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The Great Divide Remain |
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Track List
1. Fly On 2. Lost In The Night 3. Remain 4. Gypsy Steel 5. Other Side Of Midnight 6. Bummin' Around 7. Moon Is Almost Full 8. If You Want It That Much 9. Mary Hold On 10. If Not For You |
(Self-Release) In the label conscience
music industry, the Oklahoma based band, The Great Divide, has always
been more concerned with making music they believed in, their way,
than into what "category" it would fall. Americana, alt-country, roots
rock, outlaw, country-rock...at one point or another, their music fits
comfortably into any and all of those labels. While their core sound
is rooted in country, their songs reflect a wide range of influences,
from the blue collar roots rock of Springsteen and Mellencamp, to the
down-home country earthiness of Guy Clark and Steve Earle. It's been
10 years since they started out, taking the tough road for a new band
just starting out- they refused to play Top 40 covers, and insisted on
playing their own original songs. They never once wavered in their
commitment to their music, confident that one day the country market
would accept their brand of powerful, heartfelt lyrics mixed with
their unique brand of country-rock.
They've had their ups and downs. Their
first two albums were self-releases, produced by Lloyd Maines, and
sold very well for a band that had little airplay and who's albums
weren't nationally distributed. After opening a show in Stillwater for
Chris LeDoux, copies of their second album, Break In The Storm,
fell into the hands of Chris' son Clay. From there the album
wound up in the hands of a Nebraska DJ, who was so impressed, he put
their album into heavy rotation, and the song "Never Could" broke out.
This caught the attention of Atlantic records, who signed them, and
reissued Break In The Storm on the Atlantic label. They
followed that up in 1999 with Revolutions, on which The Great
Divide seemed to have found their stride. Unfortunately, because their
music proved too substantial for the 3 minute flyweight, pop
confections country radio favors, and their sound was too country for
rock stations, therefore having no "promotional outlet," a commercial
breakthrough never materialized, and they parted with Atlantic. They
moved to the smaller Broken Bow label, where they released the
outstanding Afterglow: The Will Rogers Sessions in 2000, and Spirit
& Dirt, a Gospel album that featured guest spots by their fellow
red dirtmen, Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Jason Boland, Cross Canadian
Ragweed and The Red Dirt Rangers, in 2001.
However, The Great Divide's 6th album,
Remain, finds them going back to the "self-release" route. After
10 years together, The Great Divide still has all it's original
members, Mike McClure on lead vocals and lead electric and acoustic
guitars (and is the band's primary songwriter), the Lester
brothers- Scottie on electric and acoustic rhythm guitars and vocals,
and J.J. on drums and percussion, and Kelley Green on bass. They felt
they needed more freedom than a record label would allow, to let them
more closely capture the sound of what their fans hear when they
perform live...that of a four piece band. Additional musical support
is kept to a minimum on Remain, as it is live. Supporting
players this time out are Dan Dugmore on steel guitar and dobro, Joe
Spivey on mandolin, Chris Leuzinger on slide, electric, and acoustic
guitars, Tony Harrell on pianos, organ, accordion and synthesizer, and
Perry Coleman on additional vocals.
The result is a less layered, more
stripped down sound, that makes Remain The Great Divide's
strongest release to date. Remain rocks a little harder in
spots than their previous releases, but overall, the music is still
decidedly, deeply rooted in country. Mike's McClure's songs tend to be
mostly on the positive side, many times touching on the
spiritual, however, he's a strong writer who conveys his messages with
intelligent lyrics that avoid sappy sentimentality or clichés, and he
tempers them with edgier, though still catchy melodies, which
he delivers with gritty vocals.
Remain runs the gamut with hard
driving country-rockers like "Gypsy Steel," and "Fly On." "Bummin'
Around" has a country-yet-bluesy, soulful Van Morrison feel to it.
"Lost In The Night" is a breezy, mid-tempo, Tex-Mex inflected song,
about relaxing and enjoying the weekend after a long hard week of
work. The passionate delivery of "Mary Hold On," and the straight up,
mid-tempo country-rocker "If Not For You," reflect different aspects
of relationships, the years of couples sticking out all the tough
times together, and ultimately, making things work. The strong title
track, "Remain" touches on spirituality, about the highs and lows that
you experience in making your way through life. The outstanding
western influenced "If You Want That Much," conveys the desperation of
addictions. The strongest song on the disc is the poignant
ballad, "The Other Side Of Midnight," about a woman's
complete disillusionment with love, that Mike delivers with maximum
heartbreaking ache. Remain closes out with an untitled
track, where the boys have a bit of fun, in a song about the good old
days, that strings the song titles of classic rock songs together, and
includes some nice slide guitar work.
Remain continues to show that The
Great Divide are much more interested in making good music, and remain
committed to that, rather than compromising themselves and their
music to achieve widespread commercial success. They seem to be a rare
breed that would rather have a smaller, but loyal fan base that
truly appreciate their music and what they're doing, than to appeal to
a broader audience that will be here today and gone tomorrow. Not only
does that show a great loyalty to their fans, but it's the mark
of musicians who are in the business, making their music for all the
right reasons.
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AnnMarie
Harrington
Take Country Back November 2002