Guerra, Tom: Sentimental Junk

Known for his time with both Dirty Bones Band and Mambo Sons, guitarist and singer Tom Guerra now has five solo albums to his name, with Sentimental Junk being the fifth. The recipe here would appear to be nothing too complicated - take some of the best, most influential sounds ever around and line them up neatly into 11 songs that promise a good time, even if Tom ain’t always singing about blue skies and happy days. With some straight up vintage rock n’ roll rubbing shoulder with the incisive Americana that the much missed Tom Petty used to fire out at will, the concoction is then stirred up tight with a sprinkling of Beatles, slap of Led Zeppelin, rumble of Rolling Stones and even the more doo-wop side of Huey Lewis & The News. Sentimental this may be, but junk it ain’t, the conviction behind a band consisting of Guerra, bassist Kenny Aaronson, drummer Mike Kosacek and Hammond/piano man Matt Zeiner plain to hear, all of which allows an album that surely isn’t reinventing anything to still sound fresh and fun.

Jon Butcher, of the sorely underrated Jon Butcher Axis, shows up to share vocals on the smooth and easy “California’s Got To My Girl�, with the guest singer taking lead and combining stunningly with Guerra when the band leader decides to join the party. It’s Scott Lawson Pomeroy stepping up to the mic for the almost rock n’ roll meets Van Halen of “Eyes Of The World�, which really is one of this album’s highlights, however, Guerra is no vocal slouch, with his tones throughout the rest of the album a pleasure to behold as he reveals a confident, but never overly so, style. Something that takes the Bob Dylan cover “Clean Cut Kid� into a memorable situation, while “Let Me Learn To Let It Go� takes on something of a Steve Miller swagger. “Where’s The New Rock & Roll�, not only features one-time Mott The Hoople man Morgan Fisher on clavinet, but appears to be about all the ways a band can be swindled in the business of music. Not so much 50 ways to leave your lover as 100 ways to be left out of pocket by your manager!

And so it goes, every turn on Sentimental Junk offering up something to smile, dance, laugh or shake your head at - and all in a good way. Yes, there’s a feel that you’ve already heard everything ahead on this journey, but just like all the best albums, it’s the memories old and new that make the whole adventure worth sharing time and again.

Track Listing
1. Autumn Eyes
2. She Don’t Believe In Memories
3. All Love Is Pain
4. California’s Got To My Girl (ft Jon Butcher)
5. Clean Cut Kid
6. Sat-O-Lite
7. Let me learn To Let It Go
8. Eyes Of The World (ft Scott Lawson Pomeroy)
9. Think For Yourself
10. Where’s The New Rock & Roll
11. A Song For Mark Easton

Added: August 24th 2022
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Tom Guerra online
Hits: 852
Language: english

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