Customer Reviews

Broken Hearts & Auto Parts

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kevn Kinney first made it with Southern punk/folk/metal/country band Drivin' n' Cryin' on college radio in the late '80s, finally going semi-big in 1991 with the MTV and rock radio success of Fly Me Courageous, the band's most polished (and most metal) album. But DnC had built a following on its first three records with a balance of distorted guitar rave-ups and gentle acoustic tunes. While the band floundered in the '90s, moving from label to label while trying to settle on an identity, Kinney found peace making records like 1990's folky MacDougal Blues, recorded with pal Peter Buck, and the bleak Down Out Law in 1994.

Two years after Kinney returned to the solo stage on the haunting The Flower And The Knife (with Govt. Mule's Warren Haynes playing the Pete Buck role, producing and providing guitar sounds Kinney could only dream of creating) he's released Broken Hearts and Auto Parts. Less dark than his last effort, the new record nonetheless opens with the melancholy title song - a bleak look back at a tough year that any American could relate to - that's reprised at the end with a touching story of paternal advice that helps explain the origin of the title.

The best song is the driving "Back Roads And Rainy Days," with a catchy chorus refrain any lonesome motorist can relate to: "Dialing down the radio/trying to find a song about you." The song's churning beat would make it perfect for any road jaunt, long or short.

Kinney's old band is rumored to be attempting a comeback, but in the meantime fans of his wistful tales of heartbreak and the beauty of simple living need look no further than his latest album. There may be no place for Kinney's music on MTV or rock radio these days, but in this reviewer's opinion, there's no greater endorsement than that.

I love this CD -- it hasn't left my CD wallet since I purchased it three months ago. You feel like you're in the same room while he's playing. Favorite cuts are "It's Comin' Down This Way," "Back Roads and Rainy Days," and "Lightning Strikes Twice," but every song is a winner. Believe me, once you give this one a listen, you'll be hunting high and low for the rest of his catalogue.

With this 2002 release, Kevn forgoes his usual folksinger material for a solo release featuring an electric backing band (this time, as with 1990s "MacDougal Blues," it's the current line-up of his regular group drivin' n' cryin). Recorded in NYC, BHAAP reflects Kinney's friendship with Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark, dedicating itself from Kinney's opening deadpan line, "are you ready . . . to rock," to a Lo-Fi, ironic indie sound in which there are no guitar solos, minimal drum fills, and basic bass-playing.

Recording it all in less than a week, Kinney-at-forty reprises his Dictators-inspired teenage fascination with "cars and girls" on the title track, and gets help from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion on the pastoral dream of "A Good Country Mile." Along the way we're treated to upbeat country-rock ("Dialing Down the Radio") and punkish self-assertion ("Yes, That's Me"). Overall a good album with a consistent aesthetic and generally strong song-writing.

You can tell that it must of been a relaxed atmosphere recording this album. Kevn didn't care if a little talking or laughter got through. This cd is like a favorite old pair of shoes, it feels so darn good and it will take you a lot of places. The music is played with just enough instruments, with the players sitting around in a circle on folding chairs.It comes across as though Kevn and the band are in the room with you.
All the song are solid and fit together in a way as to take you down a road of stories that leave you feeling as though you cruised sitting along side Kevn in his car with all the broken hearts and auto parts. The best cd I have bought this year!

Kevn shows incredible songwriting talent on this album.

Much like MacDougal Blues (produced by Peter Buck of REM) Kevn has spun some wonderful stories and melodies.

This is an amazing CD from an amazing artist. kevn kinney and drivin `n cryin are the most underrated artist/band of the last 15 years. Every one of these tracks is solid, and the title song is an instant classic. Great work!

What a great talent! Roots rock? Alt-country? Who cares? Track six is so nice.

For more than a decade until they broke up a few years ago, quirky southern rockers Drivin'n'Cryin' carried the torch passed on from heyday of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers. Unfortunately, they never had that one breakthrough to the mainstream, despite coming close with their 1991 album "Fly Me Courageous." Part of the band's unique charm was their idiosyncratic songwriting, led by lead vocalist Kevin Kinney. Now Kinney has struck out on own as a solo artist with an album full of songs that, if anything, are even more charming and personal than they were with the band.

The album's highlight is the opening title track (reprised in an even more personal hidden track version at the end), reflecting those classic rock and roll topics of a car and a girl (both lost). Other highlights include the clock ticking "Time," the mid-tempo storytelling rocker "Why Does it Feel So Hard to Say," and "Lightning Strikes Twice." On the down side, "No Blues" is a clunky blues song and the closer "A Good Country Mile" goes on too long. Overall, however, Kinney's debut is a winner.