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| The Talent Pool |
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| The Smokey Lonesome |
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| Vanessa McNiel |
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| "Ophelia" |
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| The Glimmer Stars |
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| "AC Breakdown" |
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| Lights Out Levine |
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| "Paulito's Old Lady" |
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| The Talent Pool |
Bruce Wojick takes things down a few notches for "Cryin' Shame," which has a cool, darker vibe. "Well, I don't know how we got here," Bruce sings at the beginning. This song addresses the homeless problem. "Me and my little girl, we have nowhere to sleep/Keeps praying for her to find some, find some kind of peace." This track features some really nice touches on saxophone. "She keeps on telling me that she's friends with Elvis" is a line that jumped out at me the first time I listened to this record. And I love the change in his delivery on "Aint it time for a change," and the way the saxophone backs him up there. There is also a spoken word section, as from a newscast, about the homeless situation in Los Angeles. It's a huge problem here, if you were unaware. That guitar reaches up to the heavens with its needs, its demands, so that we almost expect a response from somewhere. And then we are treated to some passionate work on saxophone. Wonderful stuff. That is a powerful section. This song was written by Dan Delano and Bruce Wojick.
"Louder Than Concorde" begins with the sound of rain, which I can always do without, though it does serve a purpose here. The track eases in with some pretty work on guitar and keys, and even then we are lost in memory. As the vocals come in, the rain effect goes away, for, I suppose, by then we are more firmly back in another time (and no longer require that sound to lead us in). "It was 1976/Well, you looked just like Stevie Nicks." It's a song about that important first time. No, not the first time having sex, but the first time seeing a concert, which, let's face it, is even more important. You never forget your first time, right? Mine was with Heart, and John Cougar was the opener. Bruce Wojick's first show was Elton John, and it rained at that outdoor show. "You were louder than, louder than Concorde/But not quite as pretty." The band then brings us only slightly forward in time with "1983." It's a fun number, as you'd expect from a song with that title. Hell, that was a year when even pop music was really good. This song opens with lively stuff on keys, and features delicious work on keys throughout the track. "It was a warm summer day," Bruce sings at the beginning of this one, and yes, this music feels like summer. There is a moment when the guitar delivers a bit of Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me," which certainly takes me back. This is a fun, energetic track. Erin Hoyle provides some wonderful backing vocal work, adding to the great vibe of the song.
The first side of the record concludes with "Yesterday Is Gone," a song about letting go of the past. It begins with some pretty work on keys, then suddenly springs alive. The sound and feel of this one, at least in its early moments, also take me back in time, back to my youth, particularly the force of the music as the song kicks in. Interestingly, Bruce soon asks, "Why must you/Hold onto/Yesterday?" Yesterday is gone, but music allows us to return in some fashion to those moments. The track features some strong drumming (that for a moment makes me think of John Bonham) and a soaring lead on guitar. By the way, that's guest Bobby Rondinelli (from Rainbow) on drums. Mick James is on bass for this track. The song ends softly, as it begain, on keys.
Side 2
The second side of the album begins with the title track, "The Hard Way," and from that opening moment on keys, it is clear this is going to be another fun, high-energy number. And it kicks in with a great joy. Bruce tells us, "Everything I've learned, I learned the hard way." Ah yes, nothing can ever be easy. Erin Hoyle comes in on vocals, this time sharing lead vocal duties, making it a cool duet. So we hear both sides, and both sides are sick of the same things, both are annoyed by the same things in each other. I love it. But it is that lead on keys that especially makes this track stand out. A total delight! The guitar has its own say too. This song must be a highlight of the band's live performances. It is certainly a highlight of the album. It was written by Bruce Wojick and Dan Delano. That's followed by "Powerlines 25," which begins with a good steady pounding of the drums. The saxophone then takes it into moodier territory, softening the edges, even as that rhythm continues. "Powerlines falling down/See the sparks in your hometown." And, as Bruce sings here, it's those moments late at night when we start to question everything. "Thinking about everything you said/Thinking about where I want to be now." I love how certain lines of a song will stand out to different listeners, addressing whatever it is we are going through, whatever is on our minds. Where do we want to be now? There is a really nice moment toward the end of the track when the saxophone and guitar respond to each other. Vito Wojick plays drums on this track.
