​Ward Hayden & The Outliers (from the album Little by Little

​Ward Hayden & The Outliers (from the album Little by Little

​Ward Hayden & The Outliers (from the album Little by Little available on Faster Horses Recordings) (by Danny McCloskey)
Negative power can have as much impact as its positive counterpart. That is what happened in the case of Little by Little, the recent release by Ward Hayden & The Outliers. Much more than cover versions, Little by Little collects the New England-based band’s reimagining of Bruce Springsteen songs; the album one-half of a double release this year from the group. The recording was sparked by a reaction Ward Hayden had while listening to a radio interview. Of the recording he recalled that ‘it was born from something negative. The person being interviewed on the radio was someone who rose to fame in a Massachusetts hard rock band in the ‘90s who then did the classic thing of turning to Country for the late stage of his career and he was telling his audience, his fans, not to listen to Bruce Springsteen. And although I don’t feel I’m a very angry or hotheaded person, my initial reaction was disbelief that anyone would say that, or disavow one of the most meaningful collections of songwriting and work, and do such a disservice to their own audience just because they didn’t completely align with a few things Springsteen had said away from the stage. It felt like an exploitation of our differences, and he was using a meaningful and significant generational touchstone in Springsteen to further divide people and profiteer from negative sensationalism’. 
What initially began as a trio of single releases (“Dancing in the Dark”, “Brilliant Disguise”, “Glory Days”) of The Outliers take on Springsteen tunes became cause, Ward Hayden sharing that ‘what ended up happening was we couldn’t stop, and the project took on a life of its own. We literally went nuts. It was too much fun.’ The joy of reworking the classic tracks in line with the Ward Hayden and The Outliers brand can be heard in Little by Little as it begins the song cycle with a train-track beat propelling the search for better days in “Promised Land”.  Little by Little becomes a honky tonk slow dance with “If I Should Fall Behind” while the gas pedal to jammed to the floor in “Cadillac Ranch” as acoustic chords begin the history lesson of “Youngstown” and a soft Country sway cradles the memories in “Used Cars”. Ward Hayden & The Outliers hit refresh on familiar songs, wrapping Country rhythms and a touch of twang to the music of Bruce Springsteen, in turn fitting the cuts comfortably into their own catalog of original songs. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen and buy the music of Ward Hayden & The Outliers from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Ward Hayden & The Outliers website