ("Tom's Sucker") but is also the location of the Shandytown Savings & Loan building. You'll hear all about it when track nine comes around.
This is not a CD for those seeking pop, prom themes, or Jimmy Buffett drinking songs. But folks seem to like it anyway.
"Insane" was nominated by Just Plain Folks for "Traditional Folk Song of the Year" in 2001.
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Free Downloads
There are two ways to get Shandy's newest music-- both ways are easy, and one way is free.
The first is a free download in .mp3 format. You can download individual songs, or an entire album in one shot as a .zip file.
There is artwork available which you can print out, if you want to put together a “real-looking” CD, in printer-friendly black and white, or you can download the full-color cover art, which will look dynamite in your iTunes library.
Of course, if you’re so moved by the experience that you’d like to pay for the downloads, there is a “Donate” button at the top of this page, and you can give as much or as little as you see fit, via PayPal (no PayPal account is needed). Any amount is appreciated, though none is necessary.
The second way to get the music is to order an actual, old-school (physical) disc with black and white artwork. The cost is $5, with another buck for shipping. Click the “Buy Now” button (at right) for this option, and a CD will be sent to you pronto. Unfortunately, ShandyCorp USA has no remaining copies of the live album, so in that case the download option is your only one. Apologies.
The Dark Side Of Red (2008)
Shandy's latest studio release is available here, and only here, for free. Grab it while you can, 'cause Shandy is one cheap dude and he doesn't like to give anything away if he can help it.
To preview a track, click on the title. To download, right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) on the song title and select “Save link as...” or “Save target as...”
BysSong / .mp3 format:
*To ensure correct printed size, make sure that the .pdf is set to print at actual size (deselect “scale to fit”)
To have a disc mailed to you, click the "Buy Now" button below.
Hellbent: Lawson Live, Volume 1 (2008)
Recorded live at The Buttonwood Tree, Middletown CT on 3.15.08 and Books & Co., Hamden CT on 3.28.08 before an enthusiastic and mildly intoxicated army of ShandyFans. Both evenings were a brilliant success and were followed by rounds with friends at Eli Cannon’s (Middletown) and The Playwright (Hamden), now two of my favorite places to be.
My sincerest thanks to all who came out-- I hope you had as much fun as I did. - SL
To preview a track, click on the title. To download, right-click (ctrl-click on a Mac) on the song title and select “Save link as...” or “Save target as...”
By song / .mp3 format:
*To ensure correct printed size, make sure that the .pdf is set to print at actual size (deselect “scale to fit”)
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