"Something In The Water" is a delicious heavy blues rock number to overwhelm us, carry us away, featuring a cool vocal performance. That delivery, it's a voice in the middle of action, you know? We hear the energy, the motion. Not a contemplative tune, this. The track features a strong lead on keys, and then the sax begins to fly, the guitar joining it, both instruments driving us forward and upward. This song is another of the record's highlights, even before that cool bit near the end when the keys, bass and guitar each get a brief solo. That's followed by "Watching The Sky Turn Blue," which begins with a solid beat and the promise of something brewing. Here the guitar is the first to have something to say, before we hear any lyrics. And then when the vocals come in, the delivery is different fom other songs, sort of spoken word at first. "Sometimes you find yourself in a bad situation." The chorus has a different sound. And there is something of a dance groove or element to this track. It's a surprising and very cool tune, another of my personal favorites. It was written by Joshua Wojick and Bruce Wojick, and it features Steve Padin on organ and percussion, and J. Doyle on bass and synthesizer. "Funny how your routine can change/All of a sudden you find yourself going from familiar to real strange/Wouldn't it be great if everybody took the high road?" Oh yes, but there is no chance of that, as Bruce acknowledges. This track contains some really nice guitar work. There is something positive in these lines: "Gonna sing my song/Ain't no right or wrong/Watching the sky turn blue." And those are the final lines of the song, and thus the album, leaving us in a good place, a new dawn after the storm.
Record Track List
Side 1
The album opens with “Monowai Sky,” which eases in, as with a message from beyond our vision, beyond our skies. And soon the music takes on a greater force, a stronger, more prominent voice, or message, with some deeper tones, touching on something eternal within, eternal and active. And then it is as if there is a dialogue between the two, which takes over the air, the sky, as we look up, witnesses to this celestial dialogue. Soon it feels almost like a dance, taking place all around us, not just above us, and we get caught up in its motion. The pace increases briefly before the track’s conclusion. That is followed by “Reflections.” There is something both contemplative and soothing in the guitar work here, expressing short thoughts, as if to test the waters, to see where things might lead. And one thought leads to another, and soon there is a flow. Nothing tentative at that point. The music looks outward, while learning something from within. And with whatever knowledge is received, things then can slow down. The final section is particularly pretty.
With “Ghosts Of Flight,” green and pink lights flutter gently across the sky, a fleeting beauty. If we close our eyes, we’ll miss it, for things are changing, developing. But if we look with a serious eye, we can catch glimpses of the past, for voices are within those lights, moving across the sky from somewhere familiar to the unknown. And maybe, just maybe, for just a moment, we can travel with those voices and see something of the future too. Those lights, understanding that we are true witnesses, find the power to pause and remain with us, to speak to us in the only language available to them, showing us what they think we wish to see. It’s a magical moment. What of it will we keep with us? “Dam Right” is the first of two tracks to play with the words “dam” and “damn.” As it begins, it is already in motion. There is something serious in the sound, something demanding in its repeated theme. It pauses to make sure we are with it, to make sure we are giving it what it requires. And then it relaxes, carrying us with it. The music slows then, as it climbs and then falls. Ah, but the beauty continues, not faltering.
With “Chill,” we enter a darker space. It is like a bell sounds, signaling us, calling us to some ceremony. The air is thicker here, alive with intensions, buzzing with knowledge, yet soon we find ourselves soothed by it. We relax, comforted by the weight of ancient voices. We can let go, for whatever will be has already been. Various voices rise and fall, as if carried on a wind. There is a slight pause before a more somber tone is felt. We soon feel ourselves floating in the eternal, ourselves but a small part of it. That’s followed by “The Lake Is Another Sky,” a title I love. We’ve all looked into the clear water of a lake to watch the sky, and felt like we could fall into heaven, into the clouds, that we could be immersed in sky. And even in the soft ripples of water is the movement of the universe. We feel that in this music. The motion, the soothing motion, and the beauty of the earth meeting the sky, the light dancing near us. We can touch it, change it. Ah, when else can we so affect the sky? Interestingly, there is also a sense of time ticking away, especially in the second half. At some point both the lake and the sky will cease to be. And for a moment near the end we sense a possibly dark future.
As “WFD” begins (and, no, I’m not sure what “WFD” stands for), a light shines toward us, again and again. And then something more intense appears, something tangible. But soon we can feel its beauty, even if there is a great weight to it. It isn’t long before a lighter source appears, urging its own dance before the heavier steps return. Is there a hint of lament within those steps? This is an intriguing track. It takes on a power to combine all elements, everything converging. That’s followed by “Give A Dam,” the second track whose title plays on “dam” and “damn,” beginning like the slow heartbeat of the sky. Soon we experience bright lights that have physical weight, and they lead to a softer space, a space open for thoughts, for hopes, for desires. A single voice gets excited, takes on a certain pace, before slipping back into the fold, into the larger sound. The sound gets heavier, echoing in some great hall. Things become stranger as a light is struck repeatedly, the ripples felt, and sound becomes twisted, fragmented, bitten off. Until that light is struck again. This track releases its grip on us at the end.
