MARTIN ZELLAR & THE HARDWAYS

Roosters Crow

2012-02-24

Martin Zellar had a brief brush with rock fame 20-some years ago as the leader of the Gear Daddies and is best known for penning the novelty tune "I Wanna Drive the Zamboni." After a ten-year hiatus from recording (and a move with his family to Mexico), Zellar returns with a very solid set of folk-rock songs. There's some semblances of early Steve Earle in these tunes, but everything here is original and well-crafted. Kelly Willis assists with harmony vocals on "Poison" and "Pure Fear" (that song starts quietly and then revs up the guitars and vocals; Terri Hendrix does the same on the title track and "I'm That Problem." Other standout performances come from Billy Bright (mandolin on "Wore Me Down") and he pedal steel of Lloyd Maines on "Seven Shades of Blue." There a couple of very catchy--almost pop--tunes on this disc: check out "I'm That Problem" and "It Works for Me" (except you can't play "Works" because of one ill-placed word. Anyway, welcome back, Martin, nice to have you back. 02/12 Michael J. F-Rock NO PLAY: #5 and #11.

Quick Links:

• Martin's homepage
• Recent interview with Zellar