Mick Kolassa opens the album with its title track, in which tells us he’s been around and has lost some friends, but is still standing. When life is knocking you down, as it likes to do now and again, it’s difficult to keep a positive attitude, but, as Mick Kolassa sings here, we have to keep getting up. And we have to be completely in, to not do things in a halfhearted way. We can all use the encouragement, and he offers it in a joyful way. “I’ve still got some tricks ain’t no one seen yet,” he sings here. This track features some nice work on harmonica. And there is a horn section, which adds to the spirit of the song. Marc Franklin is on trumpet, and Kirk Smothers is on saxophone. “Life can’t slow me down/I’m just getting started.” Let us all embrace that attitude. Mick Kolassa then turns romantic with “What Can I Do?” and he dips into that lower register at moments, which is wonderful. “What can I do, what can I say?/Only want you more and more each day/There’s a need I can’t control/And it reaches all the way to my soul.” This track contains some great work on guitar, particularly during that lead halfway through the track. Dexter Allen plays both guitar and bass on this one. “We’re too right to ever be wrong.”
“Bigger Dreams” is a delightful blues number about moving forward, striving toward new goals. Yes, it has another positive and needed message, like the opening track. Check out these lines: “I keep my eyes on the horizon/Instead of looking at the ground/Not always sure where I’m going/But I’m always amazed at what I’ve found.” This one has such a catchy, fun sound, in large part due to Rick Steff’s absolutely wonderful work on keys. And there is also some good stuff on harmonica. “So I just keep on dreaming/Pushing past tomorrow with a grin/Moving on toward better things/Instead of living back where I’ve been.” Never give up your dreams. He then slows things down with “Alibis And Lies,” the album’s first cover. This song was written by Steve Pasek. It has a cool, sly, jazzy vibe, and features some excellent work by Marc Franklin on trumpet. This song takes place on Beale Street. That’s followed by another cover, “Leavin’ Trunk,” which also mentions Memphis: “So I’m going back to Memphis, babe/Where I have much better luck.” This song has that great classic blues groove. It features some excellent work by Brandon Santini on harmonica. And I totally dig that bass. And then that section with keys and drums is delicious. Chris Stephenson plays keys on this track. The band is clearly having a good time with this song. It’s a blues party. When Mick sings, “You know I’m a man who just loves to sing the blues,” you know it’s coming from the heart.
“I know so many men/Lie to get what they can,” Mick sings on “That Kind Of Man.” Here he is referring specifically to lies men tell to women, but those lines apply on a larger scale, don’t they? Anyway, in this song, Mick promises that he’s not that kind of man, and I think it’s clear he’s telling the truth. You can trust that guitar. There is just a bit of funk to the song’s rhythm. That’s followed by a cover of “Are You Ready?” “If you breathe the air, you’ll die,” he warns us near the beginning of this one. But, no, he is not turning pessimistic here. “Wait, don’t you worry/There’s a new day dawning/We’ll catch the sun/And away we’ll fly,” he soon promises. This is a great rendition, featuring some really good percussion. The backing vocals have that wonderful gospel flavor and energy. Donna Jones Nickelson, Julia Melah and J. Remy Williams provide the backing vocals on this track. J Remy Williams is also on keys. Andrew McNeill is on drums, and Bill Ruffino is on bass.
Mick Kolassa turns to love again on “Take Me Away.” “I’ve been trying so hard to handle this heavy load/As I carry my burden down this lonely road/No more waiting, hear what I say/Take my hand, take me away.” Oh yes, these lines definitely speak to me. And this track contains a good blues jam, which feels like it has the ability to take us away. That’s followed by “Trying Not To Let The Darkness In,” a fantastic, slow blues number featuring one of the album’s best vocal performances. Here he begins by singing, “I used to stay above the clouds/Nothing ever got me down/And I never had a doubt,” lines that remind us of the optimism and positive attitude of earlier tracks, but right away with a hint that he no longer is able to maintain that outlook, that disposition. And soon he tells us, “Now I’m sliding to the bottom.” This song is so effective in part because of how positive the other songs are. It makes this one strike us all the more sharply. It feels true, that the darkness is getting to him, just as it’s getting to the rest of us. “What is it that I need to do to make the darkness stop?” he asks at one point. I have no answer, but here the keyboard offers a response, if not an answer. A companion, perhaps. And then that guitar shoots upward as if gathering enough energy to reach above the cloud again through sheer power. This is my personal favorite of the album’s tracks. I highly recommend checking it out.
The final cover of the album is John Hiatt’s “I’m A Real Man,” here titled simply “Real Man.” This song was on Hiatt’s 1985 album Warming Up To The Ice Age. The phrase “real man” has always struck me as rather silly. And yeah, this song is poking fun at the idea. Mick Kolassa changes the line “Elevator music in your computer program” to “Elevator music and your Spotify plan” and then “Elevator music and that I-phone in your hand.” And he changes the car too, from a Lincoln to a Ferrari. Brandon Santini delivers some powerful stuff on harmonica. That’s followed by “Hardhearted Woman.” In this one he provides a warning: “Don’t let her in your life/She’ll only take you down/Every man that woman gets/Ends up looking like a clown/She’s got a hard heart/She can crush any man.” And we can tell he is speaking from some experience. Bill Ruffino plays bass on this track, and Andrew McNeill is on drums. Then “How Much Can I Pay You?” is a fun and funny song about a woman at a club who gets a little nutty during a show. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “You got so crazy that you tore off your blouse/You showed your stuff to the whole damn house/It’s too late to unsee that/Oh man, that option’s gone/Tell me, how much can I pay you/Oh, to put that back on?” I used to joke that I had a job as a de-stripper, that I would start off naked, and folks would toss dollar bills at me to get me to put my clothes on. This is a playful number, a laugh in his voice as he delivers some of the lines. And the horn section returns for this one. I love the saxophone. Yeah, he ends the album with a song to keep us in good spirits.
CD Track List
- I’m Just Getting Started
- What Can I Do?
- Bigger Dreams
- Alibis And Lies
- Leavin’ Trunk
- That Kind Of Man
- Are You Ready?
- Take Me Away
- Trying Not To Let The Darkness In
- Real Man
- Hardhearted Woman
- How Much Can I Pay You?
I’m Just Getting
Started was released on July 15, 2022.
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