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Pleasing rock 'n' roll

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 02/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mixed messages abound here. Looking at the front cover you sort of expect some sort of late 70's classic rock outing until you notice it is from 1992. Looking at the back cover photos you kind of expect some sort of combination between annoying happy naive kids and art student rock. But then you think hang on, it's on Geffen and Tom 'Zoot' Zutaut did the A&R for this mob. So what is going on here.



Well the truth is that this is nice rock 'n' roll. It's not trying to be classic anything, just (mostly) upbeat rock songs with one Jennifer Barry on vocals and boy does she have a voice. Tiny moments that remind me of Melissa Etheridge but not so raspy. And the guitar work by Dean Zuckerman is way tasty especially on the livelier numbers such as Built for Fools, Breakdown and Beautiful Day.



Things do sag a bit on the middle with some directionless numbers and a couple of mellow cuts and at 9:40 Etched In Stone does outstay it's welcome but You're So Essential tacked onto the end means the album concludes on a hight.



This is not hard rock despite the Zoot and Geffen sniffing around but it's not the silly generic alternative rock we had to sit through during the 90's either. It's just pleasant rock 'n' roll for when you've got a new girlfriend over or you are just putting down the highway.



And perhaps that's why this mob don't seem to have found an audience. At the end of the day I just hope that Ms Barry kept on singing in some capacity and that Mr Zuckerman kept on grooving those six strings because they're both talented musicians :- 3.5 stars for this album."

Solid blues rock album

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 01/10/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The decidedly blues-oriented Half Way Home was one of a surprising number of rock bands with female vocalists that emerged in the first part of the 1990's. Rather than opt for the kind of arena rock sound that artists like Harlow, Private Life, Saraya and others went for, Half Way Home built a blues-based rock sound around Jennifer Barry's powerful, soulful voice.



I actually bought the band's 1992 self-titled debut hoping for an arena rocking album. The sticker on the front cover suggested certain songs for "metal radio" so I assumed this would be a safe pick. I'm not much of a blues fan, but I have to admit I'm impressed by what Barry and company put together here. Barry has the kind of voice that can really reach the rafters, and her bandmates obviously have a real appreciation for this kind of music.



Naturally this album received next to no attention in the transition between hair metal and grunge. Mainstream radio seems incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, so to speak. It's still not my preferred style of music, but I can absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves blues-oriented rock and/or strong female vocalists."