Red Guitar :: Based on a Blue Story
(ind, 2003)
Sometimes a really good album lands in your lap that you just didn't see coming.
That's what it's like to pop in Kansas City band Red Guitar's debut, "Based on a Blue Story." Out of nowhere these guys come along with a moving rock album driven forward by acoustic guitars and piano with a tinge of country reminiscent of the Gin Blossoms or the Jayhawks.
Songwriters John McKenna and Nick Nave have released a simple, slick album with beautiful songs and flawless production. That might sound a little too slick for some tastebuds, but really it's just a good Midwest album that appeals to basic pop sensibilities. "Based on a Blue Story" has some real personality.
The album isn't anything new or innovative. It's not going to change music, the world or anyone's political views. It won't even make you think much. But it's good, solid songwriting with modest, well-executed musicianship and a very listenable and irresistible sound.
The album starts on a good foot, with "Jump Out On the Water," one of those driving-down-the-highway-to-something-new songs. The band reveals its Eagles influence as they sing "All the lonely hearts out on the freeway / Are shining like a desparate parade."
"California" is a late stand-out track with a slow drive backed by a falsetto wail before the first words of the Wilco-esque vocals proclaim: "We were dreamers and we could listen / We could see farther than we could believe / Yeah, we're watching the skies / Above California."
The album's got a couple of slow spots, but overall, this is a very solid release.
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