Simple Truths

Simple Truths is an album by the American musical trio the Holmes Brothers, released in 2004. The trio supported the album with a North American tour. Production Recorded in four days, the album was produced by Craig Street. Greg Leisz played steel guitar on several tracks; Patrick Warren played pump organ. The trio's cover of "Shine" was inspired by the Dolly Parton version. The Holmes Brothers choose their cover versions based on the lyrics of the songs. Four of the album's songs were written by the trio. Critical reception Entertainment Weekly wrote that the cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" "sizzles in the grease of a fuzz-tone guitar." The Leader-Post concluded that the Holmes Brothers "find the hallowed middle ground between the glory of stately gospel like that of the Blind Boys of Alabama and the rough-and-tumble blues of artists like T-Model Ford." Mother Jones praised the "breathtaking, churchy version" of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You".