The tight arrangement has zero slack and we are swept along this tuneful, bombastic country road with some abandon. Fun!
Country Rock
Richard Schroder excels himself with this single. Beginning with that ever-professional, crisp & organic country sound, We All Start Somewhere progresses to captivate brilliantly, with detailed, fresh story-telling, and a fine balance between scene-setting & emotional honesty.
Patriotism and love, family and service, gratitude and longing all mashed together without a sleigh bell in sight!
Battle Ready is a slow-burning track that sneaks up on you as you listen through. There’s a dark narrative lurking behind the beauty of the arrangement. Tuneful and tastefully produced, that all makes it classic country, in a nutshell!
The leading vocal is notably accessible, that boy-next-door tone intrigues during the verses, then peaks with superb passion and vibrancy for the chorus, and meanwhile the instrumentation continues to weave an upbeat and musically satisfying web around listeners.
There is no question of a lead vocal performance being copied and pasted into position here, the variety of takes between the repeated patterns is as organic and fresh as you like, giving the song a living, beating heart to focus on. Smooth.
Americana in a reasonably gentle set of colours here (despite the subject matter), as Josef McManus’ White Owl Red sets out its stall with a careful political agenda: ‘Just tryin’ to make things a little better’. A rolling and tuneful backing track lends authentic support to the softly-sung thoughts about the undisputed horrors caused by … Continued
In a timeless production that feels simultaneously classic and contemporary, there are plenty of hooks in the melody and backing vocal arrangement to make the insistent motifs memorable.
I did some research on Padana and he has an incredible backstory which makes this album’s achievements even more remarkable than I impart here, but you should check that out for yourselves, as it shouldn’t detract from what the music (notably) delivers alone.
Dave’s voice has the right level of gravitas and directness to deliver stories, and a sweet and gentle vibrato that ends phrases with a tidy elan. I’d like to wheel out the phrase ‘labour of love’ to describe the collection at this point. It’s just superb!
It’s warm, fuzzy and comforting as well as accomplished and tuneful. It’s rare to find a song that wears its influences and target so plainly upon its sleeve – it’s a totally refreshing experience.
Unscathed? I doubt it. We all get a little battered along the way. Here’s a grown-up collection of songs to dip into to accompany us on the ultimate journey…