Customer Reviews

Midnight, California

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

 

 

This guy Dave Gleason just blew me away with his new record "Midnight, California".

This guy is the real deal, nobody else has played California Country music this good in a long, long time. Nobody has played country rock this well in a long, long time.

His first record just called "Wasted Days" by the way included an unreleased Gram Parsons cover called "Funky String Quartet".

Getting back to the new record..
Listening to Dave reminds me a little of Gram, Wynn Stewart, and even a little Dwight.. but most of all he's very similar to Gram. This guy could even be a better songwriter than Gram was.

There is also some beautiful harmony on this record.. one song that sounds like an early Bee Gees song with twang.

You have to pick this record up, it's an instant classic.

I don't have much to add to the previous review, mostly just nod my head in agreement. The 'Flying Burrito Brothers' are definitely conjured up here, only 'Wasted Days' rocks out more and Gleason has a better voice than Parsons. Kind of like if Parsons had been backed up by Tom Petty's band or the Jayhawks. This is first rate cosmic country, furthering the trail blazed by Gram Parsons, New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Grateful Dead. The next time I find myself in a bar full of trailer park cowboys and bikers I hope Dave Gleason's Wasted Days are on the stage.

Dave Gleason has formed his own brand of country music on his own terms. Its so original and pure, it makes the "popular" country artists of today sound like copy-cats. With a touch of blues and a country twang band that captures the real feel of what a country bar band sounds like, Dave Gleason is refreshing. Its interesting to note that he has a tribute song to Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees - a person who delved into country music on his own at various times of his career (and co-wrote, "Island In The Stream").

I can hear digital encoding artifacts in the first track of this song. Amazon, please re-encode this album!

Update: This problem was fixed by Amazon the same day I reported the problem and they sent me an email notifying me of the correction! Excellent job; you've earned a repeat customer.

The album? I bought the first two albums in DGWD's collection after I was turned on to his excellent latest album, Just Fall to Pieces.

I love traditional Country music, but have developed a distaste for recycled retro Countrybilly. Dave manages to keep the traditional style intact while not sounding retro and does a great job of writing and performing.

What matters most to me at the end of the day is that the songs make me feel something. I like the way these songs make me feel.

I am so glad to have discovered Dave Gleason's Wasted Days recordings. I can hardly believe my ears. The listening experience is like something out of California country rock's Twilight Zone,or perhaps, Back To The Future, which is saying something good.
Despite occasional surfacings of outlaw fringe and "trad" country the basic fluff-country pop sounds emanating from Nashville studios are odviously here to stay. The writers and "artists" have long been preaching and selling to that great mass middle ground common denominator. Everybody's happy, right? Wrong.

Review the reviews of this DGWD recording and the first. Gleason and his Wasted Days have been name dropped in to a pot of the finest honkytonkin',country rockin' alumni, and not without good reason.

If you're out searching for the next Gram Parsons, Dwight Yoakum, John Dawson, Buck Owens I gaurantee you will be glad to have discoverd the recordings of Dave Gleason's Wasted Days.

Listened to the Amazon clip of the song `Midnight California' and promptly downloaded all three albums. Totally agree with the other reviewers here: this guy gets it right, it's all there: the cracked voice, the tunes, the song writing, the playing, even the stoner West Coast cowboy image. Rockabilly, jingle jangle rock, straight country done better than any of his heroes and peers whom he clearly loves. So if you're searching nostalgically for some overlooked country rock classic, wondering why they can't make them like they used to, well they can, this is living proof. All three albums are terrific, though this one may be my personal favourite. Put it on, shut your eyes and find yourself in the Joshua Tree under those desert stars.