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NEW
CD E.P FROM TOM RUSSELL
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| TRACKS;
Who's
Gonna Build Your Wall, California Snow, Across The Borderline,
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, The Other Side Of
Crazy. |
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WHO'S
GONNA BUILD YOUR WALL
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The new
5 track E.P. from Tom Russell leads of with "Who's Gonna
Build Your Wall", a powerful, catchy, Tex-Mex tune that
finds this master songwriter at, probably, his most commercial
to date! This is a really exciting release from Tom, that is
sure to find it's way on all the DJ's playlist's!!
The pace
is slowed right down for "California Snow" a song
that tells of how much the state can change, from the very hot
summer's, to the desperately cold winter, while "Across
The Borderline" is a cover, of the Willie Nelson hit, that
Tom rips apart and does in his own, distinctive, style.!
There are
two other tracks on here, added as a bonus and they are Out
Takes, from his "Love And Fear" album.
Pester
your local DJ to put it on his playlist!!
Website
http://www.hightone.com
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JOY
LYNNE WHITE
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ONE
MORE TIME
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| TRACKS;
Keep
This Love, I'm Free, Certain Boy, Girls With Apartment In Nashville,
Looking For You Looking For Me, Love Sometimes, If You Want My
Heart, Victim Of Love, Good Rockin' Mama, Just Some Girl, One
More Time. |
| The
first album I have heard from Joy since her 90s release for the
Sony label, "Wild Love", although I did enjoy
her input
on the 1999 album 'Doin' Time On Planet Earth" as a guest
of 'The Brooklin Cowboys'.
A strong
vocal style that takes no prisoners, Joy takes command of each
song straight from the off, and wrings just about as much passion
and feeling for the lyrics as there is possible.
11 tracks,
9 of which
are co-writes and each sung with the conviction that make you
believe that she has lived each song herself. Some great
Hammond organ and tremolo guitar sounds take me
on a journey back to the late 60s early 70s with the wonderful
"I'm Free", a co-write with top songwriter Kostas
that finds her glad to be free of a cheating partner. Other
songs worthy of special note include; "Victim Of Love",
....love that rolling banjo.... the wonderful "Just Some
Girl" and "Girls With Apartment In Nashville",
all great rythm's that stick in the mind.
If you
like your country to rock, then take a listen to the heavy overdrive
guitars on the album's opener "Keep This Love", "Good
Rockin' Mama" and the 'Status Quo' riffs on "Love
Sometimes".
Co-produced
by Joy along with top producer Kyle Lehning, "One More
Time" is a welcome return from one of country music's most
genuine and convincing, singer/songwriters!
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Metro
Country Rating: 8/10
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SARAH
BETH KEELEY
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TIME
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TRACKS;
Sometimes Love, When It Rains, Time, Only You, Secrets,
If God Could Say Face To Face, Thank You...Hopin' You Heard,
Be Strong, Like You Do, Once In A Lifetime, Time(Alternative
Version
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Born
in Calgary, Canada, into a musical family, Sarah was singing
in a family band by the time she was 12.
She list's
her influences as Sheryl Crow, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Keith Urban,
Gretchen Wilson, Shania Twain and Julie Roberts. A long line
to choose from, but I think Sheryl Crow meets Fleetwood Mac,
would best describe her style, with what's on offer here.
The 10
songs are all self penned and there's an alternative (and more
country) version of the title track at the end, making 11 tracks
in all. Sarah has a good voice and she sings in a style that
suits that voice, but there is very little here to please the
'Country' listener, that's apart from the album's opener, "Sometimes
Love", a very catchy, tune that is sure to get the feet
moving.
A very
decent, self penned, self co-produced piece of work that should
stand up well alongside album's of a similar ilk, but I would
recommend that the 'Country music' buyer try and listen to some
samples on the Internet before parting with their money!
