[Burlingame, CA 01/2005]

Welcome Home the debut album release of Bay Area artist, 'TieDye' Keith is an appropriate title for the first commercial solo recording of this 25-year veteran musician and songwriter.

This is the first in a series of four blues-infused, jazzy funk-rock jams of Keith's self-penned material to be released throughout the remainder of 2005.

Welcome Home (and its successors) viscerally embody TieDye Keith's love and appreciation of life, music and love itself: from the rippingly funky pop-opening "Big World" to the last beats of the spontaneous world-music collective cacaphony of the improvosational "Tribe 39". This is as much about the labor of love as it is one. The dense, rich, full-band sound weaves you complexly through parts of the ever-unfolding experience of life and love.

The music is like a crisp, new-morning revival of that funk-flavored, full-stage, live-riffing, rockin' R&B sound. Think Spirit meets Cold Blood meets Santana meets Billy Preston meets Sting meets Ike & Tina meets the Allman Brothers... at a psychadelic house jam with the Grateful Dead.

[Burlingame, CA 05/2005]

Home Sweet Home the second release from the studios of TieDye Keith, leaps onto the scene as the soul-brother companion to "Welcome Home", released earlier this year. Companion in nearly every aspect of the word--in fact, more like twins separated at birth: the songs were written and the initial tracks were laid down at the same time. Make no mistake, though, these are no sloppy seconds or leftovers, "Home Sweet Home" is a great second course that stands, jumps, swings and twirls on its own.

Just listening to the way "Sweet Maria" jumps off the line as the first track and sweeps you up with its powerful saxophone line, and you're ready for more of TieDye Keith's full-bodied , rich and intricate melodies, arrangements and lyrics. From this sweet ballad, you trip right into a fully-funkified "Never Leave" with its slappin' bass, happy horns and screaming guitar. Then it's a smooth slide into "Dressed in Red", winding subtly and steaming ahead like a quiet locomotive of dense rhythms, vocals and tightly wound leads. Just close your eyes (unless you're driving) and take this free-flight ride.

Oddly enough, 'warm and sunny' best describes the next track, "Fears". It's hard not to think of the warm Caribbean sun and islands when you hear metal drums and almost Cajun-style accordion of this unexpected surprise. The simply sweet "Simple Beauty" follows nicely, with crisp horn and guitar accents and leads punctuating its haunting melody.

"Tender Eyes" is another pleasant unexpected surprise, with the lead vocals being taken by the soulful Mariama Whyte (backed by Kimiko Joy Woolley), and the intricate horn work make this love song a nice addition. On its heels is the poppin' fun rolling "Bottles on the River" that swings and hops in an almost bluegrass fashion complete with fiddle and snappy guitar leads. A lot of fun this one.

Bringing us around the bend is "Mr. Moon", a tight ballad-ish sojourn along a bubbly tune acknowledging that even the moon needs a change now and again. And a change comes on its heels with "Willow Tree", an almost dark-sounding, lilting yet driving melody that winds up the melodic portion of the ride and brings us to the audio-palette-cleansing and fun "Bongohs!" which almost sounds like rain on the canopy of a rain forest.

With this hand-picked selection and variety of full-flavored tunes, the album really does weigh in well with its predecessor not only as its companion, but its complement as well.