Gary Douglas is a singer/songwriter who grew up on the streets of Brooklyn steeped in the music of Americana, blues and rock n’ roll. This kind of raw, passionate music resonated much more strongly with him than the commercial pop he was exposed to. After playing in college bands, the need to make a living meant he became a lawyer, though a rather heroic one, defending the ‘little guy’ against the corruption of large organizations.
Eventually, his deep love of music came to the fore and he formed The Gary Douglas Band with a crew of gifted musicians and backing vocalists. They have been busy recording their debut album Deep In The Water and this song, River Road, is the first to be released from it. Musically, it embodies the spirit of rock n’ roll, with the anthemic qualities of The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and the more recent music of The Killers.
Douglas has the most important aspect for this style of music, an authentic and strong rock voice. He gives a gritty, impassioned performance on this track which has the same charging rhythmic energy as Springsteen’s classic outsider anthem Born To Run. Like Bruce, Gary Douglas has a deep empathy for the working man and writes from this perspective: “Can’t afford the rent no more, they took away our car, the job I got is just minimum wage and on that you can’t go far…”. I particularly loved how the female backing singers gave this song a soul/gospel vibe, especially at the end.
Overall, this is a high quality piece of songwriting and old school storytelling that keeps the flame of rock n’ roll alive. Gary Douglas and his cohorts kick up a musical storm that recalls the finest moments of Springsteen and acolytes of that artist will adore this band. Having already amassed a huge fanbase on social media, their forthcoming album (produced by Niko Bolas of Neil Young fame) should ensure their music reaches and entertains many more discerning ears.
VERDICT: 8.4 out of 10
Alex Faulkner
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