MUSIC
A Friend From Out Of Town - Now available!
My latest album is now available for streaming or purchase! It's a stripped down sound, based on the two-man show (guitar and drums- Mike Middleton) that we have been doing at The Continental Club Gallery in Austin on a weekly basis over the last 4 years or so. You may listen to the title track now on Spotify, or watch the video on Youtube. Thank you to all who have helped and contributed to this effort. I could not do this without this community. I hope you all enjoy these songs. — Beaver
Positive, 2016
"The whole album finds Nelson as spry and clever as ever in both the wordplay and melody departments; there's really not a song on here that slips by without an indelible hook, line or chorus that doesn't stick on the first spin..."
— Richard Skanse, Lone Star Music Magazine, August 31, 2016
Macro/Micro, 2012
"Beaver Nelson tries the multimedia approach and succeeds wildly. Macro/Micro is available both as a CD and DVD, and as such can be one long suite of songs or a nearly hour-long music video. Either way, it's Nelson's most daring work, retaining his trademark roots jangle, but also gathering moments of psychedelic intensity and chilling isolation. 4 stars."
— Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle, July 6 2012
Motion, 2004
"With his religious convictions as a backdrop, Nelson's songs crawl into the minutiae of everyday life, the lyrics depicting a childlike curiosity bumping up against age-old wisdom. ..."Minute Man", the most immediately arresting cut, is delivered in a breathless whirl, with (Scrappy Jud) Newcomb's gritty, fiery guitar blasts pushing the irresistible hook into the transcendental."
— Luke Torn, No Depression, October 31, 2004
Legends of the Superheroes, 2002
"Nelson's fourth album in five years, Legends of Super Heroes is the latest in a series that has featured a different sound for each recording and ace songwriting throughout. Nelson has moved from roughshod rock to elegant folk/pop and has learned a lot on his trek back to the newly reformed Freedom Records."
— Nick A. Zaino III, Paste Magazine, January 1, 2003
Undisturbed, 2001
"A compact ensemble of Austin's finest, including Newcomb, Ian McLagan and Michael "Cornbread" Traylor, back Nelson and give the album a bright, loose-limbed polish. But on "Experiments In Love", it's just the singer-songwriter and his acoustic guitar. Even alone and unplugged, Nelson delivers an unforgettable lamenting chorus: "Experiments in love performed by fools/Experiments in love are mean and cruel/Experiments in love are never fun/When they're done to you." With its irresistible hooks and heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics, Undisturbed will leave few listeners unmoved."
— Steve Rostkoski, No Depression, October 31, 2001
Little Brother, 1999
"If there's any justice, and it goes without saying there rarely is in the music business, Beaver Nelson will be the next Austin artist to break big. His second full-length, Little Brother, is so good it often recalls Lucinda Williams' best work. Nelson takes a variety of musical styles, from high-stepping honky-tonk and down 'n'dirty swamp blues to steamy ballads and gritty roots-rock, and wraps them in a package that's appealing beyond the simple, poignant lyrics. With bare-bones backing from locals Scrappy Jud Newcomb, George Reiff, and Mark Patterson, Nelson's intriguing stories, filled with stark imagery, are remarkably potent."
— Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle, Sept. 29, 2000
The Last Hurrah, 1998
"Though the album features a dizzying array of performers who have stayed in Nelson's corner all these years - including its producer, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, plus George Reiff, Mark Patterson, Rich Brotherton, Gurf Morlix, Michael Fracasso, Kevin Carroll, Toni Price, Casper Rawls and more - most of the songs on The Last Hurrah are ready-made for the solo troubadour world. In the image-soaked Too Much Moonlight, co-written with Jules Shear, Nelson unweaves all the majesty of nighttime. Forget Thinkin' celebrates slacker life in a wistful, spirited tone. And All Over, 100-proof Van Zandtist, finds the singer darkly intoning, 'My skin is thicker than it used to be, in most places/Tanned and thick and dried, there's lines all over my faces.' "
— Chris Riemenschneider, Austin American Statesman,
October 1, 1998
