Steve Azar - 'Indianola'

Indianola Bottom Line:

This is the perfect album if you like your music with a Bluesy Rock and Roll sound. Indianola was a labor of love for Steve Azar and it turned out to be a fine collection. If you decide to purchase a copy, you should be pleased from the first listen to the hundredth. With songs like this, you'll never grow tired of this release.

Indianola marks the first time Steve Azar not only had a hand in writing or co-writing every one of the fifteen tracks, but has been hands-on as the album's producer. Let me just say that with results as amazing as this collection, things should have been this way from day one of his career. You can tell he put his heart and soul into this music and it paid off in a big way.

Instead of looking back to younger days and thinking "If only I knew back then what I know now," "You Don't Know A Thing" has more of a positive theme to it. Don't be afraid to take a few risks in life, because as the line suggests - "Ain't nothing that's worth winning if losing is not involved." Nobody would have motivation to try new things if all they ever did was win. Not only was "You Don't Know A Thing" written by Steve and Radney Foster, but "You're My Life" was also written by the pair. Being a fan of Radney's music you can certainly tell his influence on this song right along with Steve's. The two make for a great songwriting team.

"What's Wrong With Right Now" is another positive song, telling people that if you want to change some part of your life or "fill the emptiness with a smile," don't waste any time by sitting around - go out and chase your dreams. Why would you want to go around saying that someday you're going to change things, when you can start making things better right now?

The most heartfelt performance is found in "I Won't Let You Lead Me Down." If it sounds this good on an album, I can only imagine what kind of emotions would spill out during a live performance. There's a spiritual message without being preachy and it's almost like the man is saying he's had enough of going down the wrong path, so now it's time to change things for the better. He wants to prove to himself that he can do what he sets his mind to do.

If you can get past "The Coach" and his tough approaches to situations, then you can get through pretty much anything that life throws your way. There's a price to pay if his rules are broken, just like in "real life" there are consequences to bad actions. The man goes back to school to visit his old coach and catch up with him, only to find that the man is still giving the same advice and teaching the same lessons to a new crop of athletes.

There's a whole lot of delta blues groove to be found on Indianola and it starts with the aptly titled "Prelude" before diving right into "Flatlands," a song where a man talks about taking his car for a drive through "a thousand acres of cotton rows" with Gospel music on the radio. There's a long musical outro with a sound that could also be classified as southern rock. Basically it's a good mixture of blues and rock. A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Steve Azar sings "Bluestune" right along with Jason Young. The two wrote the song together and it is as Blues sounding as you can get. This is the kind of sound that really suits Steve's voice and it just fits him perfectly. A fact you'll find throughout the whole album. Another song written by Steve and Jason is "Crowded," which also has Ira Dean (of Tricky Pony fame) as another co-writer.

Two bonus tracks complete the album. "Mississippi Minute" could easily transport listeners to an impromptu jam session being held on the porch, with a group of friends getting together to have a nice time. There's even some hand clapping involved, which adds to the feeling.

"Highway 61" is the second bonus song and paints a picture of how one man's life seemed to have revolved around different stops along that Mississippi highway. He says: "It's every crossroad that I've crossed. It's where I run to when I'm lost." The stripped-down acoustic bonus songs bring a little something extra to end the album, because it gives a good contrast to the rest of the tracks which were on the heavier side of things.

Release date: May 27, 2008 - Dang Records

Track List:

1. Crowded
2. You Don't Know a Thing
3. You're My Life
4. Still Tryin' To Find My Way Around
5. Empty Spaces
6. What's Wrong With Right Now
7. The River's Workin'
8. I Won't Let You Lead Me Down
9. The Coach
10. Prelude
11. Flatlands
12. Indianola
13. Bluestune
14. Mississippi Minute
15. Highway 61