Denver – The Way It Is
Denver – Reno
[P]ortland, Oregon’s journeymen rockers Denver are a collection of talented musicians from all over the country rock landscape and includes members of Blitzen Trapper, when they aren’t busy with their albums or tour schedule. Released in August, the self-titled, wonderfully southern album contains music that sounds as if it were lovingly put together by best friends with many stories to tell and makes you want to kick-back on the porch with your dog and a cold beer to listen to them all.
From the album’s opening number “Toledo,” to the mournful sound of the closing track “Ridin’ Alone (San Antone),” the listener experiences the full gambit of rock-tinged country songs written with the right amount of whiskey and blues. The track “Ballroom Slip-Cut” is a barn-burning, boot-scoot of a song that makes you want to swing your best gal around the floor and make all the other fellas jealous. For the moment you and your best gal no longer see eye-to-eye there’s the sorrowful number “Reno,” a song about messing up and hitting the road to make amends. One of my favorite songs on the album is “The Way It Is,” featuring fantastic harmonies blending perfectly with the ever-present slide-guitar and one-two kick of the rhythm section. Every track on Denver’s debut album would be well received if played in front of cowboys or college students, and it takes a band full of well-traveled souls to pull off such a task.
For a band from the Northwest, Denver certainly has the Southwest pulsating through the heart of the group. Everyone in the band put their skills on the table to make this album, and they have created songs worthy of raising a toast with your finest bourbon.
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