Search - Junior Lee Klegseth :: Long Way Home

From Junior Lee Klegseth, the founder and guitarist of The RedHot Blues, comes a strong Americana / roots rock debut as singer/songwriter. While it was his intense guitar playing that brought him to the attention of blues fans, true fans of the band came to enjoy the many Klegseth-penned tunes found on the RHB releases. Here, the only tune even close to blues is the two minute She Got, but even there the funky bass line and drums only hint at the form. On "Long Way Home", Klegseth throws his hat in the ring with artists like John Hiatt, Steve Earle, John Mellencamp and Drive-by Truckers. The songwriting craft Klegseth has appreciated and partook of since childhood is apparent here, too, with songs like Long Way Home, that laments how long it takes to get back to a place, only to find it isn't what we wanted. The CD opener, "Crazy Things" belongs on the car stereo on a Midwestern summer day, with the windows rolled down. In fact many of the tracks appear to be an homage to times past--"66 Chevelle", "Dance", "Old Man's Words" and the title track. "I Want What's Coming to Me" is a working class anthem, replete with a large crowd backing vocal, that makes one think of betrayals by companies like Enron. On the harder rock side are two tunes full of attitude that speak to the times and, more likely, to the present administration: I Wish You Could See is a spirited raw rocker with sarcastic and biting lyrics such as, "You heard a voice on high, you were saved again / I thought you were safer as a sinner than a saved man who sins." The sentiment continues in the fresh sound of "Nobody", with it's greasy bass line, slide banjo and heavy guitars. But like most songwriters, the true test is the ballad, and here Klegseth shines with the smartly-crafted "I Wanna Be" and "Without You", both worthy of becoming classics.