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Metro
Country Rating: 7/10
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THE
BOGTROTTERS
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LOOKIN'
FORWARD
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| TRACKS;
I
Wanna Hear It From You, Missin' You, The Fox, Silver Bell + Rose
Of San Antone, Galway Girl, Walkin' Down The Road, Donkey Breakdown,
That's No Way To Say Goodbye, Ashokan Goodbye, Better Man, Destiny,
Past The Point Of Rescue, The Boy In The Bubble, Dream Of Erin.
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With
a musical direction that leans towards their own arrangements
of traditional Irish music, plus a mixture of country and cajun,
combined with original songs composed by Tim Flaherty and other
band members, the Boggies(as they are affectionately known)
play to a wide variety of listeners in the clubs and pubs, mainly,
around the U.K, although
they have
travelled around Europe and played venues in the USA and the
Far East.
Formed
by Tim Flaherty of the well known and very popular 70s Country
band "Poacher", the band is made up from Tim
Flaherty : Vocals/ Rhythm guitar/ Whistle, Peter
Longdon
: 5 string banjo, Alex Johnson:
Electric lead & Acoustic guitar / Mandolin, Len
Whitehead: Acoustic Guitars, Eimear
Bradley : Violin / Whistles / Vocals, Tony
Greenhalgh: Drums / Vocals and
Jim Hand : Bass guitar /
Vocals.
There are some very good songs on the cd, not least the opener,
"I Wanna Hear It From You" a rousing and very catchy
Tim Flaherty penned song that they have been doing for many
years now. In fact, I am fairly sure that the song was written
in the days of "POACHER" and performed, and possibly
recorded, by that band, as was the Leonard Cohen penned song
"That's No way To Say Goodbye".
The
band also turn in excellent version's of Mick Hanly's "Past
The Point of Rescue" and Steve Earle's "Galway Girl",
while there are some good Bluegrass tune's like the blistering,
"The Fox", John Dillon's "Walkin' Down The Road"
and Banjo player Pete Longden's excellent, self penned instrumental,
"Donkey Breakdown". With a sprinkling of good, Irish
tunes on top, not least Tim Flaherty's self penned "Dream
Of Erin", this is a fine album from a band who also know
how to give a terrific LIVE show.
Catch
em' when they play near you and make sure you buy a copy of
this fine CD!
Oh,
and if you should wonder how they came across the name, BOGTROTTERS
are Irish tramps, so called for their skill in crossing the
Irish bogs from tussock to tussock, either as guide's or to
escape pursuit.
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Metro
Country Rating: 9/10
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| BILLY
JOE SHAVER |
| THE
REAL DEAL |
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TRACKS;
Live Forever,
There's No Fool Like An Old Fool, Livin' A Lovin' Lie, It Just
Ain't There For Me No More, Jesus Christ Is Still The King, Slim
Chance And The Can't Hardly Playboys, I Changed My Mind, Sweet
Melody, Valentine, You Ought To Be With Me When I'm Alone, Down
The Road By The Way, West Texas Waltz, The Real Deal, If The Trailer's
Rockin' Don't Come Knockin', Try And Try Again, Aunt Jessie's
Chicken ranch.
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The
man that Johnny Cash called, his favourite songwriter, releases
his first studio album, in three years. And what a bumper cd it
is, with 16 tracks, PLUS, a bonus Christmas track, starring Flaco
Jimenez on accordion, making a bumper total, of 17 tracks in all!!
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Besides Flaco, there are also other artists questing on here,
with 'Big And Rich', 'Kevin Fowler', 'Nanci Griffith' and 'Kimmie
Rodes', all lending their talents. Billy has gone through a lot
of heartache in the last six years, his mother and wife died within
a month of each other in 1999, his wife, after a long bout with
concerned then his talented, guitarist son, Eddy, died of a drug
overdose.
Billy's
own health hasn't been too good either, with him suffering a heart
attack, necessitating surgery, but he still managed to put together
a superb album of pure Texas 'Honky Tonk', seasoned with his own
brand of humour and finished off with a touch of Western in the
just under 8 minute story of 'Aunt Jessie's Chicken Ranch'. Personal
favourites are hard to choose on an album as good as this, but
the humorous, "Slim Chance And The Can't Hardly Playboys",
the wonderful "West Texas Waltz"(not that one) with
Kimmie Rhodes, the infectious "Try And Try Again", and
the lone Christian track on the album, "Jesus Christ Is Still
The King" are tracks that stand out!
