The Waybacks - Loaded
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Free Music Notes for Loaded
Free Music Review: A Little Too Country
Hit: 3 Stars
I'll never understand this, but while I enjoy bluegrass and newgrass, one thing I can't stand is country music. I've been a longtime fan of The Waybacks, since they were playing at the Espresso Garden Cafe in San Jose and just released their 2nd CD, Burger After Church. After hearing it, I immediately bought their first CD, Devolver, and have purchased every CD they released since.
While I was excited to have their latest CD, Loaded, after waiting two years for it, I would have to say I was disappointed. It just sounds too country. I know other reviews have categorized a number of their cuts in different categories, but they all pretty much sound like country music to me. The musicianship is superb, but compared to their other work -- its a little country and I'm a little rock n roll. It just didn't work out.
Free Music Review: It ain't the Waybacks any more
Hit: 2 Stars
I went to the Waybacks concert when they came to town expecting the same unparalleled jamming and musicianship I had seen before. ... No Steve Coyle! ... I was greatly disappointed, but the crowd, mostly first-timers at a Waybacks concert was very enthusiastic. Once I was over the shock, I enjoyed the concert as well, but they should rename the band. The James Nash Band seems reasonable. Steve Coyle was a perfect foil for the histronic excellence of James Nash. Remaining in the background while Nash handled the spotlight, and filling in every weak spot in every arrangement.
Nash and Hood are excellent musicians, and they played off each other excellently, but the rock solid cornerstone of Coyle's rhythm guitar was missing from the Waybacks's sound that I respected.
Listening to the CD gives me much the same feeling. There are only a few songs that I really want to keep around for posterity, Savannah, Black Cat (instr), and Conjugal Visit come to mind, but the basis of their "goodness" is flash ... not substance.
Free Music Review: Great album, but Steve Coyle is missed
Hit: 4 Stars
If you're a Waybacks fan, you'll enjoy this CD. But - and it's a big but - band founder Steve Coyle has left the band along with his distinctive voice (Petrified Man) and great jamming rhythm guitar.
Newcomer Warren Hood takes over sharing lead vocals and lends his violin. Warren is great - but if given a choice, I'd have picked Coyle over Hood. One of the things I enjoyed most about the Waybacks, especially live, was the way Coyle and lead guitarist James Nash played off each other. No more.
Bands change. I enjoyed Loaded, but that enjoyment is tinged by a little melancholy, too.
Free Music Review: Breaking New Ground, ... Again!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Waybacks are simply astonishing. If there is a band with more chops than The Waybacks, I have not heard them yet. "Loaded," like the band's three previous studio releases, continues to surprise, delight and take the listener to new musical places. The virtusosity of James Nash's guitar & mandolin playing and Warren Hood's fiddle work give you the feeling that there is simply nothing that they can not do with these instruments. Warren Hood's "dreamy" vocals fall somewhere among Harry Connick, Rick Nelson, Alison Krauss and Norah Jones, if that is possible, and it is! In live performances, Warren has every female's undivided attention after the first thirty seconds of his solos.
Unlike The Waybacks other releases, which were at least 60% instrumental, "Loaded" has one instrumental track, with the rest of the CD being "song driven." The virtuosity of their playing is used to propel each song, rather than simply dazzle, which it does without breaking a sweat.
There is not a weak track on "Loaded." As always, The Waybacks are virtually impossible to categorize and pigeon-hole into any one genre of musical styles. This CD has: Cajun, Blues, Celtic, Folk, Country, Road House Boogie, Texas Swing, Rock, Classical/Gypsy Jazz, and Americana. ALL GREAT. There is not one Bluegrass cut on the entire CD. And yet, The Waybacks continue to be grouped in the Americana/Bluegrass category by the music industry.
What is a music industry executive to do?
The only thing The Waybacks need is a Clive Davis or Live Nation to solve the "categorization" challenge and market The Waybacks to a broader audience, not just the Americana/Bluegrass listener.
I have yet to meet anyone who after seeing The Waybacks perform live doesn't say, "That is one of the best bands I have ever heard."
Free Music Review: Creative, Talented & Fun!
Hit: 5 Stars
The new CD by the Waybacks, Loaded, is superb and full of creative, interesting and fun songs by extremely talented musicians. The group uses various acoustic and electric instruments masterfully, especially guitar and fiddle. The lyrics tell wonderful stories, and the singing and harmonies grab you right from the opening song "City Boy", a tale about an enthusiastic city guy who discovers he feels right at home by a riverbank:
Looking out from the riverbank
All that I can see
Muddy water rushing by
Let it wash all over me ...
Sometimes the world just opens up
And welcomes you right in
The glimpses of your distant dreams
Are now the places where you've been
And I'm not the kind who likes to brag
But I think I've found my home
Drifting farther from the shore
Never more to roam
This CD is very diverse and all the songs are memorable and leave you wanting to sing along. Other wonderful songs include the foot-stomping "Tired of Being Right", the sea-shanty song "Beyond the Northwest Passage", "Loaded" (tale of a man's unfortunate decision to stop at bar instead of heading straight home), and the comical and clever "Conjugal Visit".
This CD cannot be categorized into just one or two styles of music, and therein lies the beauty of this recording .... excellent musicianship, entertaining and clever songs, fun and interesting lyrics, smooth harmonies .... a winner in every way! Highly recommended!
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