John Rowdy – Beautiful Resilience: Album Review
John Rowdy – Beautiful Resilience: Album Review
BY JOHN BARLASS ON 7TH OCTOBER 2020 •
Strong debut from proud Heartland Rock standard bearer John Rowdy.
Release Date: 29th September 2020
Label: Rose River Records
Formats: CD, Vinyl (both including download)
From Kingman, Kansas, John Rowdy is an emerging talent who proudly waves the standard of Heartland Rock, the straight-ahead, roots-based genre typified by Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger. Indeed, John is himself at pains acknowledge his particular debts to Tom Petty and Lynyrd Skynyrd for their influences that pervade his writing and performance styles which ooze from every pore of this collection.
There are a lot of positives to take from this album. The band is solid and tight and the sound is gritty, dirty and accomplished. John is backed by The Ruffians – Colton Gartleman, Sean Story and Randy Gaulding. On this evidence, they’re a name to watch out for, particularly guitarist Gartleman who contributes some stunning riffing and soloing to just about every track and whose stamp on the finished article is equally vivid to that of John Rowdy himself.
The album starts with the title track, which gives the listener a pretty good impression of what to expect. Like several of the album’s tracks (notably Coming Home and album closer Just Be Who You Are) Lynyrd Skynyrd are lurking in the riffs and refrains and Colton’s guitar solo is immediately striking.
I was particularly struck by the closing sequence of Coming Home, Addicted, Your Love and Just Be Who You Are, a set of songs that are up there with the very best. Coming Home is beautifully structured, the vocal is probably John’s best performance on the album and the guitar solos slot in perfectly.
Addicted’s heavy riffing is simple but highly effective and delivers a sound that recalls classic Kinks, or even The Ramones, and there’s yet another one of Colton’s storming solos to enjoy. Your Love has the subject matter and structure of an early Free number and the guitar and vocal interaction help to verify that comparison and Just Be Who You Are is a superb anthemic closer to an album that provides a wonderful demonstration of what these guys are capable of.
John Rowdy is probably a new name to many At The Barrier followers but, on the strength of this album, he isn’t likely to remain so.
https://atthebarrier.com/2020/10/07/john-rowdy-beautiful-resilience-album-review/
John Rowdy Drops new Album “Beautiful Resilience”
Singer/Songwriter John Rowdy Drops new Album “Beautiful Resilience”
August 25th, 2020
Storytelling Folk Rock artist John Rowdy is coming straight from the Heartland with his new album “Beautiful Resilience”. Anticipation is high and rising.
Dodge City, Kansas (PRUnderground) August 24th, 2020
John Rowdy has a well-earned reputation for creating Heartland Rock that brings back memories of a time not so long ago, when Venues, Bands and Great Songwriting were much more common. The singer and storyteller has won praise for his songwriting skills firmly immersed in Americana with carefully crafted lyrics that resonate with common people’s lives, passions and concerns. In exciting news, Rowdy’s new album is set to be released across all the major digital download platforms on August 25th, 2020. Titled “Beautiful Resilience”, the new album has fans waiting on their edge of their seats.
“I’m very excited to have the new album on the way,” commented Rowdy. “It’s some of my best work yet, straight from the heart and I’m looking forward to seeing what the world thinks about ‘Beautiful Resilience’!”
Rowdy is increasingly well known for the spirit behind his songs, nearly as much as the powerful songs themselves. His outspoken goal is to inspire others to follow their dreams, big or small, and to remember despite challenges, the world is still a beautiful place. “Beautiful Resilience” is full of this love and understanding and carries the call to listeners to keep the love alive, strong and live life to its fullest.
The new album and Rowdy’s past work are all available as digital downloads directly from the artist’s information-packed website. “Beautiful Resilience” will be available both as a full album and as individual tracks.
To learn more and to keep up with the latest news from the Heartland’s John Rowdy be sure to visit https://johnrowdy.com.
About John Rowdy
John Rowdy aims to bring an organic, heartfelt sound of Singer/Songwriter music straight to you, the fans! We live and breathe the joy of music, and after a life full of wonderful experiences music has inspired Rowdy to his dreams, he is diligently pumping his own music out for you to enjoy.