Storyteller Michael Allen Releases New Album
Michael Allen is a storyteller, not just a singer-songwriter per say, as this country-Americana artist has an illustrious career in music and engineering that spans the genres dating back to the 60s, and considers himself a product of the foundations of the past.
On his new album Come Along For The Ride, Allen brings together elements of faith-oriented topics, along with good old-fashioned country, rock and even some southern influenced church music, not to mention some slightly bluesy instrumentation and second to none engineering. With a measurable back catalog behind him, Allen finds himself grounded in the present and future on this release with three singles and a fourth to come, brings his music career full circle with a statement of love and sentiments of caution, and most of all a positive sense of the cerebral in times of uncertainty.
URL: https://musicbymichaelallen.com/
“Should’a Would’a Could’a” gets things out of the way with one of the most positive and uplifting cuts on the disc, and I say that because I keep returning to this track the most, since giving the entire bunch of songs their due and picking back through them for favorites. Opening the record with it shows attention to detail in the track sequencing, which goes to show off another skill of Allen’s in the areas of producing and arranging. “The Maker Of A Man” is next, with some contrasting factors that take things in another direction, but it’s no fork in the road, because Allen is a brilliant songwriter. “Life In The Slow Lane” is where more of that brilliance comes through with a sense of humor in tow. It’s like Don Henley needed to change gears and this song is what came out of it.
“Come Along For The Ride” serves as the title cut, and it’s shaping up to be another favorite cut of mine, without a doubt whatsoever. It certainly stands out as a highlight on the record, with Allen crooning away in one of his finest moments on the disc. “She Used To Laugh” and “Eyes For You Alone” provide a turn of different moods, both recommended for that and how well they hold the thread together, with the latter’s Spanish guitar and percussion. “Set You Free’ is what they do next, after totally peaking on the three previous cuts. “Set You Free” is one of the more relaxing and enjoying points of the disc, because it just bubbles along with the best of ’em.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/come-along-for-the-ride/6822039568
“Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore” is another one of the selected singles on Come Along For The Ride, and it’s also one of the deepest cuts in the lyric department, leaving it colder than most of the songs on the disc. “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Future” is where the record meets with the most energy and exuberance, making it my overall favorite cut on the disc, inspiring me to hear more from Allen’s catalog. But it doesn’t stop there, as Allen comes back to finish with the sensational “I Don’t Feel At Home In My Heart” getting in the wise last word from this veteran songwriter, makes you only want to do one thing, and that is combing back over the whole record.
Cleopatra Patel