WAYNE AND WILDROOT
" One Hell Of A Ride "
Reconciled Records

Pittsburgh's vocalist Bobby Wayne has been on the scene for some time and can easily fit in with many of today’s finest soul singers. His last recording, Soul Station, was included on my year's top ten bests. I am not familiar with Jimmy Wildroot Dolan, but based on the past strength of Wayne, I was really looking forward to this new disc.

So I am looking for soul, and the disc starts with blues harp and slide guitar, nice horn charts, but “I Can’t Change is odd. The title track is more in the pocket but rough. That Darn Cat” has a hip-hop texture. "One Way Ticket's sounds like a cheesy Vegas show-tune, yet it's easily Wayne's best singing here. "Curiosity" doesn't hold mine. Another peculiar tune "Babe" is funky but not memorable. The instrumental "Gold Standard" is not. "Shine" doesn't glimmer. The disc closes with a solo acoustic guitar instrumental "Susan”"and thankfully this hellish ride is finally over.

Perhaps it’s not fair to compare, but Wayne's Soul Station set a very high bar. Bonedog Records knows how to make quality recordings, this one is not. The only positive mention I can afford is that the Midnight Horn section added a lot of depth to this recording, and there’s good reason as horn arrangements are from the gifted hands of trumpeter Danny Donohoe, who also crafted the horns on Soul Station. Last but not least the songwriting is weak, all songs were written by Jas. M. Dougherty Jr. who does not appear elsewhere within the liner notes. The production (by drummer and background vocalist Buddy Hall) leaves a lot to be desired, as does the core Wildroot band sans the Midnight Horns. Bob Putignano

Bob Putignano a senior contributing editor at BluesWax. He is also the heart of Sounds of Blues at www.SoundsofBlue.com. Bob maybe contacted at: bob8003@yahoo.com

Bob Putignano: www.SoundsofBlue.com