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A.J. Downings debut album, River of Life, has the sound of those albums that you can easily find yourself kicking
back to when your on the road. Between the Dobro, Banjo and occasional railroad beats, River of Life carries a sound that
is easily found to be a releasing one. There are very few records that are released in this age that you could label as having
a "timeless sound" like The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Blue Kentucky Girl from Emmylou Harris but Downings River
of Life is one that I say slides right into line with Emmylou and Dylan. A.J. rolls out vocals that strike the chords of Steve
Earle and the slick twang of the lead singer Kevin Russell of The Gourds. Lyrically, this album is solid and something new
that the Americana music business really needs more of.. Good people making some Boot Knockin' music. Just as the music
business needs this album, so do you. Sasha Colette, Americana Crossroads 90.3FM www.msuradio.com
-------------------------------------------------------------"it's
a cracker! Downing's outstanding debut album is an amalgam of the musical styles that encompass alt.country. Country,
folks, blues, gospel, Cajun, and rock seamlessly meld. Lyrically, Downing is pure storyteller in the tradition of great Texas
songwriters, down to the subtle drawl of his vocals." - Miles of Music
CD - River Of Life
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When I heard a few tracks from this album on AJ's MySpace page I just knew I had to hear the
rest...and I wasn't disappointed. This stunning debut is an evocative journey through rural America with AJ and some of
Michigan's finest...an eclectic mix of roots styles embracing the jangling Bluegrass style of the title track and 'The
Other Cheek' through the folky, early Dylanesque 'Magdalene' and 'Shelter From The Storm'; from the rolling
Cajun feel of 'Up North' to the contemporary Country of 'Torn and Tattered' and 'Your Memory', embellished
with Drew Howard's soaring pedal steel. With heartfelt lyrics of love won and lost delivered in a bitingly honest style,
'River of Life' is a delicious slice of real Roots Americana that's right up there with the best albums I've
heard in the last 12 months. Garry Consiglio, UK
A GERMAN REVIEW....
Schema AJ Downing
doesn't fit in the popular country music. In the modern, nor in the traditional. This boy measures
too many styles together. Since shuffle, the indispensable ballad is mixed rebellion of a Steve Earles and honky
tonk - tender drums. Songs are meisterhaft how "" Magdalena"(on the girl, this piece is dedicated
to one right jealous may)." But to Cajun („Up_North") AJ is not careless past - and
makes his own style from it again.
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AJ DOWNING - River of Life (Regional) Charkansas
Records (2008) Working from a colored past as most singer-songwriters do, AJ Downing has just self-released his debut
album, River of Life. Downing, a Michigan native, has been road tripping from Michigan to Nashville, then
Southern California and back many times. 2008 marks the year that Downing stopped messing around and made the all-or-nothing
decision to move his family permanently out to Austin. Over the next year or two, he's going to find out how heavily he can
rely upon his music career. River of Life contains expertly-produced twelve tracks that encapsulate honesty and good
stories with traditional country, rock and folk influences. Overall the album is a good one, but the best songs are
with just Downing and his guitar like, "The Other Side" and "Shelter From the Storm", where he does some
nifty guitar work. -- Andrew Brown, WYCE Music Director Intern
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