|
Darryl Lee Rush - Llano
Avenue
By George Peden
 Thanks
to a dusty laser. Having sifted through the too big and growing pile
of CDs for Waiting in the Wings, I had Darryl Lee Rush and his Palo
Duro release, Llano Avenue, in the player. The plan was a
systematic play through of the album. I settled back, feet on desk,
window open and sun filtering in, all ready to enjoy the unknown (to
me) Texan troubadour.
Looking through the
credits, I noticed, in addition to 7 penned tunes Rush had supplied,
there were songs by Guy Clark and Chris Knight. This was pleasing,
as I’m a fan of both.
I settled, pushed
Play, and after a splutter, my CD player kicked to life. The first
track was to be “Truale”. Given the nature of the album I was
expecting a story of location and circumstance, not so. Out of the
speakers came a rhythmic pounding that took a moment for me to
adjust to. Then, as I started to catch on, came some lyrical
familiarity. Wait! Could this be an Eagles tune?
“Life In The Fast
Lane” is the last of 12 tracks on the album and it lives up to its
promise. Rush has beefed up the pace, hit the vocals with a defined
gruffness which is appealing, and, almost, reinvented the wheel.
Tampering with Eagles tunes can be risky, after all they’re so
well accepted in their original form, but, and to his credit, Rush
nails it with his reworking. Thanks to a dusty laser, that tune
grabbed and held my curiosity right across the album, from finish to
start.
Produced by the
creditable team of Gurf Morlix and Joshua Jones, the album is a
listener’s delight. It’s a lyrical storybook, told so well by a
talented singer and writer who’s one to watch, wait and listen out
for.
Standout tracks
include the Dobro and accordion-laced “Town Too Tough To Die”,
the Chris Knight-penned travelogue “Miles To Memphis” and the
cello-infused “Diary Of A Dancer”.
Summary: rich
textured vocals against a storybook of dusty towns and touched
emotions. I loved it.
Official
Website
MySpace
Lonny Ayres - Changing Lanes
Album Review By: Penny Rondinella
 Lonny Aryes is a trucker's son, born and raised in Texas,
listening to music from Merle Haggard to Montly Crue. He says thankfully his mom and dad didn't censor
his music much while growing up, which he attributes to him having a sound all his own. Lonny
grew up with the crazy notion of thinking he'd play for the Dallas Cowboys, until he got a bit older, he
had a second thought on that and starting singing and doing the
cover song thing, not really realizing he was good enough to make a living at
it. Lonny has a huge sense of humor and writes songs about the experiences he's been through.
He's opened for guys like the awesome Chris LeDoux, (what an honor) Gary Stewart, Joe
Diffie, Gene Watson & a few others.
Lonny moved to Nashville (Nashvegas) to live his dream of becoming a big star, played a few
gigs and he and his band decided they better get serious
about song writing, if that dream were to come true. Now if you've been to Lonny's Myspace, you'll
know that he's not serious about very much. Except for when it comes to his dream, he is very
passionate about his music and he can then be very serious. Just listen to some of the songs on
this album. I read who his influences were on his Myspace page and this is what he wrote:
Jack Ingram, Steve Earle, Charlie Robison, Bruce Robison, Chris Knight, Johnny Cash, George Jones,Willie Nelson, Gary Allan, JACK DANIELS, Pat Green, The
Great Divide/Mike McClure, JIM BEAM, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, & any of those guys that
do their own thing and to hell with everybody else. This country boy with a great sense of
humor is in the right place, take a listen to him and decide for yourself.
MySpace
|
October 2006
September 2006
August
2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April
2006
March 2006
February 2006
January
2006
December 2005
November
2005
|
