garybonnett.com

Home

Reviews

Caliente Review on the GBB

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Caliente Review on the GBB!!

National nods for Tucson country boy

05/19/2009 08:30 AM
Cathalena E. Burch

Country Weekly magazine last week gave West Virginia-raised, Tucson-blessed country singer Gary Bonnett three and a half stars for his new disc “The Long Road Home.” Personally, I give it four full stars.

Bonnett opens the disc with a spirited cover of Denton King’s Appalachian romp “West Virginians Are Coming Home.” The song is a delicious contrast to where Bonnett is now, seeped in what he terms red dirt country, a hybrid of Texas and contemporary country with strong recollections of an almost bluegrassy-hillbilly attitude. This guy appreciates fiddles, mandolins, steel and acoustic guitars wrapped around a solid storyline.

Highlights on the disc include his homecoming travelogue “Rock Cave” and the delightful piano-centered uptempo ballad “Amy’s Song.” The fiddle-fangled “Hillbilly Way” references 1970s Eagles while “San Saba River” has a soaring soundtrack.

Bonnett balances a hell-raising spirit of “$50 and a Flask of Crown” with touching declarations of love including the standout ballad “Without You” and the uptempo gospel-inclined “I’m A Christian.”

One of my personal favorites is the gig-hopping lament of “One More Day,” which is part pity party about the string of one-night-stands, both in the love sense and career sense, and part encouragement, seeing the light at the end and the reward of carrying on one more day.

On “The Long Road Home,” Bonnett introduces himself with such authority it makes you wonder not if Nashville and the rest of the world will take notice, but when.

You can catch Bonnett live at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Park Place mall as part of the mall’s live music series. On Friday, he’s gigging at Montgomery’s Grill and Saloon in Vail. His scheduleincludes a number of Tucson shows in coming weeks before he heads home for a string of West Virginia and Florida dates in mid-July.