David Starr – The Head and Heart
URL: https://www.davidstarrmusic.com/
I’m not the kind of person who listens to a lot of country music. In fact, other than doing reviews and the incidental thing that can’t be avoided in modern society, I don’t think I have ever really sat down to listen to country music for enjoyment. It’s not really well situated within my taste profile. So, I have a bit of negative to this set at the onset. The thing is, it’s strong enough to really circumvent that bias.
The opener is a song called “Edge of the World.” While it isn’t my kind of thing, this is about as good as you get on a country ballad. It’s smooth and potent.
The title track is a kind of twangy old school country isn’t really my type of music at all. Still, I can see beyond my prejudices to recognize the talent level here.
Now, there is a bit of a rocking edge to the cover of “California Dreamin’.” The familiarity of the old folk hit adds to the enjoyment level, too. This is my favorite song of the whole disc. It works well.
“Waiting In The Dark” is another highlight of the set. It has a lot of fire and rock sound in the mix. It manages to transcend the country elements quite a bit, making it more of a mainstream piece.
Classic bluesy rock drives “I’ve Come For You.” It’s another standout song. It has some serious rocking sound. As always the rock elements make the music work better for me. There is still enough country in all of this that it should still appeal to the fans of that genre.
Starr ends the set with “Dancing With My Pride.” I think I would have probably closed with something else. Honestly, this is too down-home and mellow to work well for an ending song. Still, it’s good for what it is. It’s just not my kind of thing.
This set really should appeal to fans of country music. I think it might work as well for fans of old school country as it will for those who like the new variety. That said, it’s probably closer to the new stuff. Even if you don’t like the type of music, you can’t ignore the talent involved. This is classy stuff for sure.
8/10 Stars
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/davidmstarr/
Steve Rafferty