“Sunset At 10 PM” makes me think of my childhood. I loved those summer months growing up in New England, when the sun wouldn’t set until what was a fairly late hour for us kids. There was a magic in those hours before the sun went down, like we were getting away with something. And there is a sort of magic at the beginning of this track, sliding in, playing with our senses, with our expectations, like a large firefly sliding past us, and disappearing just as quickly, as they do. Reappearing, disappearing again. A voice from above seems to play with us, to take pleasure in our pleasure. (On Bandcamp, the song is titled “Sunset At 10 a.m.,” by the way.) That’s followed by “Ominous Mass,” which feels hesitant at first, tentative steps in a place where wind seems to hold some sway, and each movement is echoed in the great hall where we find ourselves. We can catch glimpses of something through the haze, through the smoke, something timeless, something that promises to hold secrets, knowledge, if only we could crack the code, be accepted in its arms. There is an intensity, a rumbling. Have we offended the gods somehow, broken into a place where we are not expected or wanted? Have we interrupted something? The wind is what is left, busy and maybe angry, buzzing at the end.
“Thunder” presents short messages with breaths in between
at the beginning, and then things begin to flow, to touch different places of
the sky and the earth. Light plays across, and against, a greater darkness. A
power is there, striking, thumping, and we want to seek shelter. The gods have
been angered, it turns out. Is this their voice, or ours in response? For there
is a rumbling within us too, isn’t there? And yet something lighter soothes us
just before the drive forward and downward. The disc’s final two tracks are
listed as bonus tracks, though I still don’t understand what is meant by a
bonus track on an initial release. Anyway, the first is not an original composition.
It is an interesting variation of “Auld Lang Syne” (misprinted as “Aul Lang
Syne” on the CD case), a very brief rendition reaching down to us from the sky.
And the last track, “Hiding Under Clouds,” features vocals, another unusual
step in the series. Clouds are mentioned in the lyrics, from the very first
line, “Cloudy days are here again.” There is a kind of folk vibe to this
one, and it includes the sound of birds. “She’s no longer by my side/But I
could see her sitting there/She’s hiding under the clouds.” There is
something perhaps frightening in the repeated line, “There’s a shadow over
my life,” but this song is about the sun, and so offers hope.
CD Track List
Clouds 2 was released on February 1, 2026.
Rick Shea opens the album with “A Week In Winnemucca,” one of the new songs that he has been performing on occasion. This studio version has a wonderful vibe right from the start. “Like a breath of country air,” Rick sings early in the song, and that’s also a great description of the song’s feel. When I’ve mentioned this song in concert reviews, one line I’ve quoted is “The locals kept their distance, yeah, but not for very long,” and it again stands out here. This track features some beautiful guitar work, particularly that lead in the middle, which has a friendly vibe. This song is a perfect start to the album. It is followed by “Guardian Angel,” in which Rick sings of youth, “Some hard-headed kid, wild-eyed and restless/Out loose and running around/Chasing some dream or foolish adventure.” There is a wisdom to his voice, a wisdom earned through experience. His is a voice we trust, a voice we believe, a voice whose guidance we accept and want. “I took a lot of crazy chances/I was lucky that I pulled through/I must have had a guardian angel, baby/And she must have looked a lot like you.” This track contains some beautiful work on fiddle. This is one of the songs in particular I was excited to hear after seeing Rick perform it at a recent "Swingin’ Doors" show, and I love this studio rendition.
“An Irishman’s A Laborer At Heart” is another song I was looking forward to hearing on this album. I wish my dad were still around to hear this one. I know he would have loved it. Here are the first several lines: “My father was a simple man/Never one to boast/He paid no mind to lavish things/Or cared who had the most/He worked an honest day/And he got an early start/Because an Irishman’s a laborer at heart.” Would my dad have recognized himself in those lines? Perhaps, but he wouldn’t have said so. “Not one to show his feelings/Or speak of them out loud,” Rick sings. This a tender, touching song, and, yeah, I don’t mind saying it brings me to tears. “And in a world of broken promises that can tear your soul apart/An Irishman’s a laborer at heart.” Then “Georgia Bride” features some very cool guitar work right from the start, plus some delicious stuff on keys. There is an easygoing groove to this track, and a certain energy to the vocal approach. And if this song needed another layer of cool, we get some delicious touches on saxophone. Wonderful! Jeff Turmes, in addition to playing bass on this album, plays saxophone. The track contains a good sax lead halfway through, and more great stuff on guitar after that, all of which helps make this track a highlight of the album.
