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JD & The Straight Shot's album is called Right On Time, and this review is not right on time as it was released June 24th. To be fair, it was submitted only days before the release date and lately, I think I'm the target of internet throttling by Comcrap. I won't go into details about that last problem, but surfing the web is painfully slow and downloading any files (like legal music and podcasts) doesn't work and/or gets dropped.
Anyway, a little background on Jim Dolan (JD), frontsman, and Bruce Koplow, songwriter, basically lead band The Straight Shot, based out of New York. JD was handpicked by Eagles member Joe Walsh to open up for him on his US tour.
I don't have his debut album, Nothing to Hide, but according to the biography, it "combined slow-burning blues with fresh ballads and guitar-driven rock."
With Right On Time, it's definitely blues, but there are hints of good old fashion American country and 50s rock and blues.
The standout track that most people will pick up on is "Double My Order". This is a feel-good, piano-driven song that reminds me of a good advertisement for a fast food restaurant. I was happy to see that the piano and general similar tone is kept on "Kill that Dog", another perky song, despite the morbid subject.
The press material that came with this album suggested that I really look at "Slow Motion In Reverse", which will be the first single from the album. Although there are some excellent guitar playing by Joe Walsh and backup singers, it just felt to "slow motion" for my taste.
Instead, I thought "This Kind Of Life" was better in some ways: a slow tell-it-as-it-is country/blues song. I just felt this song really set the pace and tone throughout the album.
By the way, I wanted to use was the classic blues song Etta James' "Lie No Better", about confronting a cheating lover and asking "if you can't lie no better than that, then you might as well tell the truth". Since that isn't a JD and the Straight Shot original, I didn't want to represent the band with this song.
If you're out for a blues, with a classic rock sound, give Right On Time a try. The album is out right now on Fontana Records, a very old record label had its hits with The Troggs and The New Vaudeville Band, but currently as an independent record label.
Links: jdandthestraightshot.com myspace.com/jdandthestraightshot
