Giving us something to occupy our time in between a couple of UK tours bookended either side of the year, Robert Jon & The Wreck, in making a deal at the crossroads with Joe Bonamassa’s new record label, are rewarded by being produced by either Don Was or Dave Cobb on this new four track EP.
If all it does is ensure listeners are in reliable hands, with the band getting a good sound put across on record, and possibly cutting out any excesses to deliver some radio-friendly sounds, while leaving plenty of room to expand when they enter their live repertoire, who’s to complain.
Opening fire, riffs recoil in a serious macho strut, things completely turn on their head as laid-back, the guitars cruise on down a summer kissed the highway, Robert Jon wistfully telling us how he’s “better off now”, though we don’t quite believe his broken heart’s quite fully mended in ‘Pain No More’ a song co-written by Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr. Hook friendly with a little gospel in the harmonies, it’s a damn catchy number, which just makes you go back and play it again.
Folksy Americana follows with the crestfallen ‘Who Can You Love’ that’s one-part America, one-part early Eagles, a little Orleans seasoning and a whole lot of homespun charm. ‘One Of A Kind’ is a loud blues-shouting rock and roller, with a noisy slide guitar that gets incredibly nifty without losing sight of the melody.
Drums then bring the boys in for the final tune, a more Southern rooted one in ‘Come At Me’. Here Robert Jon shifts his enunciation from a throaty whispered sigh to a gang-calling shout, with guitarist Henry James Schneekluth’s investing in one of those inspirational tweaks of near-psychedelic sound Clapton left behind in the studio when recording with Cream a million lifetimes away; so thanks for picking up the baton, Henry.
Four tracks to suit several moods, despite which they flow naturally one from another. Robert Jon & The Wreck know how to tease, entertain and imbue a feelgood musical goodness, as evidenced across this EP.
- Review by Paul H Birch.
- One Of A Kind is released via Journeyman Records and is available now (from here).
- Official Website
Track list:
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Pain No More
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Who Can You Love
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One Of A Kind
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Come At Me
