I’ve known Holly Wynn (and her mom) for over a decade, ever-since her unique beauty caught my eye at the Nashville Country Radio Seminars (CRS) in 2006. More than just another foxy face (and more), she can carry a tune! Check out her latest release, “I Couldn’t Love Him Much More” [unsigned to a label as of this writing]. Here they rework a song from a previous EP and this time the tune is rocking from start, to the classic cold finishing flourish.
Since Valentine’s Day 2023, two weeks ago, when she turned me on to her new song, it already has garnered over 300 “likes” on YouTube. Holly also has the power of gorgeousness, which adds to her (whip) appeal.
So, now we know what’s on her short list for (as Dolly Parton once sang ,in 1983) a “potential new boyfriend”. Count on Holly for consistency as she can paint that Country Music-style word picture! As an interesting new nuance, there is a reality show-ish bridge monologue interlude a swimming pool on this track. You too will be strung-along by the consistent, rhythmic fiddling throughout!
If you are looking for a fresh twang to your personal playlist her in early 2023, this tune is the ticket.
Looking forward to a few remixed versions for various formats, which would possibly include more ears in the mix!
Attention, my long-time friendly music industry CEOs! Please meet with Holly, so that both of your magic musical touches can chemically react for mutual magnanimity.
As alwaze…. I invite you to check in with my mothership blog, which begat this one, www.achilliad.wordpress.com for non-musical musings.
[Nashville, Tennessee, December, 2018] Proving that you can put a new slant on tried and true formats, is listening to the new album by Mark Wayne Glasmire [Traceway Records MWGCD 2018-1] who “Can’t Be Denied” stardom. Take out your neatly included little lyric booklet, so you can follow along with me…
From the first snare drum accents of “I’ve Got A Feeling”, this album captivates you into the professionally gleaned clean sound of “MWG”. Hark! I think I even hear a friendly banjo pluckin-away and soulful, groovin’ organ on that first track! Yes! Checkin’ one of the SoMuchMooreMedia press advances, I read that we are hearing wonderful Wanda Vick on banjo, fiddle and mandolin (I so wanna see her, upon hearing this!) and Dennis Wage on the Hammond B3. It all comes so-together from start-to-finish on this record musically; the band is tight.
Next in line, the very relaxing ‘Those Nights”, my first-favorite song here and reminiscent of The Eagles in the the late 1970s/early 1980s of my early Top 40 DJ days on the radio. It changes the pace of the former by starting with a three-note piano flair, the bluesy, plaintiff organ and then midway through a classic Country music piano/guitar solo interlude. I frown my face up to keep from cryin’ with joy. The more you listen, the more you’ll love it.
I have a feeling that Mark “Can’t Be Denied” consideration for a CMA award. This tune continues the feel of the former, flowing naturally next; great song positioning! I love the unique way the guitar’s three note progression becomes the hook! Tracks four and five play in the same key and “Alysia” is the best of that hook-up. This song is somehow reminiscent of “Spanish Lei”, an instrumental on the late Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra’s “White Gold” album. Mark sings to and the guitar workings, (“bling, bling,bling…”) reveal her Latino roots. “Hey Alysia, (strum, strum, strum), You’re inside my [musical mind] heart …” It must be the mandolin; all they need is a marimba to complete the south of the border groove! She also mixed into my head magically, on other songs of the album as I went about my daily chores in recent weeks while working-up this review.
The sixth song, “Borderline”, is a bad-ass story of waking up to a bad day, a card game gone sour and attempted escape, only to cross that final ‘borderline”, that we all must at some point. Shades of Kenny Rogers on this one and I like that kinda storytellin’.
With so much to describe on this album, I don’t want to leave much out nor bore you because I “Feel Your Love”, as Mark so cleverly works real talk lingo into the lyrical mix. You have to hear how he hides the last word in this (paragraph) to know what I mean, “I guess that I could walk away and hang it up with dignity and class/But I would rather swing away and tell them all to kiss my…aaaaa-asss!” I smile out-loud, every time I hear it.
