Stephen Lear is a young (25) guitarist/vocalist making his way into the music biz. Generally speaking, he does “blues rock,” but he’s quick to add that he and his crew do “rock, old school, hard rock, a little of everything.” He isn’t imitating anybody. He’s taking his influences (Stevie Ray, Hendrix, Redding, Fogerty and others) and rolling them into an original sound. If you like guitar-based rock, you’re gonna love “Where You Been, Babe?”
The title track is what I’d call medium-tempo old-school blues. Stephen’s vocals are powerful and heartfelt, no imitation there. And there are two soaring guitar solos that make the track a beauty. Yeah, it’s a blues song, but rockers will love the solos.
“45,” the very next track, is a hard rock song that could be played on KBPI (or other rock stations). It’s explosive. If you’re old enough to remember Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic,” this is similar. Not a copy, but similar.
“Harp” has shades of Lenny Kravitz, Hendrix and Trower. Nobody plays Lenny Kravitz-style stuff anymore, so that’s why I think this would’ve been a good promo to radio stations. But they didn’t ask me. “Your Piece of My Heart” is my personal favorite. You can hear the Stevie Ray Vaughan influence, but once folks begin playing this tune, they’ll have to say “I hear a Stephen Lear guitar in there.” Enjoyable stuff.
As for the John Fogerty influence, Stephen and band include a scorching version of “Proud Mary” on the album. FYI: when you’re on the way up in the music business, club owners don’t want you to do originals; they want covers. My guess is that Stephen and the guys/gals in his band did this cover over and over. The remarkable thing is that they made it their own, so good job.
“Feeling of Time” is a sad, bluesy song with wailing slide guitar. Along with Stephen’s vocals, the song is very emotional. The speakers in my living room were crying crocodile tears (just joking, of course), but this is a terrific song.
These folks switch things up and play a lot of styles, though. “On My Way” is a fast, old-time rocker, the kind that Tom Petty or INXS would play. Despite the speed, the notes are clean and sharp. “Another Day of Lovin’ You,” a southern rock/soul piece with horn flourishes, was also done with skill and emotion.
That brings us to the song released as the “single,” their most promoted track, “Queen City.” Lear grew up in Cincinnati, also known as “The Queen City,” so when he sings “gotta get out of the Queen City,” that’s what he’s talking about. As a side note, I lived in Cincinnati myself as a kid, so we have that in common. This song is a throbbing, Aerosmith-like track with a theme we can all relate to: escaping a bad situation. It’s okay, but there’s no great guitar solo like there is on so many of these songs.
Stephen told me he wanted better writing, better sound, better production on this CD. And he’s got it. He and the band will be performing in the area for fall shows. Be sure and catch their act!
