countryreview

The Ranchhands: Back Home (2004)
(Farmers Market Music)

I remember in 2002 raving about these guys. In fact their debut disc, The Ranchhands, made it onto my top ten for that year. Well, the good news is, despite some serious lineup changes, the band is back with their new release, Back Home. And it kicks.

Mickey Kennedy has replaced Jamey Garner as lead vocalist, as Garner decided to chase a shot on Nashville Star. Chris Tedesco, the fiddle force on the band’s debut is still out front, driving these ten crafted and mostly self-written tracks.

With Tedesco’s lyrical skill again on show and now partnered with the down-home ease of Kennedy’s vocals, not forgetting band mates – bass guitar and vocals Justin Hosek, pedal steel guitar and banjo Skip Krevens, and drummer Chris Benelli – these guys impress. After some lengthy overseas and local touring, fingers crossed, this album, like their debut should have, may just be the breakthrough.

Tracks like the fiddle-led and made-for-dancing "Country My Way," a tale of determination based on a strong personal creed, weaves the needed opening magic. From there, the band comes through, carried with good to better songs, lean and pleasing vocals, bedded down on some tight instrumentation.

Watch and wait on these guys, as they have the needed muscle to deliver. While fame finds them, listen out for "A Thousand Miles Away," "Back Where I Belong," the hard-thumped "She Said," and the equally exciting "Anything She Wants," as well as the infectious Saturday anthem, "Honky Tonk Place To Be". They are all worthy radio singles.

Written by George Peden of countryreview.com