The album opens with “Easy To Leave,” a song written by Lance Lopez. It begins with some rocking guitar. Yeah, it’s blues rock, with an emphasis on rock. And it’s a breakup song, delivered with that powerful, raw voice. “Looking for the sun/But there was always rain/Waiting on you/But you never came.” This track has a strong groove, but it is that guitar work that really stands out. The album has just begun, and it’s clear he has no intention of holding back. “You kick me when I’m down/With a steel-toed boot.” That’s followed by “Jam With Me,” this one was written by Joey Sykes. “Spent the year in hiding, itching to get out/Put out the word, see who’s still around.” It’s about getting back into music, getting a band together, and, yes, jamming. “A little rock and roll will set you free.” And yeah, there’s a bit of jamming, but with that title I expected a somewhat longer track, a lot more jamming. This track is just under three and a half minutes.
The album’s title track, “Trouble Is Good,” was written by Lance Lopez and Joey Sykes. Seeing the words “trouble” and “good” together, it’s difficult to keep from thinking of civil rights activist John Lewis, and so there might be a certain expectation from a song that has those words in its title, that there will be some political or social angle. I’m not sure we get that here, as this seems like a more personal tune, but we do get a good song, no question about that. It begins with more of an acoustic blues sound, a raw sound, for that brief introduction. “I’m in some trouble/But this trouble is good/Just got to own it/And be better with my attitude.” And it contains some great stuff on harmonica. Then as it’s reaching the end, it returns to the sound from that short intro, only now we get a larger taste of it. And we hear the clanking of metal, which helps us think of a chain gang. The album then moves us into “Uncivil War,” a song written by Joey Sykes, a slower number, easing in at the beginning. This is not about the crazy division in this country, as one might guess from its title, and rather is about a couple that no longer is getting along, heading for divorce. “Now I’m getting tired and sick of it all/Fighting this uncivil war/I don’t want it no more/Who gets what, and who decides/You’ll get yours and I’ll have mine/And we’ll go on/Until everything’s gone.” Ah, from the tone of his delivery, it sounds like everything is gone.
The sound of the drums at the start of “Wild Country” immediately calls to mind Led Zeppelin. “Don’t tell me to settle down/That ain’t part of the plan,” he sings at the beginning of this one. This is a song about freedom, a certain kind of freedom, a life without any ties or responsibilities, which of course has an undeniable appeal, tapping into that thing we felt in our youth, which this music does so well. “Big sky’s so beautiful/As far as the eye can see/Let your wild heart go untamed/Let it be untamed in the wild country.” That’s followed by “Take A Swing,” which comes in with a rocking force. This music sometimes moves toward hard rock, as it does here. “Take a swing/I can take anything.” This track has a tremendous energy, the guitar leading and demanding a drive farther and farther into some storm of its own making. Then “Trying In The Tri Star State” has a strong groove. This song takes place in Music City, Nashville, where Lance Lopez is now based. “I’m keeping busy,” he tells us here. No question about it.
In “Slow Down,” he sings, “Hurry up and wait/I’m waiting/I think I need a break/I’m braking” (with a play on “I’m breaking,” which is great). This is a song that reminds us to slow down, but also not to waste a moment, leading to the interesting line, “Hurry up and slow down.” And he asks, “Can we make it all about now?” I am digging this thoughtful blues rock number, one of the album’s highlights. It is followed by another of the disc’s highlights, “Reborn.” A delicious groove is established immediately, announcing this song is going to be fun. And it contains a strong vocal performance. “There’s something in the way you walked through that door/A new light never seen before/Suddenly I feel like I have been reborn.” The album then concludes with “Voyager,” which has three sections, subtitled “Sunrise,” “Voyager” and “I Am Ra.” This is quite different from the rest of the album, the opening instrumental section transporting us to a distant land, having a dreamlike quality, the start of something new. Then a little more than a minute into the track, it kicks in, going into the main section of the song. The drums have that big Led Zeppelin sound again, and there is a great power to this song. That wonderful work on electric guitar grabs us and takes us to another place, the guitar spiraling upward and then disappearing, as the track moves into its final section, which has something of a spiritual bent to its sound. This one was written by Lance Lopez. It’s interesting to me that the final three tracks are among the album’s best.
CD Track List
- Easy To Leave
- Jam With Me
- Trouble Is Good
- Uncivil War
- Wild Country
- Take A Swing
- Trying In The Tri Star State
- Slow Down
- Reborn
- Voyager
Trouble Is Good is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2023 on Cleopatra Records, and will be available on both CD and vinyl (and the vinyl is orange).
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