American Mile – American Dream
American Mile may be from L.A., but they have a hefty dose of Southern Rock viability. Each member of the band contributes vocals, which is impressive. Their performance level cooks with gas. Their look is somewhat cliché, but that’s to be expected. There’s a .38 Special, Blackfoot, Black Oak Arkansas, Marshall Tucker Band & the Allman Brothers Band fusion that bounces from track to track & permeates their drive. That’s fine. They play the role their music demands & from what I can hear, they’re not posers. Oh, no.
The 9-track American Dream (Drops June 6/Independent/34:59) was produced by Grammy-nominated Bruce Witkin & Keith Nelson. With the fiery “Get Up & Fly,” the band shows its teeth. It does lack certain Southern traditions, but it makes up for it with gutsiness. This is not the classic Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” or “Jessica.” Not the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Take the Highway,” or “Can’t You See.” It’s trudging through a muddier field of .38 Special & Blackfoot with its incendiary approach. Pull the cork on that Tennessee mash.
“Photograph of You” is closer to a traditional Capricorn Records ideal. It has a nice melody, a catchy tune with leaden chords doing heavy lifting throughout. This is worth its weight in vinyl & barbecue. The guitars jingle-jangle with just enough authority.
Their foray into Allman territory comes with the light-hearted “Waiting On a Sunday” & while lead vocalist Eugene Rice (electric & acoustic guitars/percussion) doesn’t have the richness of either Gregg Allman or Doug Gray vocally, he does have a nice way with a lyric & he’s convincing.
“American Dream” is a jaunty piece that reminds me of songs by The Rockets (“Desire”) & Hooters’ (“Big American Car”) with similar vocal accentuations. It’s an exciting song played quite well. Coming back with a chunkier, bluesy, psychedelic, frenetic quality is the more L.A.-infused “Wiggle For Me.” Effective.
“Straight From the Heartland” is a wonderfully performed number. Their unified vocals shine on songs like this. The band is well-rehearsed & diversified within their chosen genre.
Criticism? Poor CD artwork. The credits were hard to read. The LP title & band name logos are not rendered as artistically as Roger Dean’s classic LP covers or The Grateful Dead. The artwork needs to reflect the music. “American Mile” – so much could’ve been done with those words. This should have a more earth tone & pastel colors to reflect the Southern Rock/Country aesthetic.
Highlights – “Get Up & Fly,” “Photograph of You,” “Waiting On a Sunday,” “American Dream,” “Wiggle For Me,” & “Straight From the Heartland.”
Musicians – Joe Perez (lead, acoustic & slide guitar/vocals), Dezmond Saunders (bass/vocals) & Colton Miller (drums/glockenspiel/vocals) with Pat Lyons (pedal steel & baritone guitar), Mark Brown (organ/clavinet/piano/bgv), Mario De Leva (bass), Winston Watson & Lee Piatelli (drums).
Color image courtesy of the band’s website. CD @ https://www.americanmilemusic.com/
