The Kitchen Tapes - a new album by William Sadler
For reasons known only to a particular section of the great unwashed masses, people can get very snooty about actors. Despite the famous ones being idolised like deities and lauded and awarded with every kind of gold bauble one can imagine at glitzy, televised, back slapping affairs, if and when they try to do anything other than being just “an actor” people can get sniffy real quick.
Such is the human conundrum I suppose. Stand em up and knock em down.
Try writing or directing and people are, seemingly, immediately skeptical. Try talking politics or having an opinion and you can’t move for idiots online screaming “stay in your lane! actors should act and nothing more!” Claim to be a musician, be in a band, release an album - well… scoffing and derision may, very well, be its legacy.
This is, of course, all ridiculous. Creative people create and to limit that creativity to one outlet, well that’s just not how it works.
Now, if asked, in the past, if I am being honest, it would be hard to point to an actor’s solo musical output that I would agree stood shoulder to shoulder with their acting work. I don’t begrudge anyone following whatever creative path they like (why would you?!) but, in general, actors are better actors than song writers or musicians.
Which brings me to William Sadler’s The Kitchen Tapes.
Conceived during covid as a way to fill his days and to finally capture, on tape, some of the songs Mr. Sadler had been kicking around and occasionally performing in local venues for the past few years, The Kitchen Tapes is his debut album of 12 self-penned ditties and I am here to tell you that it is absolutely wonderful.
In a way that superbly evokes the performance and songwriting of the likes of Leon Redbone and Tom Waits, the songs vary from the catchy and clever to the lightly comedic to the heart wrenchingly poignant and personal.
William Sadler’s seasoned vocals - crackling like a warming but mischievous fire - and laid back guitar playing - which is a lot better than he might give himself credit for - superbly accompanied by some musician friends of his, arranging and playing some truly beautiful back-up, turn The Kitchen Tapes from a small, personal project into a lively, thoughtful and intimate hootenanny echoing across the hills at night making you laugh, cry and think, and sometimes all at once.
Surprise isn’t the right word because why wouldn’t an album by the legendary character actor, William Sadler - known for The Shawshank Redemption, Bill and Ted and Die Hard 2 - be anything but brilliant (and this is) but I am very impressed and in awe of the songwriting in particular. While the melodies certainly know their genre tropes and stick to them pretty well - offering tunes that sound very familiar, almost like you’d swear they were covers of older, forgotten gems - emblematic of performers like Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Levon Helm, Kris Kristofferson and the aforementioned Tom Waits - however, the dexterity, satire, wit, poetry and emotional intelligence of the lyrics is what really kicks this album beyond just a pleasant collection of folk songs and show tunes.
Every time I have talked to William Sadler - see the links below - he has been thoughtful, humourous, intelligent, friendly, engaging, patient and a wonderful storyteller. It makes perfect sense then that his album would reflect that so well. And that’s where true talent lies. Being able to truly know yourself and trust yourself enough that it reflects in your art - no one tells you this as it’s just assumed to always be the case - putting yourself into your creativity, authentically, privately but so the sentiment is universal, that’s the hardest thing to do and especially in music. The Kitchen Tapes, very often, seems to achieve this effortlessly and is to be admired for it.
Stand out tracks are:
Doctor of Love - the whip smart, hilarious and cheeky Leon Redbone style jazz folk song about a man playfully talking a lady into a game of doctor’s and nurses, if you know what I mean…
It Goes Without Saying - sweet, wise, folk ballad with clever word play and a genuine plea to those younger than him that they speak up where love is concerned.
Where the Music Has Gone - if this song doesn’t put a lump in your throat and make the hairs on your neck stand up, then you may never have quietly lost the love that you were sure would last forever, or even just ever been in love. This is the song I can hear Tom Waits covering, complete with Tom Traubert’s Blues style barroom bravado, in that deep, impenetrable rasp of his - which I would love but it would have none of the poignancy and delicate sweetness of Sadler’s original.
Spare the Rod - sounding like Willie Nelson singing a James Taylor tune, Spare the Rod is at times, savage and at others, heartfelt, knowing and dripping with pathos, all scored to an achingly delightful melody. Fathers and sons man, fathers and sons. That shit is complicated and runs deep.
It is What it is - “It is what it is and it ain't what it ain't” the pleasingly matter of fact refrain of this song is the sort of turn of phrase that both means nothing and contains multitudes of philosophy and wisdom. Sadler makes full use of that fact in the lyrics of the song which look at everything from poverty, religion, love, friendship and the world around us.
Buffalo Snow - the beautifully whimsical but also hauntingly nostalgic song about the joys and the little heartache that will always stem from magical childhood memories.
Thoughts and Prayers - not on the album, it was the single that predated it, but it is worth mentioning because this “Gather Round Everyone”, moody gospel hymn about the idiotic response many give to victims of gun violence, is a slice of prime, comedic and angry satire.
“William Sadler proves himself to be the spiritual successor to Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor and Leon Redbone... the album is so utterly beautiful and so much fun! It’s the perfect intersection between happiness, sadness, loss, pathos and joy!”
Buy The Kitchen Tapes - All profits from sales of this album will go to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Buy William Sadler’s first single “Thoughts and Prayers”
Listen to William Sadler’s Appearances on our show:
