Pete Kennedy
Album: Heart Of Gotham
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 13
Website: http://www.petekennedy.com/

Pete Kennedy along with his wife Maura has been making music for over twenty years now. Pete was originally a guitarist for Nanci Griffiths prior to meeting his wife and has since built up a reputation as a singer, songwriter and deliverer of top quality pop rock music.

This album is one of three being released by Pete and Maura in 2015 to celebrate their twenty years of work in the music business and their twenty years of marriage. Maura is releasing "Villanelle" together they are releasing "West" and this album, his first solo effort in that twenty year period, "Heart of Gotham" is Pete's contribution to the threesome.

The album has been described as a love song to New York, a city that I love. The place oozes life and dynamism and this album fully embraces those emotions and characteristics. Pete plays all the instruments on it, wrote all the songs and sings both main and backing vocals. A true one man album!

Pete has a somewhat rough and soulful voice which on some tracks bears a striking resemblance to Bruce Springsteen and which accurately reflects the city that is the subject of the album.

The album opens with a tribute to "Union Square" in Manhattan. It also closes with a reprise of the same song. The rest of the album is a mix of classic rock, a touch of folk and one track, "Riot in Bushwick" that bears a strong resemblance to the "Stray Cats." "Williamsburg Bridge" is a soft rock track extolling the virtues of the suspension bridge. "Never Stopped Believing" is a reflection on Pete's past. Slow, melodic and full of emotion. I particularly like the description of the cold in New York which I well remember and is featured in "Rise Above."

One of the strongest songs unsurprisingly is "New York" which of course is the focus of the whole album. It is also the track that possibly most succinctly shows the quality of Pete's guitar playing and observational lyrics. It is also just about my favourite track on the album and not just because I love the place.

This is an album that is full of excellent music, colourful stories, a geographic journal and some superb musical accompaniment. I would like to thank Neil King at FATEA for sending me this album to review and for introducing me to Pete, a terrific storyteller and musician and one that I will most certainly watch out for in the future.

Rory Stanbridge