A California Country Rock record in the tradition of the Desert Rose Band, but with contemorary and alt country influences. Lots of twanging guitar, shimmering steel and thoughtful and intellegent well sung lyrics.
A California Country Rock record in the tradition of the Desert Rose Band, but with contemorary and alt country influences. Lots of twanging guitar, shimmering steel and thoughtful and intellegent well sung lyrics.
If you love real country rock and great songwriting and bett
R. Phelps | Hollister, CA United States | 06/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the album for you. I love this CD. I listen to it just about everyday for the past 6 months. The mixture of young talent: The singer songwriter Mark Adam and the incredible guitar playing of Jesse Harris, and veteran sidemen: jay Dee Maness This is the best country rock album since the third or fourth Eagles album. This is a band album in the best sense--> cohesive, well made music that inspires. This album gets better with each play... seriously, this is a great album... I have no affiliation with the band, but I am going to go see them play! Do yourself a favor, buy it! I did."
No Depression Review by Lloyd Sachs, (Chicago)
Jesse J. Harris | 03/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"RANCHO DELUXE, self-titled (self).
Back when country-rock was viewed as alternative music - alt-rock as well as alt-country - you wouldn't have thought it would become a conservative staple. But even though that's the niche it now occupies, it can still inspire some vibrant contemporary sounds. That's demonstrated by Los Angeles band Rancho Deluxe, which on its debut approaches the classic pedal-steel-embroidered sound the way a crooner might approach Sinatra, but makes it come alive through its conviction, intelligence and twangy hooks. Bloodlines flow through originals such as the yearning "Steppin' Off The Line" and the barroom-ready "Rock Bottom": Guitarist Jesse Harris and bassist Graham Harris, the core of the band along with deep-voiced singer and guitarist Mark Adams, are the sons of latter-day Flying Burritos picker Greg Harris, who lends his support on banjo. JayDee Maness, onetime pedal steel man for Gram Parsons, is along for the ride, too, as is veteran drummer Don Heffington.
--LLOYD SACHS
"
One great CD
Sharon K. Deuel | 01/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this toe-tappin', original CD. Mark Adams is the real deal if you want honest, clever, inspiring and heart-wrenching GREAT country music. I have to admit, there's a lot of country music I'm not fond of. These guys, with their very soulful lyrics, excellent musicianship and new attitude on an old genre are refreshing. You can truly feel this music and I look forward to more new tunes from Rancho Deluxe."
Delivers the Goods
Thom Elkjer | Boonville, CA USA | 05/27/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In any form of country music (alt, trad, cowboy, whatever), I look for three things: original writing, vocal harmony, and tight musicianship. This record delivers 'em all. The first time I spun the disc, it was just to see if the playing and singing were worth listening to. They were, especially the way the vocal harmonies rang clear and the violin and pedal-steel guitar were woven into the musical texture. Then I started paying attention to the lyrics.
There's nothing like the experience of seeing the world in a whole new way through a song-writer's eyes, and there are a bunch of tracks that offer it on this record. "I Bought A Bottle" is one of those pull-over-and-turn-up-the-stereo tracks that can give you chills if you've been where the writer was when s/he wrote it. Most of the songs are pretty muscular and the melodies aren't that complicated (this is country, right?), but the charts are good and the lyrics consistently interesting.
I'm going to play around with the equalizers on my various sound systems to see if I can lift the vocals out of the instrumental mix a bit more. Otherwise the record's solid. I don't know who these guys are (they seem to be in LA somewhere, maybe living next door to Lucinda Williams...), but they're worth watching."