Kai Crowe-Getty – The Wreckage
This is Kai’s debut solo album since spending more than a decade in front of a Virginia-based rock band known as Lord Nelson. This time out, the songs are more personal, more troubadour-like than simply a lead singer. Kai layers his songs with warm melodies & in a country sense, dreamy pedal steel guitar notes that lay it on heavy with the poignancy in “The Wreckage.” Well done.
10 pieces survived The Wreckage (Drops June 27/Independent/42:20) & they together make up a good reason to listen. The songs are fairly light-hearted with little showboating vocals or instrumental prowess. They are as they should be. Good, well-constructed songs not whittled together but sculpted carefully. “Heavy As Heaven” is well done, but that little addition of a backup singer paralleling Kai’s voice enhances its depth. This is one of Kai’s best.
Then there’s a pleasant old-fashioned country tune “Ghost Country” with a guitar sound of oldies like “Ghost Riders In the Sky” & tunes of that vintage. Nice touch. Followed by a slow melodic ballad in “Dancing On a Razor’s Edge,” with its compelling lyric & thudding beat. Kai’s voice isn’t totally convincing as a country-oriented voice, but he has a good feel for these types of melodies. He is at least satisfying as a singer with potent tunes. What he needs is a little more character in his tonality. This is why people like Willie Nelson, George Jones & Waylon Jennings were giants.
So, if a listener is looking for an entertaining, well-heeled singer with carefully crafted songs, Kai Crowe-Getty will satisfy that appetite. “No One Breaks A Heart Like You” is excellent. It’s not compelling stuff, or original & heavy in the way Bob Dylan, Townes van Zandt, John Prine & John Hiatt are – but he has the vocals to be a convincing troubadour. I like him. The more intense stuff may come later after he’s lived a few more years & experienced more inspiring, if not challenging, times.
Kai brings everything to a conclusion with the rockiest tune. He saves the best for the last. “Whole Damn World,” is like something Marc Cohn (“Silver Thunderbird”) would unleash. It’s a driving, assertive tune with lots of fuel.
Highlights – “Ghost Country,” “Dancing On a Razor’s Edge,” “The Wreckage,” “Brass Angels,” “Heavy As Heaven,” “No One Breaks A Heart Like You,” & “Whole Damn World.”
Musicians – Kai Crowe-Getty, Robert Word, Adam Long, Johnny Stubblefield, Andrew Hollifield, Sam Wilson, Gabe Raben, Evan Hunsberger, Genna Matthew, Alex Angelich, Koda Kerl, Marie Borgman & Casey Wayne McAllister.
Color image courtesy of Kai’s website. CD @ Amazon & https://kaicrowegetty.com/home