Post by thesoundmonitor on Mar 13, 2004 5:40:27 GMT -5
HALFWAY TO GONE
Halfway to Gone
(Small Stone) SS040
Veteran road warriors Halfway to Gone have been out on the highways honing their musical chops for quite awhile now, beating grateful audiences over the head with their unique brand of southern bone slamming rock. It’s paid off: Halfway to Gone is their best album to date, capturing and distilling everything they've done on their previous albums and presenting it in an adrenalin-charged, booze-soaked package that would make even the most pious of nuns throw the horns.
As usual, the songwriting is tight and the sound is big and rich, much like their second album, Second Season. Fans of heavy southern-style blues based riffs will dig, which is basically anyone into Skynyrd, the Allmans, and Marshall Tucker in the classic camp and later Corrosion of Conformity, Damnation Gulch, Suplecs, and Dixie Witch in the newbie arena. 'Turnpike' is what the Halfway dudes are all about: crunching heaviness and irresistible riffing. They're not afraid to throw us a few curves in the form of a cover of Deep Purple's 'Black Night' with its retro keys and tasty guitar solos courtesy of guitar teacher Lee Stuart. Brother Dan is solid on the drums and throws in the vocals on 'Out on the Road.' The vox may need a little spit n' polish, but they positively drip with a certain rough Americana vibe that shows a lot of promise. It's hard to believe that HTG's demo from a few years ago didn't have any vocals, because bassist Lou Gorra didn't want to do it himself. His turn at 'Can't You See?' on Second Season demonstrated that he had a quality set of pipes, and Halfway to Gone shows that he's just gotten better with time. The album ends on a weird note with 'Mr. Nasty Time,' a trip to a 60s blues
"Nite Klub", the kind where the spaced-out organist wore a cape while flying high on controlled substances.
Halfway to Gone are not out to change the face of rock, but if you liked their previous efforts you'll love this one. It’s definitely more of what you love 'em for. I'm heartened by the fact that people seem to feel fairly neutral about the album at first, but are drawn back again and again for repeated listens. Growers like that tend to withstand the test of time,
so that you find yourself listening to the album years down the line. Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer group of guys.
Kevin McHugh
Halfway to Gone
(Small Stone) SS040
Veteran road warriors Halfway to Gone have been out on the highways honing their musical chops for quite awhile now, beating grateful audiences over the head with their unique brand of southern bone slamming rock. It’s paid off: Halfway to Gone is their best album to date, capturing and distilling everything they've done on their previous albums and presenting it in an adrenalin-charged, booze-soaked package that would make even the most pious of nuns throw the horns.
As usual, the songwriting is tight and the sound is big and rich, much like their second album, Second Season. Fans of heavy southern-style blues based riffs will dig, which is basically anyone into Skynyrd, the Allmans, and Marshall Tucker in the classic camp and later Corrosion of Conformity, Damnation Gulch, Suplecs, and Dixie Witch in the newbie arena. 'Turnpike' is what the Halfway dudes are all about: crunching heaviness and irresistible riffing. They're not afraid to throw us a few curves in the form of a cover of Deep Purple's 'Black Night' with its retro keys and tasty guitar solos courtesy of guitar teacher Lee Stuart. Brother Dan is solid on the drums and throws in the vocals on 'Out on the Road.' The vox may need a little spit n' polish, but they positively drip with a certain rough Americana vibe that shows a lot of promise. It's hard to believe that HTG's demo from a few years ago didn't have any vocals, because bassist Lou Gorra didn't want to do it himself. His turn at 'Can't You See?' on Second Season demonstrated that he had a quality set of pipes, and Halfway to Gone shows that he's just gotten better with time. The album ends on a weird note with 'Mr. Nasty Time,' a trip to a 60s blues
"Nite Klub", the kind where the spaced-out organist wore a cape while flying high on controlled substances.
Halfway to Gone are not out to change the face of rock, but if you liked their previous efforts you'll love this one. It’s definitely more of what you love 'em for. I'm heartened by the fact that people seem to feel fairly neutral about the album at first, but are drawn back again and again for repeated listens. Growers like that tend to withstand the test of time,
so that you find yourself listening to the album years down the line. Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer group of guys.
Kevin McHugh
