Five O' One Nine
Kevan Keeler
•
February 2, 2015

You don't have to be a musical connoisseur to know what has influenced the entire creative process of KEVAN KEELER's debut album "Five O' One Nine". The man was born in the 60's and grew up with bands who in turn influenced most of the music we listen to today, and all of them had their feet placed firmly in the genre we now refer to as Classic Rock. They weren't afraid to use pianos and keyboards in case they were mislabeled, and they crammed as many solos into their songs as humanly possible, and both of these characteristics are present and correct in this release, for the good of all.
The album opens with two dueling guitars performing a solo, immediately making their presence and intention known: "we are guitars; hear us roar." All in all, "Wrong Side Of The Tracks" contains three or four solos in total, kicking the album off to a great start. From then on each track is fairly unique; "Crazy Kid" incorporates female backing singers, harkening back to the 70's, while "Conspiracy" leaves a not-so-subtle opinion at the end of the track with an audio clip of Neil Armstrong's famous quote beginning "that's one small step for man..."
A few tracks play around with the sound of the piano, while others adopt an acoustic guitar for short sections. Keyboards are brought in frequently for the funkier parts, and the drums constantly change tempo and technique; the impression is felt throughout the whole album that this is something KEELER has wanted to create for quite some time, and he wants to incorporate as much into it as possible with plenty of room for experimentation.
The hardest, edgiest track is probably "Turn It Off!", which fades in slowly with a blinding solo and maintains the attitude throughout, making it a standout, particularly for fans of harder Rock genres. "Flakes" is one of the more unique tracks, making heavy use of keyboard and slower tempos to bear a striking similarity to Jazz and Blues.
It's easy to see this album resonating strongest with older listeners or other fans of old-school Rock, simply due to its creator's familiarity with that area of music and its presence in this release. It does what it chooses to extremely well, and it's hard not to be charmed by its soul and intentions. If you don't enjoy this, your dad will.
10 / 10
Masterpiece

"Five O' One Nine" Track-listing:
1. Wrong Side Of The Tracks
2. Crazy Kid
3. Conspiracy
4. Rockin' Rollin' Man
5. It's The Singer Not The Song
6. Black Cat Bone
7. Easy Way Out
8. Turn It Off!
9. She Dropped Da' Bomb
10. Paradise Lost
11. Flakes
Kevan Keeler Lineup:
Kevan Keeler - Vocals, Drums
Greg Bisonette - Unknown
Matt Bisonette - Unknown
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