Robert Stanley - Roadman's Hammer (2007)

This is a bluesy, powerful, and masterful album of rock music that Nashville's Shake Magazine called the Best Album of the Year. It's gritty and dark as coal smoke, yet beautiful and soothing as a far-away train whistle. A progressive mixture of Rock, Blues, Folk, and Psychedelic music - Rockabluesic, Robert's brand of music, is punctuated by some of the best guitar you will ever hear. On top of that, the vocals can be haunting or bone-shaking. If you want to hear well-crafted modern blues-based rock music listen to this one. It's an exciting ride!

Robert Stanley is a rare triple-threat musician: a world-class guitarist, an unforgettable vocalist, and an exceptional songwriter. Plus, those who have seen him perform add one other thing: He performs like his hair is on fire.

Robert is the driving force behind the eclectic style of his Hammer. His vocals can range from bone-shaking to even child-like; you feel that he's lived what he's singing, indeed his lyrics are drawn from the pages of his own life. Robert is also an exciting and innovative guitarist: fiery, passionate, and elegant always, with an undercurrent of blues.

Robert grew up in Chicago and became passionately interested in music at an early age. More than once, he was thrown out of the local clubs after sneaking in. As a teen, he became enamored with the blues as many of Chicago's great bluesmen would visit a neighbor on summertime Sundays and enjoy an afternoon of music, ribs, and various forms of liquid refreshment.

Around that time, Robert's parents bought him his first guitar and at the age of fifteen he began playing in a band. Robert describes his first experience with that band: "I never had any idea I'd be the lead guitarist, I was really afraid the others would laugh at me. After our first practice, the guys said, 'You're the lead player.' It turned out that, as bad as I was at the time, they were even worse!" He showed a knack for writing music and, more and more, introduced his songs into the band's repertoire. This was the pattern in all of his early bands and at the age of 17 he began writing songs for the stable of bands of a small Chicago record label.

As a performer, Robert came to be known for his scorching vocals and guitar style, as well as his unpredictable stage antics. As time went on, he found his stage persona was becoming his identity and he was losing control of his whole life. As Robert was searching for his true identity, a friend introduced him to the spiritual realities of life and Robert found the answers and peace he'd been searching for. He also found that he could actually benefit people by way of his music and he spent years developing his ability to paint word-pictures with his lyrics that would communicate the love, power, and peace he finally had in his life.

He's not afraid to experiment with his Rockabluesic style. You can hear influences of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Muddy Waters, Roots music; even Appalachian, Irish, and English folk can find their way into his songs. He has assimilated all of this into a style that is distinctly his own.