Search - Kevin Welch :: Kevin Welch (Reis)

Awesome, Country Rocking Debut

05/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Arriving on Nashville's post-new-Traditionalist scene in the late 1980s, Oklahoman Kevin Welch wasted no time in carving out his own path in the post-Steve Earle Nashville singer/songwriter groove. Worth whatever it costs to get hold of, this personal, stunning effort makes no bones about balancing infectious melodies and Mike Henderson's powerful slide guitar, Steve Earle alumni Harry Stinson's booming drums, and melodic, multi-layered harmonies to create a hybrid of rocking country which poetically touches on heartland heartbreak ("Prayin' For Rain,") escapism ("True Love Never Dies" and "The Mother Road") and true love ("Till I See You Again.") All of this and most of what's left just flat out rocks. 3 of these tunes charted, and his intimate "Letter to Dustin" (written to his son) grabs hold like a vice. Unfortunately for Welch, folk-flavored country radio of 1991 was not ready for this hybrid and Reprise would pressure Welch to tone down his sound to appeal to radio, which, ironically, embraced this masterpiece and largely ignored Welch's later, more subtle efforts."