BILLBOARD MAGAZINE, May 1999: "Singer/songwriter Fred Wilhelm has been percolating for several years now, racking up a pile of awards-including honors as BMI's best new songwriter and first place in Billboard's songwriting contest. Additionally, he's toured extensively, opening for the Replacements and Living Colour, among others. Wilhelm is shopping a disc that deftly combines elements of traditional folk with hip-hop drum loops and samples. It's a solid, easily marketed sound that's a result of the Nashville artist's desire to not be "a sensitive white-guy folky." Between gigs, Wilhelm is cutting tunes for a full-length disc that he hopes to have out before the year's end. Once a wise major A&R exec hears tunes like "Long Slow Beautiful Dance," on which he seems to channel Lou Reed within a rich rock/funk arrangement, Wilhelm won't be label-free for long."