Devon Allman Turquoise (Ruf) I have been follow-
ing Devon for several years now. I love his jam band Hon- eytribe, and God knows Royal South-
ern Brotherhood is bad to the bone. But on this debut solo record, Allman digs deep and shares his true heart and soul. The music is amazing, with shades of southern rock and blues blended with driving acoustics and soaring melodies. Daddy should be proud. Standout tracks include the autobiographi-
cal set opener, “When I Left Home,” and “Homesick,” which sums up the feelings of many a touring musician. Also great fun is Devon’s remake of the
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks classic “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” with Samantha Fish on vocals. “Turn Off the World” may be my favorite
track of all. From the time I first heard it acoustically on the Rock Legends Cruise, I loved it. It’s a great song about ‘washing off some of that rock and roll,” leaving the work behind, and slowing down and allowing your- self to rest. It’s the perfect song to wrap up the album, with Devon turning in some nice acoustic lead guitar. Good stuff.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Drivin’ & Cryin Songs About Cars, Space and The Ramones (New! Records) Kevn Kinney and
the band have really hit on a magic for- mula. Their latest
music is being rolled out on a series of EP’s rather than all at once. To be completely hon- est, that may be a good thing. Judging from what we have heard so far, if all of these tunes had dropped at once, it may have caused a music journalist somewhere to suffer a coro- nary. This is intense stuff, man, all wrapped around the absolutely unmistakable voice of Kevn Kinney. “Hot Wheels” opens the latest EP full tilt
boogie. The band honestly never sounded bet- ter. “Acceleration” rocks with a swagger similar
to the old Ramones records, which is a perfect setup for “Johnny Rides Shotgun,” a tribute to Joey Ramone. “Moonshot” just rocks. It has all the punch
to the groin of the best mid-seventies rock music that I grew up on. “Out Here in the Middle of Nowhere” and
“Space Eyes” are equally compelling tracks, rounding out another fine EP that stands up to repeat listenings without ever losing its punch. This is rock and roll kids, the way God intended it to be played.
- Michael Buffalo Smith
The Black Feathers Demos (
theblackfeathers.com) It’s been a while
since I was as blown away by a demo recording as I was the very first time I heard
this British duo. Two voices and an acoustic guitar, it doesn’t get much more basic than that. But the harmony vocals are damn near perfect, and the songwriting is stellar. “The Spider and the Fly” is the only up-tempo tune out of the four, a kind of bluesy romp that pulls you right in. “Strangers We Meet” is a lovely song, filled with vocal excellence and
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