Vancouver’s GRAHAM BROWN BAND releases Outside Within + “Courage Comes” video
Although it’s common for artists to improve with age, it’s rare when they do it in a manner that seems to turn back the hands of time. That’s precisely the feeling one gets when listening to Outside Within, the 14th album by Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Graham Brown.
Working once again with his longtime electric band—guitarist/keyboardist Rob Blackburn, bassist John Werner and drummer Mark Gruft—after taking an acoustic detour on 2023’s aptly titled Solo, the Vancouver-based Brown cranked up his amp and honed his writing focus on Outside Within, a 12-song collection crackling with an inspiring energy that is most welcome at this moment.
The band’s approach is probably best captured on “Courage Comes,” a taut rocker in the Tom Petty tradition, containing a message to stay strong in the face of adversity, and complemented by one of Brown’s trademark mind-melting solos. As on previous Graham Brown Band albums, it was all captured live in the studio, this time at Hipposonic in Vancouver where the bulk of Outside Within was remarkably laid down in a single Saturday afternoon.
Brown had all the songs ready to go, but didn’t have a theme in mind until noticing that most of the lyrics dealt with the notion of being true to yourself, whether you’re exploring the outside world or the inner world. In the case of “Courage Comes,” Brown says the idea behind it came to him spontaneously, as is often the case with his songwriting.
“I wrote ‘Courage Comes’ the morning before going to the studio. I had put on a Terry Fox t-shirt and started thinking about the courage he displayed. That brought me back to a conversation from the night before, and the song just fell in my lap. When I arrived at the studio, I showed the guys what I had, and we recorded two takes right away. I believe the second take was the keeper.”
There’s no shortage of other highlights on Outside Within, from additional blazing fretboard wizardry on “Graveyard Trees” and the Crazy Horse-esque “You & Me Against The World,” to the more mellow, pedal steel-infused “Tell The World” and “Heaven.” What’s most refreshing is how immediate all of Brown’s songwriting comes across, with few overt concessions to nostalgia. Throughout the album, it’s clear that he and the band are firing on all cylinders and having a blast doing it.
“I truly do put my heart and soul into these songs and paint a picture for the listener the best I can,” Graham says. “I can only say that I am trying to improve my skills every day, and part of those skills, I believe, are to let the art form breathe and not overthink or complicate things. I’ve written about 400 or more songs thus far, and there is still so much to learn. That’s what I love about songwriting or any art form—it is infinite if you let it be.”
Brown has adhered to that philosophy ever since he first made his mark in the 1980s as co-founder of Canadian alt-country pioneers Jr. Gone Wild. From there, he embarked on several different projects, including Happyman, Brilliant Orange, and Graham Brown & The Prairie Dogs. But since the release of the 2011 album Hiwatt, the Graham Brown Band has made its mark as an acclaimed international touring attraction. Now with Outside Within, they are ready to tear up stages around the world once again.