Peter Baylor – I Hear The Road
Preston PEP5100
Roadhouse Romeo – If That’s Not Wrong, It Must Be Right – I’ve Got Troubles On My Mind – All Night Long – Tarcutta – I’m Going To See My Baby – I Hear The Road – When Grandma Got High – Two Hearts – My Baby Was Born To Rock – Strange Boogie – Don’t Mind Me When I Cry – I’m Going To Move To The Country – Hillbilly Rhythm
If the name of Peter Baylor is not familiar to you, you have probably heard his guitar before. He played with bands like The Dancehall Racketeers, The Starliners and the Flatfoot Shakers. You can hear him on Deke Dickerson’s ep “Deke’s Down Under” recorded during his tour of Australia. This is his first album under his name but he’s playing for more than 20 years now.
The album opens with the infectious rhythm of “Roadhouse Rodeo” with amazing guitar work, and superb bass and drums. “I’ve Got Troubles On My Mind” is another uptempo hillbilly jazz tune featuring a Jimmy Bryant type of solo from Peter.
There’s also a good dose of Honky Tonk, from the rural “If That’s Not Wrong, It Must Be Right” to “Don’t Mind Me When I Cry” that could have been sung by Ray Price via the Hank Williams influenced “All Night Long”. My favourite being “Two Hearts”. But Peter can rock, the title track proves it (the rocking steel guitar on this one is amazing) as does the frantic “My Baby Was Born To Rock”. There are many more gems on this platter for you to discover, a cajun song (When Grandma Get High), tasty instrumentals (going from Les Paul / Arthur Smith to Eddie Cochran) and if that’s not enough to convince you (what else do you need?), it’s been recorded at the legendary Preston studio to get that warm and authentic sound we all love. Highly recommended.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
