PIANO 45 REVIEWS
 

NOMINATED FOR AN INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARD
BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF 2010

Aiding & Abetting (Jon Worley)
"No enemies this time. Or, at least, most of the time. The vast majority of this album is Spottiswoode at his piano or with his guitar. Once again, the setting doesn’t matter. The songs simply overwhelm.
This may be Spottiswoode’s first official solo album in a decade, but I don’t think fans will find much changed. Yeah, the arrangements are sparser, but Spott and his “Enemies” have always been able to wring epochal grandiosity out of some of the quietest moments. It’s all in the skill of the writing and the sincerity of the performance. Few have more of either than Spottiswoode.
I keep wondering when someone will get the man to pen a Broadway show (Salvation, one of two albums he released last year, is almost perfect as is). I’ve given up on stardom for him, however. This is great music, but not the sort of thing that grooves the masses.
Well, as long as an album or two comes down the pike every year or so, I won’t worry. *I think it’s safe to say that no one has written as many good songs in the last decade.* And with this album, he’s got a head start on the next decade as well. All hail.

Here Comes The Flood
"Spottiswoode is a musical tightrope walker, hovering between styles without a safety net. His latest effort is piano driven solo album and a new record under the Spottiswoode & His Enemies banner drops in 2011.
Piano 45 could be his midelife crisis album - he says so himself, but his sardonic humor will get him past that. He can be a shy knight in shining armout, inviting the listener for a leisurely ride on his Chariot. A wordsmith with an immaculate sense of timing, *this set of the songs can stand up against Randy Newman and open the ears of fans of Rufus Wainwright.*”