Dylanesque

The follow-up to 2017's loose and versatile Gathering, Fever Breaks sees the lauded Idaho-bred singer/songwriter teaming up with producer and Americana wunderkind Jason Isbell and delivering a taut ten-track set backed by Isbell and his formidable 400 Unit. Less prone to stylistic detours than previous outings, Fever Breaks is a straight-up band album, with Ritter and company administering some serious muscle on cuts like "Old Black Magic" and "Losing Battles," the latter of which gives off a distinct Crazy Horse vibe. Dylanesque opener "Ground Don't Want Me" takes a similar approach, but retains a modicum of heartland folksiness, bringing it more in line with Ritter's earlier works.

Dire Straits' minimalist interpretation of pub rock had already crystallized by the time they released their eponymous debut. Driven by Mark Knopfler's spare, tasteful guitar lines and his husky warbling, the album is a set of bluesy rockers. And while the bar band mentality of pub-rock is at the core of Dire Straits – even the group's breakthrough single, "Sultans of Swing," offered a lament for a neglected pub rock band – their music is already beyond the simple boogies and shuffles of their forefathers, occasionally dipping into jazz and country…

John Lennon McCullagh - North South Divide (2013) {359 Music - 359CD1}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 147 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
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© 2013 359 Music / Cherry Red Records | 359CD1
Rock / British Trad Rock / Indie Folk / Alternative Singer/Songwriter / Blues

North South Divide is a collection of songs produced in an exceptionally sparse manner, with McCullagh’s vocals, guitar and harmonica only joined by a violin on a couple of tracks. Whilst most people of 15 years old would often hide behind a wall of noise and confusion, this delicate approach to song writing gives McCullagh a great platform to tell his stories. Comparisons with Bob Dylan abound, most notably when the harmonica comes out, and none more so than in the track ‘White Rose’, where gentle open chord fingerpicking sits alongside a beautiful ballad and the Dylanesque blowing.