SALINAS ROAD
By Suzanne Shea
I’m a sucker for harmonies, really tasty guitar work, and stripped down tunes… minimal production. Salinas Road was right in the pocket for me.
On first listen I was hesitant… I’m now at a point in life where things like hope and the big picture are very real, and relativity is everywhere! The angst I had in my younger years/younger songs was SO intense. But then I reminded myself how songwriters simply write what we/they feel when we /they are in the moment and feeling all those feelings and experiencing those journeys.
These guys—Paul Cruz and Bill Jones—have a lot of hardship feelings on this EP, but the further I got into listening a good amount of listens, the more I could find the hope and irony between the words via their melodies and arrangements and harmonies (being a mom that I am, I breathed a sigh of relief; these gents will be just fine.)
I really enjoyed the EP. I prefer to listen to CDs while driving. I have a very old car and I hoped Salinas Road was on a CD but that not being the case. it was okay. I listened while on my walks. I plugged in earphones to my phone and got to marinate in their songs that way yet was still able to hear if any joggers were going to zoom by and knock me over.
Paul and Bill truly complement each other; their voices are unique but they blend so nicely. (They sure made me think of another duo, guys I know who also hailed from Julian 20 years ago.) The Smart Brothers, Jessie and Luke Edwards—who are now gigging as LA Edwards, having added their younger brother and a few others—are doing some great gigs in Europe. But during the early years, their songs were stripped down and we fans of acoustic and tight vocal-blend harmonies responded so well to that it’s timeless!
Salinas Road has that stripped down timeless feel and it really stood out.
“Lonely Alone” I REALLLY like this one. It’s well -crafted, tight, and has a spot-on universal message, with some nice pauses and chords. And it BEGS the listener(s) to add in that third-part harmony!!!
“Lonely Soul” This one channels all that wonderful simplicity. Very nice guitar parts and harmonies—and harmonica—and just the right length of a tune. Wonderful. The lines and message flow, there’s plenty of space, and you want to hear it!
“Take Me Back” Yes! When lines or melodies stick in my mind right off the bat, it is just a treat. That moving harmony on word “back” really worked for me. It’s SO effective and causes that longing to really hit the heart. NO matter what you want to “take you back,” a person or a place, or time, I think that song nails it.
“Palm to Pine” has a nice title and description of San Diego! Tasty harmonica! This is a been-on-the-road-such-a-long-time song and it’s a hard life, but I found myself wanting it to be upbeat song in message and tempo. Sheesh, I’ve got a lot of nerve. I don’t know why. Maybe I was needing a change of vibe? Or maybe I was just needing that simply from that cool title.
Sometimes, when I find myself hearing extra words in songs, it distracts me away from the song. “Monsters” struck me that way. here and there. The song expresses those hard incidents in life and hard feelings. There are no wrong feelings, that’s for sure, but I got hung up on the wordy aspect.
“Holes of Hope” I got some real Kris Kristopherson vibes from this one for sure. It’s another longing song and feels hopeless.
PUT this CD on when you are ready to empathize. Everyone has felt these feels!