Search - American Minor :: American Minor

More of the Good Old, Same Old...

Thomas D. Ryan | New York | 11/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Let it be known that critics (except me, of course) cannot be trusted. While every music expert proselytized about the death of rock and roll, thousands of teen-aged proto-rockers were preparing to prove them (us) completely wrong. The result is that we suddenly find ourselves in the midst of a rock and roll renaissance. In America, the best of it is coming out of the south, as evidenced by the success of Kings of Leon and now, American Minor. Flaunting mid-`70s influences such as Foghat, Bad Company and Humble Pie, American Minor are, in virtually every way, a traditional hard rock band. The real question, though, is whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, and the answer is mixed.

By relying on classic rockers from the `70s, American Minor manages to sound more like the imitative classic rockers from the `80s and `90s who did the same thing. Comparisons to the Black Crowes and Tonic are inescapable, and the clichés pile up like cars in an ice storm. Every track on this CD is well executed, with good to excellent musicianship, strong vocals and tight arrangements, but something gets lost in the execution. It sounds like they lifted all of their riffs from a mid-`70s rock and roll playbook. If rock and roll was a sport, they'd get their obsolete asses kicked by the competition. Any band that can sing the lines `Shine your light down on me" (from, "Shine", obviously enough) or "As we get older..this world it gets colder" (from Sleepwalker") without irony must know that their grasp of rock and roll poetry is a bit excessive.

The good news here is that there isn't a bad song on the entire album, and there are no power ballads. The bad news is that it sounds like they stole an old master tape from the Black Crowes. Maybe it's true that there really is nothing new under the sun, but it does make me glad to hear that good ol' arena-style rock and roll is still here to stay.

B Tom Ryan"

Awesome!!!

atomic chaser | 08/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When American Minor released their 4 song 'Buffalo Creek EP' in 2004, I knew this band would be a force to be reckoned with. Now with the release of their self-titled debut on Jive Records, American Minor is set to take the rock music world on like rolling thunder!



American Minor is, Rob McCutcheon on vocals, Bud Carrol and Josh Gragg on guitars, Bruno on bass and Josh Knox on drums. What this five piece rock band from Virginia brings to the table is rock sound that is filled with passion, soul and tons of rock and roll attitude. Think Bad Company combined with the Americana flavor of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with a dash of Cry Of Love thrown in to spice things up.



The passionate soulful vocals of Rob McCutcheon are amazing. His vocals shine brilliantly throughout the whole album. If Paul Rodgers and Janis Joplin had ever hooked up Rob McCutcheon would be their offspring. An amazing talent indeed. As is evident on the opening track, "Walk On". Then you have the twin guitar exertions of Carrol and Gragg that compliment each other really well. At times reminded me a lot of the work of another American guitar tandem, the legendary, Gary Rossington and Allan Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd. That chemistry is present throughout the album. Especially on tracks like the bluesy pearl, "Cheaters & Non-Believers", the down and dirty swagger of, "Mr. Queen" and the guitar driven, "Buffalo Creek" and "Shine".



Hands down! Anyway you slice it, this is a great straight ahead rock album! American Minor is a rock band you'd go see and there would be no fancy clothes, no half dressed chicks dancing on stage, just a bunch of guys in jeans and t-shirts with some Marshall's, cranked to the maximum, and their instruments. They'd plug in and they'd blow you away! There is no doubt that American Minor will have rock and roll fans kicking out the jams to for quite a very long time! This album comes highly recommended.



"

Long Live Rock and Roll

Penn State | State College, PA | 08/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
From: Michelle Isham in CDT



If you've been pining away for the guitar rock of the '70s and '80s, your time has come ... again.





The guitar solo has returned with a vengeance. Justin Hawkins and the Darkness brought it back like a slap in the face with zebra-print spandex and a karaoke bar falsetto. The Kings of Leon gave it a southern accent. The Donnas, after years of prolific recording, finally caught hold. Perhaps it's a backlash against tightly scripted bands such as the Hives, or maybe it's because you can suppress the desire to rock out with an air guitar for only so long.





The latest incarnation of the classic-rock trend is American Minor, a five-piece southern rock band from Huntingdon, W.Va. Following an appearance at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, the band was signed by Jive records, a label better known for its staple of pop and R&B moneymakers including Britney Spears, R. Kelly, N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys. With an endorsement like that, it seems like a safe assumption that southern rock is the wave of the future





With more of a stadium rock feel than the Kings of Leon and more thought-provoking lyrics than The Darkness, American Minor cannot be classified as derivative. The band's sound is distinctive not simply because McCutcheon sings as though he needs to clear his throat.





The band's music is colored by the influences of youth, resulting in songs that fall outside the girls, cars and booze scope. "Buffalo Creek" tells the story of a 1972 West Virginia dam collapse and flood that was caused by negligent strip mining. "Movin' On Up" describes a mentally ill Vietnam vet living on the streets. McCutcheon's raspy vocals perfectly convey the gritty reality of living in a dead-end town.



Despite the weighty subject matter, American Minor won't leave you reaching for a drink in which to drown your sorrows. The musicians' straightforward southern-rock sound will have you singing along to songs such as "Walk On," even as you find yourself asking "Did he just say 'capricious?' ""