No
serious record collection should be without a Billy Joe Shaver
in there. If you're already a fan, you'll know what I'm talking
about, but if you haven't heard his music before, then I recommend
you get along to his website where you'll find some soundbytes
that, I'm sure, will convince you. Billy Joe Shaver is the Real
Deal!!
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Metro
Country Rating: 10/10
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JERRY
REED
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| 'LIVE' |
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TRACKS;
Guitar
Man, Father Time And Gravity, Amos Moses, She Got The Gold Mine(I
Got The Shaft), A Thing Called Love, Lord Mr. Ford, When You're
Hot You're Hot, Jerry's Breakdown Revisited, A Brand New Me, East
Bound And Down.
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When
it comes to guitar players, there is only one man that I know,
who comes anywhere near to Jerry Reed, and sadly, Chet Atkins
isn't around anymore!
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Born
Jerry Reed Hubbard
in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20, 1937, "The
Guitar Man",
releases a "LIVE" album of his
most
popular songs, that showcase not only
his exceptional, guitar talents,
but
also the wonderful sense of humour that the man has!!
Never mind a greatest hits collection, you need a "LIVE"
recording to really appreciate the man at his best.
The
album (show) kicks off with his very first hit, the appropriately
named "Guitar Man", from 1967, and
includes "When
You're Hot, You're Hot", a #1 in 1971 and "Lord, Mr.
Ford," his second #1 a year later.
Some
may
know him better as an actor,
who starred alongside his
close friend Burt Reynolds in many film's, most
notably, "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" and the two
"Smokey and the Bandit" films, the latter two, spawning
the hits, "East Bound and Down." and the chart-topping
novelty hit "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft).".
A
well produced album with my only nit-pick being that it doesn't
tell you where it was recorded! Well recommended!!!
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| Metro
Country Rating: 9/10 |
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TOMMY
CASH
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A
Musical Tribute To
"MY BROTHER JOHNNY CASH"
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| Tracks;
Folsom Prison
Blues, Ring Of Fire, Give My Love To Rose, Passin' Through, Sunday
Morning Coming Down, Five Feet High And Risin', Flesh And Blood,
Daddy Sang Bass, Hurt, Get Rhythm, (Medley - Hey Porter, Cry, Cry,
Cry), Orange Blossom Special, (Medley - Pickin' Time, Don't Take
Your Guns To Town), Ragged Old Flag, Man In Black. |
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One
of seven children, Tommy was born in Arkansas, eight years after
his brother Johnny. Signing with Musicor in 1965, he later joined
United Artists and then Epic Records. In late 1969, while on
Epic, he had his biggest hit, a song dedicated to J. F Kennedy,
R.F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King entitled, "Six White
Horses.
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A year later saw
a pair of Top Ten singles: "One Song Away" and "Rise
and Shine", besides the Top 20 hit, "I Recall a Gypsy
Woman", a song better known by Don Williams.
The vocal
similarities are there as Tommy delivers a tribute, via covers
of 15 of the great mans hit song's, right from the early Rockabilly
days, with a medley of, "Hey Porter" and "Cry,
Cry, Cry", through to the classic, "Hurt", from
the Grammy nominated "The Man Comes Around" album.
Although
not as famous as his big brother, Tommy is a fine artist in his
own right, as he proves here with some very good version's of
these classic JC songs. I think John would be proud!
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Metro
Country Rating: 9/10
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CHARLIE
LANDSBOROUGH
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| 'MY
HEART WOULD KNOW' |
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TRACKS;
Always,
24 Hours Times Two, My Heart Would Know, I Am Red, You'll Cast
A Mighty Long Shadow, I Know What It Is To be Loved, Maggie, The
Closest Thing To My Heart, The Long And Winding Road, Going My
Own Sweet Way, Ugly Bug Ball, Moate, He Still Holds You, Nothing
Will Ever Be The Same Again, Like A Stone, I'll Be Missing You.
