Chris Leigh has set a February 12 release date for his new CD, Broken Hearted Friends. The new CD, produced by Jim "Moose" Brown and recorded at his Moose Lodge Studios in Nashville, showcases Chris Leigh's mix of honky-tonk country, rockabilly and roots-driven music backed by a host of Music City A-list pickers, including Brown on guitar/keyboards/bass/backing vocals, Troy Lancaster on guitar, Kevin "Swine" Grantt on bass, Scotty Sanders on pedal steel/dobro, Tommy Harden on drums and Curtis Wright on backing vocals.
"Moose" Brown is also a Grammy-winning songwriter ("It's Five O'Clock Somewhere") and multiple ACM keyboard award nominee. The album was mixed by 10 Time Grammy-winner Benny Faccone.
"I was very lucky to have worked with such an amazing group of Nashville cats on this album," exclaims Chris Leigh. "Each of these guys brought their own unique style and talent to my music, which really helped to shape the songs into what we hear. Most of the tunes were done in one take, which is pretty amazing when you consider they had never heard these songs before. The energy in the room was amazing!"
Broken Hearted Friends contains 10 all-original songs penned by Chris Leigh that feature his soulful vocals performed in a style influenced by blue-collar, hard-core country. It's a sound that's filled with rockin' honky-tonk anthems and powerful ballads that tug at the heartstrings. The title track is destined to become a live sing-along favorite, as Chris and his rowdy friends blast out the chorus, "Here I am again, with my broken hearted friends," in the tale of a poor soul whose girl's "got something against football," among other negative attributes. Chris Leigh is a bona fide barroom poet and prophet who clearly wears his broken heart on his sleeve in many of these songs.
The rest of the tracks on Broken Hearted Friends are chockfull of dazzling country music imagery, whether Chris is telling the story of a wild odyssey in "Ramblin' Man," offering up the powerful ballad, "If You Make It to Heaven," laying down a cool rockabilly groove in "Heartache and Misery," crafting a Western Swing dancehall two-step in "Who's That," spinning the crying-in-your beer lament, "Money" (another future live fan favorite), or closing the album with an homage to Willie Nelson, "Whiskey River."
"I suppose I owe a certain amount of gratitude (in some weird way) to my ex-wife for this album," reflects Leigh. "Had she not divorced me I probably would not have written these songs. Most of these tunes are based on actual events that took place after our divorce a couple years ago. It was a very tough time for me but it also gave me a chance to reflect on my life and what was truly important to me: my kids and my music."
