****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I had the recent fortune of digging this out of the bargain bin at my local Independent record store, completely on a whim because the sticker said I might like it if I listen to the Cowboy Junkies (which as have for a long time). This is one the easiest listening albums I've come across in a few years and I mean album in the traditional sense. Michael Simone set out to make a true album of music, not the more typical three or four attempts at writing a "commercial hit" and then filler songs to round it out.This is great Americana, Alt-Country, music written by a real musician and songwriter. No one song really stands out to me as the good/great one, they are all really good and they flow from one to the next in a very satisfying way. The musicianship is excellent! Michael's voice is pleasantly smooth but very authentic. The guitars a perfect balance of clean and clear tone flavored with just enough distortion during key passages to create some musical tension. I don't like most modern day country (rock/pop) music, but I have appreciation for the more traditional forms and I'm a sucker for pedal steel or slide guitar instrumentation in a broad variety of music (ala Mark Knopfler, Robert Randolf, Alison Krauss, Pink Floyd even). The pedal steel playing perfectly compliments the music here without marking it as distinctly country.For me this album transcends genre buy being excellent music more than anything. I dare you not to like it...
