Pete Weiss on accordion! Okay, got that outta my system, but I wanted to emphasize it, because, dammit, I hate accordion. Usually. But not this time. I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but generally it grates on my nerves, makes me change the station. Usually. But not this time. Thanks, Pete! AJ Downing follows up his fine debut, River Of Life, with Way Back Home, a rockin-rollin-redneck kinda record. Don’t read “redneck” the wrong way, though, because I’m using it here to describe a down-home-born-in-the-sticks sound. There are no trite observations of the wonders of drinking beer or the wisdom of calling in sick to work so he can float the river anywhere to be found here. Downing chooses to more often tackle the more serious side of life. “Chisolm County” simultaneously celebrates and decries simple country life. “Rockin Little Rebel” is a surefire radio hit, if it ever gets targeted that way. And then there’s the whimsical “Facebook Song” about everyone’s favorite social networking website. Downing explores life to the fullest, the highs and the lows, but even when he brings the tempo down, Steve Sarber’s guitars keep things alive, making Way Back Home a fun and entertaining listen all the way through. Oh, and Weiss’s accordion. It rowdily paces the first song, and is then strategically used throughout the record. Just the way it should be.
Pete Weiss on accordion! Okay, got that outta my system, but I wanted to emphasize it, because, dammit, I hate accordion. Usually. But not this time. I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but generally it grates on my nerves, makes me change the station. Usually. But not this time. Thanks, Pete!
AJ Downing follows up his fine debut, River Of Life, with Way Back Home, a rockin-rollin-redneck kinda record. Don’t read “redneck” the wrong way, though, because I’m using it here to describe a down-home-born-in-the-sticks sound. There are no trite observations of the wonders of drinking beer or the wisdom of calling in sick to work so he can float the river anywhere to be found here. Downing chooses to more often tackle the more serious side of life.
“Chisolm County” simultaneously celebrates and decries simple country life. “Rockin Little Rebel” is a surefire radio hit, if it ever gets targeted that way. And then there’s the whimsical “Facebook Song” about everyone’s favorite social networking website. Downing explores life to the fullest, the highs and the lows, but even when he brings the tempo down, Steve Sarber’s guitars keep things alive, making Way Back Home a fun and entertaining listen all the way through.
Oh, and Weiss’s accordion. It rowdily paces the first song, and is then strategically used throughout the record. Just the way it should be.Weiss on accordion! Okay, got that outta my system, but I wanted to emphasize it, because, dammit, I hate accordion. Usually. But not this time. I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but generally it grates on my nerves, makes me change the station. Usually. But not this time. Thanks, Pete!
AJ Downing follows up his fine debut, River Of Life, with Way Back Home, a rockin-rollin-redneck kinda record. Don’t read “redneck” the wrong way, though, because I’m using it here to describe a down-home-born-in-the-sticks sound. There are no trite observations of the wonders of drinking beer or the wisdom of calling in sick to work so he can float the river anywhere to be found here. Downing chooses to more often tackle the more serious side of life.
“Chisolm County” simultaneously celebrates and decries simple country life. “Rockin Little Rebel” is a surefire radio hit, if it ever gets targeted that way. And then there’s the whimsical “Facebook Song” about everyone’s favorite social networking website. Downing explores life to the fullest, the highs and the lows, but even when he brings the tempo down, Steve Sarber’s guitars keep things alive, making Way Back Home a fun and entertaining listen all the way through.
Oh, and Weiss’s accordion. It rowdily paces the first song, and is then strategically used throughout the record. Just the way it should be.Pete Weiss on accordion! Okay, got that outta my system, but I wanted to emphasize it, because, dammit, I hate accordion. Usually. But not this time. I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but generally it grates on my nerves, makes me change the station. Usually. But not this time. Thanks, Pete!
AJ Downing follows up his fine debut, River Of Life, with Way Back Home, a rockin-rollin-redneck kinda record. Don’t read “redneck” the wrong way, though, because I’m using it here to describe a down-home-born-in-the-sticks sound. There are no trite observations of the wonders of drinking beer or the wisdom of calling in sick to work so he can float the river anywhere to be found here. Downing chooses to more often tackle the more serious side of life.
“Chisolm County” simultaneously celebrates and decries simple country life. “Rockin Little Rebel” is a surefire radio hit, if it ever gets targeted that way. And then there’s the whimsical “Facebook Song” about everyone’s favorite social networking website. Downing explores life to the fullest, the highs and the lows, but even when he brings the tempo down, Steve Sarber’s guitars keep things alive, making Way Back Home a fun and entertaining listen all the way through.
Oh, and Weiss’s accordion. It rowdily paces the first song, and is then strategically used throughout the record. Just the way it should be.
