We’re just south of Nashville, in a comfortable neighborhood near the WSM tower.
It’s mid morning, and if you listen carefully you can follow two sounds to the spot where Darryl Worley is laying down vocals for his 903 Music debut, HERE AND NOW (available Nov. 21, 2006).
The first is the deep bass bark of engineer Brian Willis’ dog — a rather large and enthusiastic animal who, the engineer promises, is actually friendly, though he does point the way toward the recording studio’s back door entrance, away from the part that’s under the beast’s control.
Once you’re inside, another sound fades in, and you realize how long it’s been since you’ve heard Worley’s voice. You ease into the studio and glimpse his 6’6” frame, behind glass in the vocal booth, a smile on his face, his eyes closed, a mane of hair tumbling to his shoulders, warbling what promises to be the vocal hook of the year on “Nothin’ But a Love Thang”: “Hello, sunshine, diddle-diddee, unh-huh, listen to the birds sing … call it what you want to, ain’t nothin’ but a love thang.” The beat is stomping. The music rocks, more like what you’d hear from the band at your favorite bar than from a state-of-the-art studio. Worley is savoring the lyric — and, when you see the video, you’ll savor it too. Producer Frank Rogers beams and gives a thumb’s-up. Even the dog has quieted down and tuned in. That’s when it hits home: Darryl Worley has never sounded so good. Not only that — he’s never sounded so much like Darryl Worley.
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Not, at least, since the world started listening. If we could go back a few years, back to before his name became synonymous with charisma, soulful vocals, American pride, and killer live shows, we might have heard something like these songs during his sets in the local clubs, dances, and lodges around Pyburn, Tennessee. His music was raw back then, just like country music is supposed to be. He sang for working men and women — people who didn’t like being told what to do.
People, that is, like Darryl Worley was back then and still is to this day.
This is the secret of HERE AND NOW. Worley today is his own man, in control of his music and his life. He looks the way he wants to look. He’s writing and singing the songs he wants to sing. He’s hooked up with 903 Music, an artist-friendly label. He feels … “ … unleashed,” Worley confirms, stretching out in the control booth between takes. “People have noticed it lately; they’re like, ‘Man, what’s got into you?’ Well, I’m in a different place. The music I’m doing now gives me a sense of freedom. It’s about going out and having a good time. It’s about lifting the audience up. I mean, everybody knows that See WORLEY, Page E2 I’ve done songs that deal with very serious subject matter. I’ve meant every word of those songs. They’ll always be a huge part of who I am. But there’s more to me than that.” He leans back, smiling, and the impression is undeniable: For all that he has accomplished, from the wistfully romantic “I Miss My Friend” to the defiant anthem “Have You Forgotten?,” both of which topped the singles charts, his work up to this point offers just one perspective on who he is and what he has to offer. On HERE AND NOW Worley reveals himself fully, for the first time, as both an artist and an individual.
There’s a new exuberance in his declarations of personal and professional independence with titles like “Jumpin’ Off the Wagon,” “Free,” “Living In the Here and Now” and “Nothin’ To Lose.” There’s honesty, too, and compassion, in stories he pulls from life on songs like “Slow Dancing with a Memory.” Then there’s that steamy tale on “Love Thang” and more surprises to boot - all of which leads back to the “what’s got into you” question.
Worley laughs. “Well, I’ve changed. I don’t care as much anymore - I mean that in a positive way. I don’t have anybody telling me who I am, how I should look, or what I can sing about. Again, I stand behind every song I’ve ever sung, but if all you knew about me was what you’ve already heard, then you wouldn’t know that when I’m out with friends - say, at a biker bar in New York - I’m the life of the party. Only my friends know that I’m that guy too. And now I feel free to let everyone know who I am.” But while there’s an abundance of fun, party songs on HERE AND NOW the album’s emotional centerpiece is the riveting, “I Just Came Back (from a War),” written and sung from the perspective of a soldier newly arrived home. Worley’s writing once again touches the heartbeat of the country by spotlighting something quietly happening every day.
Worley offers, “This song is a true story, related to me by a young Marine about some problems he and his friends sometimes have as they readjust to American society. It was so intense and heartfelt that this kid got tears in his eyes and I did too. I’m not going to go into specifics, though, because this song isn’t just one story; it’s a million. With this song I just want these people to know that we’ll never forget them, we’ll always appreciate and love them, and we’ll stand by their side, whatever they have to go through.” There’s no question over what Darryl Worley is - namely, a country music phenomenon, a preacher’s son and a moonshiner’s grandson from Pyburn, Tennessee.