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Singer/songwriter,
Charlie Landsborough has crossed many boundaries with his music
since starting out playing the local pubs in Liverpool, all the
while working as a schoolteacher in the daytime.
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With a backbone in Country music, Charlie's career really took off
across the water in Ireland when his single, "What Is The Wind",
went to the top of their pop charts.
This
latest release contains more new material, encompassing various
musical styles, as is the norm with Charlie, but this time out,
he has also put down his own interpretation of some of music's
classics. Irving Berlin's"Always", is a particular standout
for me, but there are also good version's of Lennon and McCartney's
"Long And Winding Road", the ever popular "Maggie"
and Disney's "Ugly Bug Ball", as this ex school teacher,
also remembers the kids (big and little)!
With
11 superb, original songs, mainly in the laid back style that
Charlie has become known for, plus the 5 tracks above, that makes
"My Heart Would Know" (the title track written for his
brother who has 'Alzheimer's') superb value for money, with a
whopping 16 tracks!!
Best
known for, and excelling at, the ballads, there are plenty to
satisfy on here, but Charlie does raise the tempo as needed though,
and the penultimate "Like A Stone", find's him almost
breaking into a sweat!! Wonderful album of laid back music from
a man who is a master at the art!!
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| Metro
Country Rating:10/10 |
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LEFT
HAND DRIVE
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| THE
BIG PICTURE |
| Tracks:
Somethin'
Happenin' Out There, Goodnight Kiss, Cuba, Lifes A Peach, Cowboy
Movies, Paper And A Vow, Stranger, Bluebell Blue, Big Light,
When He Drives That Car, Wishin', Trust Me (I'm A Drummer)
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Releasing
an album of original material is always a big gamble for a
British act, as the fans, invariably, want to hear something
they know! But 'Left Hand Drive' have chosen to do just that,
with an album that was recorded just before the tragic death
of
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their drummer, Colin Bruton. The band have since decided to
split as they don't believe they can be the same band without
him, but they felt they had to release the cd. |
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Originally
containing 11 tracks, there is the added bonus of another
track, 'Trust Me I'm A Drummer', a song that features Colin
on vocals, and was recorded only as a demo in the home studio
of bandleader Steve Bidder prior to Colin's death. Under the
circumstances, the band took the decision to add the recording
as a bonus track, making a total of 12 tracks in all.
All songs
are written by vocalist and bandleader Steve Bidder. From
love songs, to road songs, to western songs, they are all
strong and sit proud on the cd!
With
the added talents of Shane O'Bourne, who produced the album
as well as adding acoustic guitar and Piano, Aidan Coyle on
Acoustics and mandolin, plus Basil Henrick on pedal steel,
the album paints a big picture of a band who were very popular
at the Country music club venues across the U.K!!
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Metro
Country Rating:
8/10
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JOHNNY
BULFORD
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SOUTHERN
THING
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| TRACKS;
Goodbye Cry,
New Song, Now, Just Like Us, Sail Away With Me, Southern Thing,
Don't Your Memory Know When To Quit, Sweet Love, That Day, With
You, Baby You're Something Else, I've Got A Song For You. |
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John
was born in Orlando Florida on June 19, 1985. With an early interest
in
Baseball and later Football, it was after going to Garth Brooks
"Sevens" tour that he decided, that was what he wanted
to do. At the age of 20, Johnny has opened for headliners such
as Collin Raye, Josh Turner, Trick Pony etc, as well as a performance
with Marty Brown at a writers show for Fan Fair in Nashville.
This
is a radio/press released debut from Johnny, that I received around
12 months ago, but unfortunately, didn't manage to review due
to....among other reasons.....an impossible amount of cd's flooding
in as the site gained dramatically in popularity!
With
a title change to
"Southern Thing", the album
has, in the meantime, seen general release, with three of the
original tracks being replaced and another one added. Containing
a total of 13 tracks, I'm sure it won't be unlucky for this talented
young artist, as there are some real gems on here.
