Compadre Records
Kevn Kinney, the longtime leader of Drivin’ n’ Cryin’, has assembled a pretty rocking and seemingly versatile new band, his Sun Tangled Angel Revival, with guitarist Gibb Droll, bassist Bryan Howard, and drummer Dave V. Johnson. From the rocking and catchy opening track, "(Welcome To The) Sun Tangled Angel Revival," to the Dylan-esque poetry of "Epilogue Epitaph In A Minor," the album is marked with Kinney’s distinct and uniquely scratchy voice. Many songs feature guest musicians, such as Dave Schools on bass, Adam Musick on pedal steel, and Joey Huffman on Hammond B3, among others.
The nine tunes on the debut album from Kinney’s S.T.A.R. range from rocking blues to folk to straight country, and they are filled with plenty of honest emotion and a little humor to keep it real. On "The Great North Myrtle Beach Pancake Massacre," the album’s sole instrumental, a more groovin’ ’90s alt-psychedelia side of the band emerges. The spaced out jam moves seamlessly into the hard-blues rocker "Madman Blues," where a more soulful than usual Kinney pleads, "Baby I’m not crazy, just a little confused" around some of Huffman’s mean B3 lines.
Adam Musick’s soothing pedal steel work on "This Train Don’t Stop At The Millworks Anymore" to give the tune the authentic touch it needs for a straight up country feel. The song even comes complete with depressing country & western-style narrative lyrics to give it that true flavor. "This train don’t stop/ At the Millworks anymore/ Ever since all those jobs/ Moved to Mexico."
"Baby I Just Wanna Go Home" has a punky rockabilly sound, like a garage band playing "Johnny B. Goode," and rightfully so, as it was the first song Kinney ever wrote for The Prosecutors, his teenage punk band. The fact that this song appears on the record attests to Kinney’s claim that the album is "a reflection of my past." It shows his willingness to be open and honest with the listener, because even though at first the song seems slightly out of place, in the big picture it fits perfectly. The overall tone of the album seems to be one of rocking and reflect! ing, both of which Kinney has undoubtedly done a lot of over the years.