CD Review – ‘Goodbye Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – Derek Hoke
14 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on CD Review – ‘Goodbye Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – Derek Hoke
‘Goodbye Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – Derek Hoke (Electric Western Records, 2010)
This disc has been around for a while, but only now got a full release, and I had heard very good things about it but just couldn’t get around to giving it a listen. My mistake. Right at the start of ‘Goodbye Rock ‘n’ Roll’, in the title track, Derek Hoke bids farewell to the loud guitars of rock ‘n’ roll in favor of country music. What follows is an absolute gem of a song collection.
Derek was introduced to country music by his grandfather and it shows; he is a bit of an atavism in country. There are no big guitars here, no dramatic string sections. There are just enough instruments, and never too many, which really let the songs breathe.
As you would expect from a country record, love is the main theme. More specifically, the songs concern themself with love that went wrong. The only exception is the appropriately titled ‘Sweet Pea’, a lovely duet with Jen Duke.
From the guy who gives a love pep-talk (‘Hot on the Heels of Love’) to the guy who doesn’t know how to express his feelings (‘Still Waiting’) to the guy for whom some realizations come to late (‘I Think I really Love You’), the characters in Derek’s songs are incredibly likeable. It makes for a very enjoyable listening experience indeed!
With not one weak track it is also impossible to single out the stand-outs. This album needs to be enjoyed in its entirety, over and over again.
‘Goodbye Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is an immensely strong debut for Derek Hoke and we will definitely be keeping an eye on his career.
Disclosure of material connection for this review.
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Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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