Johnny
has a great country voice and I'm sure it will only be a matter
of time before a label picks him up. Particular favourites for
me include the Garth Brooks influenced "New Song", "Just
Like Us" and "Now".
The
CD can be picked up from CD Baby, who also have clips from the
album, at the following address:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/bulford
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Metro
Country Rating: 8/10
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Website:
www.johnnybulford.com
E:mail:
jbulford@cfl.rr.com
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TODD
FRITSCH
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(Self
Titled) |
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TRACKS;
I
Got Mexico, Small Town Radio, I Don't Live Here Anymore, Memory
Do Your Thing, You Know I Would, Dancin' In The Rain, Bob Wills
Song, Corpus Christi Callin', Friends Behind bars, First Date(For
The Last Time), Walk Softly On The Bridges, Cowboy Legacy(Tribute
To Chris LeDoux)
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| Todd
Fritsch is a 24 year old working, Texas cowboy, or at least he was
until
the release of
this excellent 12
track album! REAL
country music that can blow the socks off anything the major's are
putting out!! That's not just my opinion either. Every single taken
from the album has met with success in the Hotdisc International
charts, with the superb "Bob Will Song" going to number
1 and staying there for 5 weeks, proving that the DJ's out there
want to play this young mans music!
"I
Got Mexico" is the same song as recorded by Eddy Raven in
the 80s and Todd gives a faithful treatment of the song here.
"Small Town Radio" was the first single released from
the album and did well for Todd with a good showing in the charts,
but my favourite track on the album is the wonderful "I Don't
Live Here Anymore"! The song jumped into the number 5 slot
in the Hotdisc International charts, staying there for 3 weeks
before inching another up to number 4 as I write (21/05/06) and
is still there. No matter how many I play the song, it still make
the hairs stand up on my arms!!
As
a closer Todd pays tribute to one of his cowboy hero's, Chris
Le Doux, with his self penned, "Cowboy Legacy". In a
spoken introduction to the song, Todd states, that Chris died
as he was recording the album.
This
is an excellent cd to have in your collection, from a young artist
who is destined to make it big!!
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Metro
Country Rating: 10/10
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GERRY
FORD
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TRACKS;
If
I Live To Be A Hundred , No One Will Ever Know, One More Time,
'Til You Can Make It On Your Own, Another Chance To Dance, Rough
Around The Edges, The Grandest Lady Of Them All, Cajun Moon, The
Way It Was, The Chance To Live Another Day, Before The Next Teardrop
Falls, I Wrote My Own Song, Bonus Trks, Blue Wing, For Reasons
I've Forgotten,
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ONE
MORE TIME
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Another release
from this ever popular Irish/Scottish crooner and once again,
a mix of mainly covers, with a sprinkling of his own self penned
original's.
Many of the
covers will be instantly recognisable hits from the 60's to the
present day, with songs borrowed from the likes of Freddy Fender,
Ricky Skaggs, Mel McDaniel, Trisha Yearwood and well known songwriters
such as Max D. Barnes, Jamie O'Hara and a regular visitor to these
shore's, Tom Russell. In fact, Tom's "Blue Wing" is
one of two bonus track's, O'hara's "For Reasons I've Forgotten"
being the other. Including "Bonus Tracks" seems to be
a common thing these days, but unless the songs are of a different
style or recorded differently (acoustic as against with backing)
then I don't really understand the practice!
The two original's
are the lively "Another Chance To Dance", a certain
dance floor filler that recently saw action in the CHi Charts
and "I Wrote My Own Song", one that is sure to put a
smile on the face of many a songwriter.
As is usual
with Gerry, the production is top class and although he is now
in the later years of his career, he is still in fine voice. "One
More Time" is sure to be welcomed by his legion of fans and
it is certainly good enough to win him many more!! There will
many 'more time's' before this talented entertainer is finished,
I'm convinced of that!!
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Metro
Country Rating
9/10
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