Search - Kevn Kinney :: Sun Tangled Angel Revival

Welcome to the Sun Tangled Angel Revival

L. B. Wisner | Knoxville, TN | 09/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From the singer/songwriter who's brought you eight drivin' n' cryin' records, three acoustic solo records and 2002's lo-fi solo disc, _Broken Hearts and Auto Parts_ comes this full-band project produced by David Barbe.



It's been more than seven years since drivin' n' cryin' opened for The Who on their _Quadrophenia_ tour, and those seven years have seen Kevn Kinney and his bandmates slip further towards obscurity. Kinney hasn't helped his cause much, with the tossed-off discs _The Flower and the Knife_ and _Broken Hearts and Auto Parts_ sinking quickly from independent radio playlists, but over the past couple of years he's seemed to find his niche, slowly moving into an arena shared by no one--the Hippy/Garage/Post-punk/Folksinger scene.



Having eschewed for the most part his stripped down solo shows, Kinney has formed a band including alt-blues guitar hero Gibb Droll, bassist Bryan J. Howard, and d'n'c drummer Dave V. Johnson. In addition to this core, Kinney has teamed up on stage and in studio with musicians including Warren Haynes, Topaz, Tom Clark, Lenny Kaye, Edwin McCain, and Dave Schools. This list indicates just where Kinney fits--somewhere between NYC post-punk indie rock and the southern jamband scene.



Bridging the gap between those styles, the Sun Tangled Angel Revival seems to be Kinney's version of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, a loud, chaotic rock band swirling around its leader. In concert they shift gears from heavy 70s rock (even material from _Jesus Christ Superstar_) to ragged John Denver-esque folk-pop. These influences set them apart from the average "alt-country" or "cowpunk" band, unfortunately narrowing their audience in the process.



This disc, their first, is fairly representative, featuring top-notch production, solid playing and a handful of truly excellent songs, of which title track--an evocative, psychedelic tune about yearning to escape the ennui of a lonely, labrynthine existence--is probably the best. The second track, "Fly Your Flag High" is an aging hippy's anthem--somewhere between cynical old men drinking and the ragged, young demonstrators, Kinney resolves, with a great groove and Joey Huffman's powerful Hammond organ behind him, to "fly his freak flag high," a la Jimi Hendrix.



With the Beatles-inspired indie-soul of "Everthing's So Different Now," the raspy-voiced Kinney scores another triumph--his song paying tribute to George Harrison while producer David Barbe lends a wall-of-sound approach to a tune dealing with the pitfalls of nostalgia. And the group weighs in on economics, global capitalism, and the uses of pedal steel in the folk-country ballad "This Train Don't Stop at the Millworks Anymore."



Alas, beyond these great songs--comebacks for Kinney, whose writing had been in decline--there are fews reasons to recommend the record. While the "T.G.N.M.B.P.M/Madman Blues" medley is impressive in its musicianship and prduction, and the other songs are worth a listen too, there's not quite enough material on the disc to make it a classic. Songs such as "In The Land of Plenty" and spoken word performances like "Epilogue Epitaph in A Minor" work well as throwaway, fun songs, or as codas (see Kinney's fist three records) but they don't really fill out an album.



But the featured tunes are astounding in all ways--buy the record for the few great songs, check out the band in concert, and keep your fingers crossed that they'll be around for a while."

Kevn's rockin' again

C. MCCORMACK | Lawrenceville, GA | 09/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must first disagree that Kevn's writing has been in decline (at least qualitatively speaking).



Kevn is hands down a relatively unknown American legend. As Drivin'N'Cryin' tried to venture off into the corporate spotlight, Kinney branched off with his own wonderful stripped down cd's, from McDougal Blues to Down Outlaw to Flower and the Knife. Then, with Broken Hearts & Auto Parts, he found the full band sound again. With songs that displayed his trademark genius toward capturing low key reflections on the simple emotions that make life so complex, it might have been his highwater mark. Each solo project has demonstrated his rare talent for story telling and lyrical picture painting nearly flawlessly.



With S.T.A.R. he gets back into a rock & roll mode, though there are clearly reminders of every stage of his career. My biggest problem with this disc is its length: it is only 39 minutes long.



The quality is there, all around. It starts off strong and gets stronger as it goes on. The string of songs from "This Train . . .", with its beautiful pedal steel highlights, through the hard rocking "Madman Blues" is particularly good.



Buy it, enjoy it, and hope to hear something longer from Kevn before too long. These days we need all the calls we can get from our true American poets."