Search - Kevn Kinney :: Down Out Law

Singer/songwriter Kevn Kinney is the leader of Atlanta's Drivin-N-Cryin, a quintessential southern rock band with a thin veneer of R.E.M.-like jingle jangle. On his new solo album, "Down Out Law," Kinney tries to follow in the footsteps of his hero Neil Young by going directly from a noisy electric band album (Drivin-N-Cryin's Smoke) to a solo acoustic album. The solo acoustic format is ruthless, however, in the way it reveals flaws in singing and songwriting, and the exposure is often less than flattering for Kinney. Most of the songs feature only Kinney's voice and either his acoustic guitar or mandolin. Unfortunately, his picking skills are rather rudimentary and his narrow-ranged vocals have a nasal, mumbly quality that make them hard to listen to. Like a thousand other Bob Dylan wannabes, Kinney sings about the poor, desperate and confused. He does have the good sense to inject some irreverent humor into the proceedings, turning Jesus' Last Supper into a "Shindig with the Lord" and climbing to the "Mountain Top," only to find "just rocks and leaves and little else" there. Too many numbers, though, mistake the vague outlines of a Dylan song for the thing itself. "Midwestern Blues" simply describes the problem of homelessness without offering any insights you couldn't get from a 30-second spot on the local TV news. The politics of his Vietnam song, "Tell Him Something for Me," are hopelessly muddled, and the jazz bass-driven "A Haight Street Beatnik Kerouacian Ripoff in E" is a strange sort of '50s nostalgia that is too aptly named for its own good. The most convincing songs on the album are the two boogie tunes with overdubbed electric guitar, indicating that Kinney can't wait to get back to the safety of his band. --Geoffrey Himes