Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

Non-Prog CD Reviews

Mark Adams Band California Bound Review by Gary Hill The music here has a real timeless quality to it. This album features roots music. At times it's closer to country. At other points folk is the more central point. Then there are the more rocking tunes. The thing is, it all works well, and cooperates nicely. This is an effective set of music. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 4 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

She Was Crying Country, folk and roots rock are all merged on this number. It's catchy, classy and timeless.

December Blue Folk and soft rock are the dominant things here. I really dig the mellow guitar solo section a lot. As strong as the opener was, this really elevates things for me.

Tongue Tied A more rocking tune, this has a lot of vintage rock and roll in it. The guitar solo has a lot of that sound built into it. This roots rocker works well.

King of the Hill in Loserville There is plenty of country and old-school rock and roll at the heart of this one. I dig the piano a lot, and the whole tune has a lot of charm. The picked guitar solo brings plenty of down-home style. A blues rocking electric solo later delivers something different, but no less traditional. There are some sounds at the end that seem to have two components, a chiming bell and something that I think is rolling glass bottles.

Unconditional Love Down-home country rock with some hints of The Grateful Dead is the idea here. This is fun but not what I'd consider a highlight. The lyrics to this are very topical and rooted in our modern world in contrast to the retro sounds displayed by the music.

California Bound This groove also has some Grateful Dead vibes. I can even make out some hints of punk rock on this thing, though. There is plenty of country here, too. It has some great guitar picking and a lot of class. This is one of the best songs on the album, making it a great choice for title track.

Little Old Wine Drinker Me This ballad is very much a down-home country piece. It has some great slide guitar, but don't miss the picked playing or the piano.

Loving You the Way I Do Country and rock merge on this mid-tempo number.

Chasing After Margaritas An energetic tune, this has a lot of country music in the mix along with plenty of rock and roll. There is a Latin acoustic guitar solo mid-track. When it comes back out from there, it leans heavier on the country side of the equation. This is a fun romp.

Wait Until August Country music, folk and rock all merge on this heartfelt piece. I like this one quite a bit, but it's not what I'd consider one of the highpoints.

More CD Reviews

Metal/Prog Metal

Non-Prog

Progressive Rock

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
© 2024 Music Street Journal Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com