Unfortunately, we all know someone “Gone Too Soon” these days. A a nice fiddle interlude contributes perspective within the complimentary guitars and a Glen Campbell-style feeling throughout. “This Too Shall Pass” is a sobering ballad towards the end of the album, that addresses earthy, serious topics in all of our lives and its so philosophically introspective that I almost teared-up again, here at the end of a oft-sobering 2018 year. “Sometimes I sit back and wonder/How I made it this far/Nothing to show for the battles I fought/But the pain and the loss and the scars…”
Honorable mentions to check out are, “Deep Inside” for your traditional uptempo Country music jam-party foot-stomper and “Frying Pan Into the Fire” to hear some of our elders favorite admonitions when we were going up, in-song. ‘I’ve got a feeling’ that Mark will be heard at the upcoming 2019 CRS in Nashville and wish I could spy it.
This is cool, traveling and radio ready – even in radio’s current configuration – music. An Adult Contemporary, Americana or Country Music Director would have to be deaf not to add these tunes; yet, use’em sparingly, because the album can last a long time. With a glossy CD cover that spells label commitment, I couldn’t even make notes on it with a sharpie!
Congratulations, Mark! Major Props on producing music that truly touches all bases and produces potential dreaded “tune wedgies” at every other track. Five-out-of-five Country acoustic guitars is my rating.
Thanks for reading, please comment, if you wish and remember to check back to my “mothership connection” blog at www.achilliad.wordpress.com anytime for non-music opinion.
This twenty-seventeen summer was not a bummer because Janey “Blues” Street dropped some coolness from within, on an album entitled, “In My Own Skin”. Fresh off her award-winning tour and being voted LA Music Critic’s award “Best Rock, Best CD and an Icon Award in Hollywood, Smooth and easy Janey unabashedly continues to croon and apply a tender touch to her guitar, like she always does, with this fresh set about life, love, sex and music. I have listened to this CD often during my car travels this summer and apologize for the late write-up, which, however, is just in time for some introspective, romantic, Autumn leaves listening. Its never too late for nice music.
Janey Street’s latest album is like when you visit a friend’ house to grill and chill many a tasty feast, from seafood to tasty meats. With just the right spice, a beverage and deep flavors, you will know that Ms. Street can be depended upon to deliver musically. Upon initial listen, frankly I was underwhelmed until I heard cut number eleven, “Dignity”, with its hip-hop bridge, “Tryin’ to work a 9 to 5 to make a livin’/bills just keep on coming, they keep takin’ with no givin’…” then and there I put the brakes on, as the hairs on my own epidermis stood up. I had to revisit the album, to hear what I had previously missed.
My ears found that, track two, “When You Are Loved” is the most appealing and heartfelt song on this album. It brought tears to my lonely eyes several times because of its relatability. Many hurting humans can relate to it and it would even garner today’s radio program directors’ airplay as the first single, IMO.
The whining, “woooo”, bluesy organ on “Guilty Pleasures” and her Marvin Gaye-ish over-dubbing vamp-to-cold ending vocals make this tune my second favorite one. “Undone” is UNder the radar, not a cover of The Guess Who, (although I wish it were) and the most blusey-County music-leaning tune on the album.
No track is like another one on this, her sophomore album with Blue Elan, which includes this neat song lyric insert to the right! There is something for almost everyone. The most fun tune is one from her distant past, Queens, New York City roots entitled, “Under the Clock”. Compare the first and recent videos about it.
Even more entertaining to my double entendre` radio DJ mind from the pre-corporate radio daze, are a few songs like “Sex Is Easy, But Love Is Hard”, “Wrap My Mind Around You” (really?) and “I Wanna Love You Deep”, all of which are getting my brains hard. I can rework all of those lyrics amusingly, in a sexual healing heartbeat! (towel needed) Get some, Janey!
