A Dog or a Bicycle
RICH WHITELEY
(Blue Heart Records/richwhiteley.com)
Back in 2000, Uncle John's Band co-frontman Rich Whiteley released this beautiful batch of Deadhead-friendly originals that rank with the songs he regularly covers Thursdays at Skipper's Smokehouse. The record ranges from the laid-back fun of "Raise the Roof" to a space jam like "Stargazer" to the confessional "As I Lay Dying." Whiteley's lyrics are mature and memorable, and he's in fine voice throughout the album. Co-producer Steve Connelly is all over the disc, sweetening the tracks with electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin and bass. These days, Whiteley records and performs these originals and more with his band Earth Bombs Mars, another band I highly recommend. 4 stars. —WT
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2008.