“Midnight Shift” is the first of two covers on the album, this one written by Jimmie Ainsworth and Earl Lee, and recorded by Buddy Holly and also by The Hollies. Rick Shea gives us a delightful rendition, with a jazzy sense of cool, and featuring some wonderful work on guitar and a really good vocal performance. “So if you’ve got a good woman/Who’s staying at home/Man, you’d better enjoy/It might not last long.” The fiddle plays an important part from the start of “Maria,” a fun song written by Jennie Moyeda and Rick Shea. This one is sung in Spanish, and has a delightful vibe. It’s not the first song that Rick Shea has delivered in Spanish, and it has a natural flavor and flow. Rick is joined by Celia Chavez on vocals. “El Diablo Manda” also has a delicious Spanish flavor, though this one is delivered in English. This track features some really nice work on guitar and on percussion, as well as on accordion. “Walk softly where the light grows dim/Whisper a familiar hymn/You can never know what’s hiding in the night.” And what a great vocal performance. There is sort of nervous edge at moments, which is totally fitting. It’s a vocal performance that helps immerse us in the song’s world, in the story. Celia Chavez adds some wonderful backing vocal work. “The thief, he wears a rich man’s clothes/The center’s cracked, it cannot hold/Old friendships fall/And crumble in the sand.” This is a song I love more and more each time I listen to it.
The album’s second cover is “Long Black Veil.” I’ve heard a lot of versions of this one over the years, and Rick Shea puts his own spin on it. There is a kind of rockin’ vibe to this rendition, a good energy, which works in some contrast to the song’s theme. I love the guitar here, and there is a delightful saxophone lead in the second half. There is also an interesting section at the end, with the repeated line “Nobody knows but me” becoming a sort of echo in the darkness as he fades away. Wow, that is unexpected and fantastic. “Long Black Veil” is followed by “Delia,” a song that grabs me right from the start. There is a lonesome vibe, a sense of melancholy to it, to that instrumental section at the beginning. “Delia was the only one/The one and only one/Who saw the emptiness inside of me/She was always there for me/Always there to care for me/I always knew that Delia was the one.” There is a great haunted quality to this song, particularly to his vocal performance. This is a captivating and quietly powerful number, one hell of a good song. “The ravens call out endlessly/Leaving only memories/Of all we had and all that’s left behind.”
“One More Night” is a lovely song with a classic,
familiar, timeless vibe, a song of being on the road, a traveling musician. “One
more night, one more city/Too many towns, too many names/All these miles and
miles of highway signs/These days all seem the same.” And the lines “And
the road runs endlessly/And as far as I can see/I’m no closer to that dream”
hit hard for many of us, don’t they? As we get older, and see our goals, our
dreams still far in the distance. This song features one of the album’s best vocal
performances. I also love that guitar work, so simple and yet it hits us just
right. This song was written by Rick Shea and Wyman Reese and is another of the
disc’s highlights. The energy then picks up on “Trailrider,” also written by
Rick Shea and Wyman Reese. This is the album’s only instrumental track, taking
us out on the trails of the wild west, and featuring some nice work on pedal
steel. It is the final track that is listed. However, there is a twelfth track,
not listed on the CD case. It begins with the sound of birds, and then Rick
Shea begins to sing a cappella. “I got a lot of birds in the Juniper tree/I
got a lot of birds in the Juniper tree/I got a lot of birds in the Juniper
tree/Birdie, birdie, birdie birdie bird.” And for the dog verse, a barking
dog is added to the sound of the birds, and so on. And we’re left with the
sounds of nature. A sweet children's folk song, and an interesting and surprising conclusion to this excellent
album.
CD Track List
Smoke Tree Road was released on February 24, 2026 through Tres Pescadores.
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| "Good And Foolish Times" |
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| "Ohio" |
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| "Poour Me" |
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| "Truth Is You Lied" |
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| "Highland Park Serenade" |
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| "My Parka Saved Me" |
Here are a few more photos:
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| "White Cross" |
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| "Ohio" |
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| "Friend Of The Devil" |
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| "Skipping Stones" |
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| "California Country" |
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| "California Country" |
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| "California Country" |
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| "Live And Never Learn" |
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| "Hitchhiker" |
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| "Highland Park Serenade" |
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| "Talking To The Dog" |
Is there any place better to be than Los Angeles? An outdoor concert in February? Come on! It was a beautiful day in Highland Park yesterday, and the lineup at Music Garden L.A. included The Firkins, The Smokey Lonesome and Stu Olsen. Here are some photos to show you that L.A. is the best place in this country, especially for music fans.
Stu Olsen
