John Cowan

John Cowan

Throughout his long tenure with New Grass Revival, John Cowan sometimes sounded like a frustrated country-bluegrass singer yearning to let loose a rock & roll wail. On this self-titled album, his second solo record, Cowan more often resembles a frustrated pop-rock singer yearning to get back to the country heartland. The album was produced by Cowan's friend and fellow pop-country vagabond Wendy Waldman. The 13 tracks encapsulate Cowan's stylistic reach, from the bluegrassy "My Heart Will Follow You" and the extended instrumental jam "Sligo" to the computerized funk of "Roll Away the Stone" and the arena-rock posturing of "High Above the Powerlines." Several of the better tunes are among the more laid-back: the jazzy "Nothing but the Blues," the slinky "Mississippi Delta Time," and a lovely Celtic-flavored cover of Merle Travis's "Dark as a Dungeon" that shows off Cowan's sirenlike tenor without overwhelming the song. <I>--Rick Mitchell</I>