Dan Kibler “Dan Kibler”
Pennsylvania native Dan Kibler was a singer/songwriter who took his cue from the power pop of the Dwight Twilley Band and the country excursions of Neil Young. Dan is assisted by co-producer Michael Giblin (Cherry Twister/Parallex Project) here. What you get is a mature jangle filled pop, as displayed on the excellent “The Misunderstood” and Tom Petty-like “When Johnny Comes Home.” The twang and pedal steel comes out on the timeless “Another Day” and roots pop of “Broken Bent and Bound.”
And Kibler’s rough vocal reminds me of Bono slightly and his uncommon songwriting really break out on the inventive “45 Seconds More.” where a Raspberries riff floats along with the chorus. The remain tracks are all good alt. country styled pop similar to The Jayhawks, another standout is the multi-tracked vocals and chiming guitar on “Never Good News.” A highly recommended release, and of course Kool Kat Musik is offering a bonus disk of “hits” from Dan’s previous releases with each order.
Peter Baldrachi “Back To The Start”
Just in case you missed Baldrachi’s release last year, he mentioned to me that he felt the album was kind of rushed out and wasn’t too happy with the mixes. Well… Back To The Start is a re-boot for Baldrachi. All the tracks have been remixed and mastered by Ed Stasium (Ramones, Mick Jagger, The Smithereens, Reverend Horton Heat, Nada Surf) at The Kozy Tone Ranch. Plus a new song “Picture On My Wall” is included and like the rest of the album it’s excellent. Read my older review for more…
Peter is assisted by guitarist, bassist, and arranger Gary Rand, keyboardists Dave Lieb (The Vinyl Skyway) and Peter Linnane (The Farewells), backing vocalists Alice Austin (The Lavas, Stark Raving Mad) and Amy Fairchild, 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee keyboardist Ian McLagan (Faces, The Rolling Stones, Billy Bragg), singer/songwriter Amy Rigby (solo, Wreckless Eric), multi-instrumentalist Ian Kennedy (Reverse, Dennis Brennan), and cellist Aristides Rivas. The songs shine just as brightly as before, if not more so with the new mastering. It made my top ten list last year. You have no excuses! Get this one!
