Paul Sachs

"It is easy to stamp Springsteen on the songs of Paul Sachs with a demographic  lean of the characters and their environment so similar...While ‘Oil  Town’  is not the rock  behemoth of ‘Born  to Run’, it shares a love of red meat and is an album with the same guts and backbone..."Oil Town is a record of our times, filled with people you know, folks you pass on the street and stories you see in the daily news. Paul takes the one dimensional image on the screen and breathes the reality of life into its lungs. coloring and defining the stories so that you can not only see but feel...The power of Paul Sachs vocals delivers a message on a mission supported by all the musical paths open to contemporary folk musicians. The overall feel on ‘Oil Town’ is acoustic but don’t assume that translates to gentle sways and peaceful reverie. There is a gale force that clears the air. It challenges the guilty and gives the innocent an appreciation for what they have on the plus side as Paul holds up a vision of ourselves and those we know." 
-Alternate Root Magazine.
for full article go to www.paulsachs.com press kit.

Paul Sachs' new CD, "Oil Town," is an impressive collection of from-the-heart songs, sung with grit and passion--and the right amount of grace. He writes insightful songs and sings them the way he envisioned them to be sung.  This CD is well-produced, with just enough accompaniment to accentuate Paul's music, bringing his strong, clear vocals to the forefront.  Paul makes his mentor, the late Jack Hardy, proud of him with this one.
--Wanda Fischer, Producer/Host, "The Hudson River Sampler," WAMC-FM/Northeast Public Radio

"With a country crooner's voice and a folk songwriter's soul, Paul Sachs is in tune with our uncertain times in the 21st century. On 'Oil Town,' he sets an unflinching eye on rusted dreams, frayed lives, corporate evil-doers, and the smaller tragedies between average men and women everywhere."

- Chris Kocher, writer for the (Binghamton, N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin and Sing Out

New York native, Paul Sachs has put out four independent folk album since 1999.  His three earlier albums often dealing with stories about growing up on rough streets in the city. And while the songs on his new album - Oil Town - also deal in personal stories - many of them are about somewhat bigger planetary dramas like oil spills and war and how they impact ordinary people.  Sachs is gifted with one those strong and distinctive voices that command attention, and his songs will grab you, too... Paul Sachs,  who's fast becoming a new troubadour of our troubled times.
--Butch Kara KZGM FM  

"Paul Sachs new recording Oil Town has a real smooth acoustic sound that's drenched with great grass root lyrics. This CD gives a lot of pure listening pleasure. Excellent project."
--Jim Fisher WGCS radio

Paul Sachs' big voice frames the eloquently told tales of working class desperation in these times of corporate takeover. This album could be called "Oil World," but "Oil Town" will do. This new effort marks the emergence of an important voice in the genre of social commentary folk music.

--Richard Cuccaro, Acoustic Live.

"Paul Sachs' Oil Town is on my "Folk Festival Faves" list of 2011.  It is an excellent set of well-crafted songs, with fine musicianship, and songs that go beyond mere entertainment, but with meaning, insights, and social commentary.
It has been a pleasure including on the show!"
--Lilli Kuzma, "Folk Festival" on WDCB Public Radio (Glen Ellyn/ Chicago)

Reviews of the CD These Quiet Streets

Growing up on the Lower East Side of New York will either get a man killed or make him a survivor. Paul Sachs chose to become the latter, and on These Quiet Streets, it’s evident that his upbringing left an indelible impression on his music. “Mean Streets” introduces us to his keen observations in the same manner that Springsteen spoke of Jersey and the gloominess that surrounded him. “100 Proof” does little to dismiss the sorrow that comes with big city life. A sordid tale of homelessness, it would almost seem Sachs has been down this road himself. The beauty of folk music is how even the most depressing themes can be somewhat lifting. Not that everything here is unhappy, but there's no suggestion that a hot bath and a razor blade would make you feel better. “Busking” is a cool little breakdown that makes you want to run around throwing dollar bills in every open guitar case on every street corner in sight. “The Faith of Adeline Washington” throws inspiration from a young Dylan right at your feet. If you fail to catch this one, then it’s clear you aren’t taking notice. By far the standout track, I could listen to this all day and still think “Damn, is this for real?” “Obituaries” is a loose dream of a day without sorrow. Thought-provoking, tight and inspiring, for a moment it seems possible. Then the moment passes and reality creeps back in. “My Father’s Old Pipe” and “Godfather of Grand Street” are short, almost whimsical songs that seem impromptu and collectively make more of this album than the other eleven tracks combined. Sometimes just throwing it down without much thought can have a greater impact than time spent dwelling over lyrics and chord structure. Sachs does himself a solid by including them here. If the Greenwich Village folk scene ever kicks back into high gear as in the 60s, we’ll all be better served if Paul Sachs joins in and shares his tales with us. This is my request that he do just that.

His metaphors are so organically built, so subtly derived from the mis-en-scene of the song as to catch the listener unaware. One finds while distracted by the simple pleasures of a finger picked acoustic guitar and Paul's unshaven unapologetic vocal that the vast and crucial beauty of the song has crept in the back door. It is at its most emotional a buoyant affirmation of the joy and sorrow bled from a life well lived and at its most intellectual a lesson in how to write a song".