Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

Non-Prog CD Reviews

Ranzel X Kendrick Texas Sagebrush Review by Gary Hill I reviewed another disc from this artist in the last issue of Music Street Journal. This set is a bit less diverse than the other one. The blend of roots music, particularly folk based stuff, is quite similar here. I find a couple of the songs to be a bit on the awkward side to me, but overall this is pretty effective stuff. It does land heavily on the sedate side of things, but there are some more energetic pieces. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review

Any Ole’ Song Folk and country elements blend with a DIY texture on this number. It's a fairly stripped down arrangement and a rather catchy, if rough around the edges, tune.

What A Pretty Day With both male and female vocals in the mix, this is a jazzy kind of number. It's playful and fun.

Peace of Mind Here we get a soulful kind of folk rock tune that works quite well.

Cry in my Tequila X A bouncy sort of folk tune, this is another that feels a bit on the carefree and fun side.

Hills of Kendralia This instrumental has some blues added to it, but overall isn't a big change from the last piece.

Gruene River With the female voice back into the mix, this has a lot of folk music and a bit of jazz in the mix. It feels carefree, and that fits with the lyrics.

Private Miracle Folk and jazz blend on this slow moving, mellow piece of music. There is a real classic texture here. It has some tasty guitar work built into it, too.

Trouble and Pain Down-home country is a big part of the musical mix here. The cut has some blues elements at play, too.

The Fair Grass The acoustic guitar work on this is quite intricate. The cut is another slow moving, folk-styled piece. It's possibly the mellowest piece here, landing well in the balladic territory.

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