Artist: Shurman
Album: Inspiration
Bitrate: 217kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Teletone Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 75.07 megs
PlayTime: 0h 45min 44sec total
Rip Date: 2012-05-16
Store Date: 2012-02-21
Track List:
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01. Inspiration 3:25
02. Hometown Judgement Day 4:07
03. Back To Texas 3:16
04. Apartment 9 Blues 4:53
05. Novocaine Heart 3:54
06. Eye For An Eye 4:33
07. Looking Back 4:01
08. Somebody's Gonna Break Your 4:12
Heart
09. Leaving Song 3:46
10. Closer To The Heart 5:38
11. Take A Bow 3:59
Release Notes:
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It probably says a lot for this band that they can play classic country rock and
then veer into a soulful blues, yet despite that diversity still retain their
own stamp of individuality. At times they have the feel of a harder edged
Eagles; at others, when they go more into blues mode, bands such as Free. I can
imagine they would really be something when playing live, but it could be their
mastery of so many styles that works against them on record, making them
difficult to pigeonhole. Ridiculous I know, but they wouldnÆt be the first band
whose sales have suffered due to their huge abilities.
The band is made up of songwriter Aaron Beavers on lead vocals, electric and
acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmonica, Mike Therieau on bass and backing
vocals, Craig Bagby, drums and backing vocals and Harley Husbands on lead
guitar, banjo and lap steel. Beavers expressive vocals are excellent on whatever
style or tempo the song requires and his songwriting really does paint word
pictures, most of which can be related to. With the band harmonies also being
very good and the instrumental prowess of all band members showing an
incredibley high level of expertise they really are a band at the top of their
game.
Stylistically much of what they play can probably be labelled classic 1970s
country rock but with a 21st century makeover and some decent blues rock for
good measure, but really they cover a much broader canvas than even these far
reaching roots based genres. The album gets underway with a couple of decent
country rockers with Beavers rasping vocals driving them along, followed by a
slow moody tale of homesickness about someone on his way back home to Texas,
obviously a reference to Beavers Texas roots. Apartment #9 blues is an excellent
mid tempo soulful bluesy rocker that shows Beavers can pretty much sing anything
in roots music, without sounding too forced, plus, as a bonus, the rest of the
band really rock, giving the song some real power. On Novocaine Heart, an
uptempo rootsy rocker the vocals sound a little like Don Henley as they also do
on the excellent country ballad Closer to the heart. There is the gorgeous steel
guitar on Somebodys gonna break your heart, aslow country rock ballad that
advises a heartbreaker that she will eventually get the same, but probably the
most powerful song on the album is Eye for an Eye a quite harrowing, slow, moody
country song about execution, with some excellent banjo playing and a suitably
sparse sound. Album closer Take a bow, pretty much sums up what this excellent
band are entitled to do after such a tremendously diverse musical offering and
veers strongly into soul mode.
Overall, this is a much stronger album than their previous pretty good offering,
æStill waiting for the sunset,Æ with the band stretching out more and covering a
wider musical spectrum. There is still a nagging doubt that perhaps the area
they cover is too wide, but better that than a band that sticks to the same
predictable style all of the time. Who knows, maybe theyÆve invented the
æShurman genre!Æ