The Steve Riley Band-...Miles From Nowhere

Artist: The Steve Riley Band
Title: …Miles From Nowhere
Genre: Rock-Country-Blues
Label: Independent

The Steve Riley Band consists of many fine musicians. Although Riley is the focus on his album …Miles From Nowhere, his supporting cast helps to make this a rich tapestry of guitars, keyboards, percussion and bass.

The two tracks that make this an above average record are “Lady of Gold” and “The Storm Will Be Silent.” I thought of bands like The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Eagles while listening to these two exceptional tracks. Riley has a Dylan meets Lou Reed vocal style, yet it is easy to become attached to the vocals, as he comes across warm and disarming, perfect for the soft rock they play. They do rock though, make no mistake about that, this is not a band of lightweights by any means. The perfect example of that is "Lady of Gold," which has an awesome Spanish acoustic guitar intro that invites you in and then it introduces some fiery electric chords courtesy of Wy Harrell, which will hold onto you until the song ends. It is a wonderful diversion with a 70's classic rock slant to it. If there is one song on the album they should use to make their way into a label or radio station, this is the one.

Riley pays tribute to one of his main influences, Cat Stevens, by covering two songs, "Excerpt: "…Miles From Nowhere" and "Where Do The Children Play." The choice of songs is excellent for the type of music that they play. All the players on the tracks turn in a fine job supporting Riley.

I do have one complaint about this album, it was over much too soon!

Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

August 9, 2004

1. Lets Make It Clear (3:12)
2. Born On A Holiday (2:47)
3. Starr Light (4:03)
4. Where Do The Children Play? (2:43)
5. Summer Rain (3:08)
6. Lady Of Gold (3:17)
7. The Storm Will Be Silent (2:14)
8. Till I Find Love (2:09)
9. Excerpt Miles From Nowhere (1:05)

Rating-8/10

Musician Credits:

Steve Riley-Vocals, rhythm guitar
Wyman Harrell-Lead guitar, acoustic guitar
Rich Quintana-Keyboards
Wy Harrell-Drums, percussion
Mark Roseberry-Bass

Article Author: MuzikMan

The content provided for Blog Critics after 9/05 are independent of the services provided by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck.

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan,” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the …

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