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American Road
Michael Stanley
A CD Review |
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There is something to be said about musical consistency,
and although not as pop-driven as he once was when he was
with Band, Michael Stanley just consistently puts out music
that brings me instantly back to growing up on the north
coast, in a steel and auto town called Lorain, Ohio, and
still loving that Midwestern rock that I still know all of
the words to.
The latest offering from Michael Stanley is titled
"American Road," and if you’ve ever heard anything by
Michael Stanley, or the Michael Stanley Band, there will be
familiarity with the sound, but he still does his best to
keep things fresh. The CD opens with "Nothing and Everything
to Prove," a guitar-driven rocker that quickly reminds you
of the sound of Michael Stanley. The title track "American
Road" takes us on the trail out west, and there’s lots of
reminiscing in "The Times We Had." But Michael stretches
things a little, grooving it up some with the eternal
questions "What Would Frank Do," an ode to Frank Sinatra and
what he would do when closing time comes around, and even
gets some bluesy stuff going with "Backing Up Sally G," one
of the funnest songs on the CD. I’m still trying to figure
out the lyrics a tad, because one would think with the song
title, and his singing about being a in a band at a bar,
that Sally G. were the lead singer of this band, but with
lyrics like "And then Sally hits the stage, all I can do is
stare, she’s got legs that go forever, and a world-class
derrière," "And now she’s down to nothing, and I just forgot
my name," and finally "And I swear my friend for just one
night, I’d die a happy man, ‘cause the girl can pick up
dollar bills, and never use her hands…". With that I’m now
assuming Sally G. is a stripper, but I have yet to be in a
Gentlemen’s Club with a band, but I suppose they might be
out there somewhere.
Probably the most commercial sounding song, maybe able to
get some airplay on adult contemporary radio or satellite,
or maybe used as a montage type of song for a movie
soundtrack, would be "Wake ‘Em Up." The sort of funny thing
I found about the song, though, is that in keeping with old
time rock and roll roots, it’s probably got an intro that’s
a few bars too long, but then again, that’s old school rock
and roll.
Some decent up-tempo songs, some blues and groovin’, and
quite a few medium to slow "reflecting on life type" of
songs round out "American Road." There’s also a decent cover
of "Be My Baby," the Spector/Barry/Greenwhich song probably
made most famous by The Ronettes, and really, the only song
I can take or leave would be "Vicodin & Prayer," but that’s
just me. He’s backed up nicely on the CD with lots of his
friends and Jennifer Lee does a great job at handling most
of the back-up vocal duties.
Sure, I will admit a little bias in reviewing this review
as Michael Stanley both with Band and without, has always
been one of my favorite artists, so my liking 12 out of 13
songs gives "American Road" a 92% on the Entertainment Ave!
listenability scale. If you’ve ever liked an old Michael
Stanley type song, you’ll probably enjoy this CD, and if
you’re looking for just some good ol’ Midwest type of rock,
it’s pretty much here.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!! |