Bottom Line: Ms. Janey Street can leave a musical legacy like Janis Joplin, given proper promotion and support by great, pro-active public relations, an out-of-the-box thinking label, consistent touring and supportive mass media. Otherwise, her efforts may go down like track nine, “Wreckage”, which is not what I want to see. Therefore, I bestow three-and-a-half out of five, skinny stars for this album.
We would have liked to have seen her also on this 2017 version for a grownup comparison! Alas…
Please leave your opinions in the “comments” box. Thank you for reading and remember to check in with “the Mothership” at www.achilliad.wordpress.com
” I think that “This Side Of You” could be used as background theme during the love-making scenes of the recent movie, “Deepwater Horizon”!’
It took a few days, but now this song is officially another “tune-wedgie” that plays as added to my mental jukebox rotation of hits.
“Gypsy Soul” is the forthcoming new album by the amazingly well-traveled for such a youngster, Rick Monroe, who should be a diplomatic Ambassador, having just read a lot of his biography. Maybe it is a future career move, but for now he happily calls Nashville, Tennessee his home.
I saw Rick Monroe for the first time, when he arrived from the behind the stage entrance of the club and when he recognized me, I saw in the smile that broadened his face a very engaging, friendly and approachable rising star. It was as if we were old acquaintances. I instantly got the feeling that he and I could have kicked it about music and radio for hours, but he had only moments before he had to take the stage; maybe next time, for that conversation and a more in-depth interview; so we had one of his band mates take a couple photos!
When I mentioned reading about the new album, he talked glowingly about his co-producers, Jason Duke and Ryan Griffin, and the genesis of the current hit single, “This Side of You”, which he played early during his first set and some of which I caught on video (below). I think that “This Side Of You” could be used as background theme during the love-making scenes of the recent movie, “Deepwater Horizon”!
Rick Monroe has a good, self-deprecating stage-presence and he kept the songs moving without a whole lot of endless “blah-blah-blah” between selections. The venue’s sound was not the best sometimes. I could not understand some of his segue way between songs comments often and maybe that was due to whoever was mixing his sound from the DJ booth or maybe it was more tuned for the line dancing warm-up hour’s clientele?
While Rick commands the center-stage, his three other men support the sound without upstaging him. They seemed in-sync and well rehearsed without sounding stilted. As a former drummer, I found his a very solid and tight percussionist. They displayed good stage action and choreography spontaneously.
Suddenly, my own audience interaction is interrrupted as apparently some radio station promotion prize winners invade the VIP with me. I leave the area to shoot more Rick Monroe video. He leaves stage at one point to briefly mingle and orchestrate amongst the crowd without missing a beat. I almost missed it, having glanced away to the radio contest winners. Speaking of “radio”, “This Side of You” is His set featured an assorted a mix of southern rock and folksy blues-style Country Pop, which really impressed me when they surprised my ears by covering one of my all time Allman Brothers favorites from 1970, “Midnight Rider”. Well done!
Rick plays a Framus acoustic guitar, whose design feature makes its body look bigger than most I used to see in Nashville! Is this true or just my vision?
As an aside, from being in the din of the Saloon that night, I must reiterate that sometimes we speak the same language, yet have to slow-down to really listen to each other (especially with loud music playing in the background), in order to understand across regional spoken colloquialisms and accents.
Thank you again and major props to Martha Moore, who set me up with this opportunity and also praise God for placing me in the area at this time.
Major Props to his Manger, Andrea and Bob who managed the Saloon that night and to the whole din of Honky Tonk Saloon (that is really the name of the place!), in Ladson, South Carolina, at the end of February in 2017. Who knew, a year ago, I would be in Charleston, just twenty minutes from one of SoMuchMooremedia’s artists in order to cover this event??! I saw everything from Line Dancing, a “Billy Jack” lookalike to guys in Hells Angels jackets representing states all over the USA while I waited meeting the positive and country-cool Rick Monroe. I would love to add the physical CD of this album to my collection when it drops.
Here is a studio preview that runs about the same length as my live shot, lol
I rate “This Side Of You” with four, slow-dancin’ “geetars”.
achilliadsmyvinylrecordshoppe 