Mike McGuire
Album: Southern Attaction
Label: Okolona
Tracks: 7
Website: http://mikemcguireky.com/

Mike McGuire is a Kentucky based America singer songwriter. His music is a fuse of Country and Folk with just a touch of Blues thrown in for good measure.

I knew very little about Mike when I opted to review this album which is always one of the joys of music reviewing; the discovery of new artists.

I am not really quite sure what to make of this album. With just seven tracks and totalling just over twenty minutes, it is not an LP. It is also not an EP so perhaps we could invent a new acronym here. An EEP (Extended EP) or perhaps an SLP (Shortened LP) but priced at £5.53 on iTunes it is priced realistically for the amount of content.

When the album arrived, I looked at the playlist and could not decide if Mike was just plain lazy or was determined to produce quality over quantity. After a few listens I decided it was the latter and that he is just a pretty laid back sort of guy.

Mike has been described as "The Kentucky Dylan" and I can understand that with his gruff and at times sinister and smokey voice. Like Dylan he has the ability to write inventive and clever lyrics but unlike Dylan, I can understand the words without Bob's mumbling! Mike's style of music is Dylanesque also. Supported by a small band of musicians, the album has a real feel of taking the listener along to a darkened club for a few beers and inviting them to stay awhile listening to some great music. There is a subtle use of harmonica and mandolin which all add to the air of relaxed subtlety.

I was slightly thrown off balance by the first track, "Tennessee Tom." I have spent many hours listening to The Wiggles, the Australian children's' entertainers, as I am sure many other parents and grandparents have also done. They play one track which is a dead ringer for "Tennessee Tom" so I was not quite sure what to expect next. It is however a terrific track by Mike, a real blues number, but not one that will get your feet tapping. It takes you "way down" slow and then the next track picks you back up again kicking your butt on the way.

This is not a long review but then it is not a long LP (?) It is however filled, or semi filled, with a variety of music styles, laid back lyrics delivered fairly gently, surprisingly good backing and overall a real pleasure for the ears. I would imagine that Mike is as laid back in life as he is on record. At least I hope he is or another illusion will be shattered.

Rory Stanbridge