I've been a fan of the Iowa born folk musician Greg Brown for many years so when I first saw this I was excited to see a new release by him. On closer inspection and on playing the CD I find, A REVELATION!!!! A heavy rock, blues soaked album, by a 'young guy' from Conneticut full of anthemic songs that would rock out the biggest of arenas in the land if given the chance.

Released on Riff Rat Records LLC out of Stamford CT. this album never lets up from the first huge guitar riff. The blues rocking of Introspective Man and Middleclass Blues show where Gregs heart really lies showing off his bourbon soaked vocals to best effect. But it's on songs like the huge Redneck Love and the album highlight The American Book of the Dead that will bring him the accolades he rightly deserves. The latter is an absolute classic piece of American blues rock and shows the quality of his writing talent. The sound does mellow in a couple of tracks and will appeal to both heavy rock fans and american roots music fans, if you rate Steve Earle's rockier side listen in. There are moments like on No Surprise where echos of 80's Van Halen come to mind, that is not to say this album in any way is dated, it is fresh, dynamic and deserves to be heard. The album closes on a high with Madman's Eye another huge blues tinged rocker with a touch of soul thown in and is as good as anything Springsteen has offed up in the recent past.

This album stays with you long after you leave get deep under your skin. I have found myself singing out load without realising while driving, they feel like old friends you have known for years. I just hope that Greg gets the breaks, as on the quality of this debut, he could be huge and fill stadiums given the opportunity. Catch this guy live if he passes you neck of the woods and invest in this CD now!!

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