Sometimes setting aside the time to listen to an album is tough. My poor kids hear more music being chauffeured around town then they probably deserve but driving from here to there is often all the time the day allows. When Dean McTaggart’s album arrived in the mail my first impression was that the cover art did not implore listening.
      Music is emotion; so the first few spins are just trying to get an inkling of where this collection of songs is coming from. I really enjoyed listening to Shed My Skin. McTaggart’s music is founded with very good song writing, high brow playing, and a rockin’ groove that all benefit from excellent arrangements. More soulful rock with a gospel touch McTaggart exists where the blues meets country with just that extra touch of soul. The wide variety of styles and the multitude of textures may initially scare off the average listener but think about a rocking Lyle Lovett and you’ll get it quickly. Dean McTaggart is an established Canadian artist that has written numerous hit for established country artists such as Wynonna Judd, Terri Clark, and Anne Murray among others.
      Driving down the road, with the stereo blaring, the zydeco beat of “Clear As Mud” got an immediate, “Dad, play that again!” from the backseat. Hmm, that’s an interesting response me thinks. Swinging like a Lyle Lovett church tune meets Delaney & Bonnie’s thick muddle, McTaggert’s slide guitar solo is crisp and short.
      The fifth track on the album, “Crazy Enough” has a strong Exile on Main Street sound with McTaggert blending vocal lines with Susie Vinnicks and Ricki Lee Jones. Yeah, McTaggert is not the cocky swashbuckler that Mick Jagger is but the thick organ leads and fuzzy guitar harkens to the pop-gospel stylings of Sweet Black Angel.
      By the time the eighth track on the album comes up the sound is comfortable and familiar. Once again, “Dad, play it again!” You know there’s something amiss when you and the kids are diggin’ the same tunes. “Done Deal” has a swagger and swing that sets up Vinnick’s vocals to be a perfect foil to this well written track. To his fans this album is obvious, to the rest of us; it’s a diamond waiting to be discovered.
                                                                     -Reviewed by:  Rick Galusha

To send your CD to Rick to be reviewed for Roots Music Report mail to:
12005 North 34th Avenue
Omaha, NE 68112