Fear Of Flight Our Lady Of The Desert Highways CD

With a mutual interest in Americana music, I imagine there are others who will understand when I say, Americana speaks to me in the same way that rock music used to, when I was in my late teens and twenties. In conversation with others who have yet to discover this rich vein of music, I have often used the expression “rock ‘n’ roll for grown ups”, well, in spirit at least, to describe what I find Americana to be.I continue to discover more artists and buy more albums these days (courtesy of the indispensable BBC radio presenter Bob Harris) and attend even more gigs than I did thirty years ago. In fact my top ten favourite gigs of all time, is now more like top thirty. Certainly fairly recent outstanding gigs by Rod Picott Band, AJ Roach Trio, Kevin Montgomery Band, Chris Knight, Slaid Cleaves, Roger McGuinn, Peter Bruntnell, and Lucinda Williams have equalled the emotional pull, raw passion, sensitivity or killer punch of the best Jackson Browne, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Steve Earle and Bruce Springteen gigs that I’ve been lucky enough to witness several times before.So to a new album called OUR LADY OF THE DESERT HIGHWAYS. My name is Roy Swanwick, my musical influences are partly listed in the paragraph above. I have been playing and recording with Chris Cartlidge, for the last three or four years. Chris’s own musical influences are amongst others, Cliff Bruner, Michael Doucet and Hank Williams. This is our second album, although the first one under the present working name of our duo, FEAR OF FLIGHT.Eight jointly self penned songs, one solo and one cover song. Forty something minutes of the above influences, filtered through a UK affinity for all that Americana represents, which we hope you will find feels at home in this genre.Roy, vocals and guitar. Chris, banjo, fiddle, bass, guitar, backing vocals.Art, vocals (track 8).Ruth, backing vocals.I must say a few details about the guest vocalist on the album, Art Compton.Art is a senior gentleman, who is a resident of Southern Texas. In his youth he was a member of Conway Twitty’s band and I have heard him relate the stories of when they were playing The Louisianna Hayride, in the early 1950’s. Appearing on the same stages and sharing backstage antics and facilities with a young Elvis.How cool is this? Half a lifetime later and we are on the same album.Americana, I just love this music.Keep on Rockin’. Roy.