For the Ride Home

Josh Kelley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hollywood Records
• ASIN: B00009KOHM
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,027 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest album in a while..., November 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: For the Ride Home (Audio CD)

I first heard of Josh Kelley in July when I was volunteering at a summer camp. We'd play his song "Amazing" in the Dining Hall between meals. When I got home, all of a sudden "Amazing" was all over the radio!!! So I bought his CD,and to my surprise, I ADORE IT!!!! Every song is excellent, he has a laid-back kind of sound. I'd reccommend his CD if you enjoy: John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Jason Mraz, Counting Crows, maybe even a little Dave.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Josh is Impressive, June 12, 2003

By 

Emily Robertson (LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For the Ride Home (Audio CD)

Produced by the same guy as Dave Matthew's Band (John Alagia), with a musical style similar to John Mayer's or Jack Johnson's, Josh Kelley makes an impressive debut with his first album "For the Ride Home." What can I say? I like it. It's mellow then upbeat, all the while exploring various musical and emotional climaxes and nadirs. Literally, it's a CD for you to play on the car ride home time and time again. It's also consistent; if you don't like to buy CDs because you're afraid of "filler" (other songs on the album not as good as or not even similar to the single) you don't have to worry about it with Josh Kelley. There are many songs on the album with "single potential." If this is you're kind of music, I'm sure you'll like the album as much as I do.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tons of Potential, May 23, 2004

By 

Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: For the Ride Home (Bonus CD) (Audio CD)

The limited re-release of singer/songwriter Josh Kelley's debut album "For the Ride Home" should prove a fit purchase to those who enjoyed the original disc.

It should also, if there is any justice, raise him above Billboard Heatseeker status with the help of its second single "Everybody Wants You."

Released concurrently with this special edition, the single features an addictive sing-a-long chorus and pitch-perfect vocal performance from Kelley, and deserves to be a smash hit. It would have made a better choice for the lead single than "Amazing." The latter, which did receive enough airplay to cut into Billboard's Hot 100, sounded more like it belonged on the intercom at ShopRite than anything else.

What notably separates this new version of the album from the original release is far less-interesting cover art (Kelley standing awkwardly against an orange screen) and a four-track bonus disc featuring two previously unreleased songs ("Dying Man," "Solid Ground") and two acoustic versions of album tracks ("Small Town Boy" and "Amazing").

"Dying Man," which features excellent acoustic guitar playing, is lyrically hazy, which is probably why it didn't make the album's final cut. On the other hand, the upbeat "Solid Ground" would have been a splendid inclusion on it and is justifiably now available.

If there is one problem with the album, it is the fact that John Alagia is the only producer on it. Though his production works well with some of Kelley's material, the rest of it is not accentuated, making too much of it sound the same. The result is an excellent disc to play for warm background music, with a scant few tracks that beckon individual attention, namely the hit-worthy "I Saw You."

Unfortunately, listening to it "for the ride home" might make some fall asleep at the wheel.

Overall, if Kelley shakes things up a bit by pushing the envelope more with his lyrics and enlisting a diverse group of producers, his future records could vastly improve. That said, "For the Ride Home" is an inviting album with some pleasing tunes -- a testament to Kelley's genuine talent.