Linden is a genuine renaissance man of roots music. He's a singer and songwriter of great skill, an in-demand and prolific record producer ( Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson, Colin James), a sideman to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and, for the past decade, a member of the highly successful trio, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Colin's songs have been covered by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb' Mo', and Colin James, and his well-stocked trophy case includes seven Juno, multiple Maple Blues Awards, and a Toronto Arts Award. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the star-studded A Tribute To Howlin' Wolf CD, and was involved in the ground-breaking O Brother Where Art Thou phenomenon. Linden has a well-deserved reputation as a slide guitar virtuoso of real originality, and his riveting slide work can be heard both on albums from such artists as Cassandra Wilson, The Rankin Family and Whitey Johnson and on his own sizeable solo catalogue. Colin's multi-faceted talents coalesce in truly compelling fashion on From The Water. This is a stylistically more diverse work than his previous outing, 2007's easin' back to tennessee. That acclaimed disc served as an homage to the acoustic country blues style that was the crucial inspiration for the Toronto-born and raised, Nashville-based Linden in his musically formative years. From The Water can also be viewed as an homage of sorts. Colin's long-time musical collaborator and closest friend, legendary keyboardist Richard Bell, passed away in 2007, and his spirit is omnipresent here. The dynamic duo played on over 100 albums together (more than 40 of them Linden productions), including records by The Band, Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Colin James.