Country-influenced Rock: John Coinman's Songs from the Modern West

Here are all of the artists that come to mind while listening to John Coinman’s Songs from the Modern West: Warren Zevon, Ralston Bowles, Tom Gillam, Chris Rhea, Greg Brown, Neil Young, Rodney Crowell, the Silos, and J.J. Cale.

It’s not that Coinman’s exactly like any one of these artists. Instead, whatever sounds, power, and emotion those artists can evoke are all wrapped in what I hear in Coinman’s music—Country-influenced Rock of the singer-songwriter, folky, bluesy kind.

Coinman’s got a clear-toned voice that speaks of the grit, grime, grease, and grists of the Country music mill. He can paint a beautiful desert picture, reveal a dark story, get the blues out of the notes, and hit that sing-a-long style.

Teddy Morgan, cowriter on three songs, adds barroom electric guitar that can also scale back to be like Bo Ramsey to Greg Brown, a guitarist punctuating a singer-songwriter’s poetry. Neil Harry’s pedal steel guitar comes along to help with this as well. Kicking up the dust in rhythmic clouds are the drums of Larry Cobb, such as on “Once This was the Promise Land.”

“Promise Land” comes in a line of Country songs (James McMurtry, Eliza Gilyckson, Matt Angus) that dare question the good ol’ Texan boy now living on Pennsylvania Avenue. At times, Coinman’s rocking protests could be talking about the Great Depression, but there’s a reason Coinman called the album Songs from the Modern West: it’s a modern Grapes of Wrath of economic harsh realities facing those living this empire.

Free CD!
Due to the generosity of Red Haired Girl Publicity, there’s one free copy of Coinman’s CD, along with some other discs, that can be yours—without paying for postage. Liz Winchester (the Red Haired Girl) sent some stamp money! Email me now (see contact info) to get the CD.

Thank you to the John Coinman and Corazong Records for the review copy.