Listen Online – Rich Lerner & The Groove

“Visions of folk hootenanies on Bleeker St in Greenwich Village dance in my head when I hear this album…plenty of heart and soul”

“socially conscious Iyrics and rural/folksy blues approach…there’s a certain Dylan like quality about Lerner’s vocal style”

“…tradition minded rock and roll ala Tom Petty…Lerner writes unabashedly melodic pop-rock with intelligent, thoughfful Iyrics…Lerner’s vocals are reminiscent of The Band’s Rick Danko”

“…from the heart lyrics which give insight to the human condition…highly recommended”

“Rich Lerner and his band have a certain Tom Petty ring to their work…They do it well…Several songs here could beat many of McGuinn’s”

About the CD  Sampler
“4 tracks from each of 3 of Rich’s albums for Rockduster show that he’s obviously spent a lot of time listening to Neil Young, especially the electric material. There’s plenty of echoes of tracks like “Cortez” on here but only echoes, and there’s an acoustic side too reflecting a love of Petty and Dylan, the latter confirmed by his 1995 release dedicated to Bob. But don’t think this is a poor facsimile of the greats. In fact, it’s good quality originals in a strong traditional style.

“utterly unexpected…a very rewarding listen for those keen on Dylan covers”

Dylan Cover Album: Rich Lerner and The Groove: A Review

Rich Lerner’s new CD, Cover Down, features terrific cover versions of 11 Dylan tunes. It’s an eclectic collection, featuring familiar pieces like Forever Young and Simple Twist of Fate, and underappreciated gems like Covenant Woman.

The band is terrific. Think MTV Unplugged. Gorgeously recorded acoustic instruments. Guitars are crisp and clean. Bassist Dave Talley really shines throughout, his liquid and slippery basslines opening up songs in ways Brother Bob probably never dreamed. (Talley’s work on the CD is topnotch.)

The greatest strength of the album might be how Lerner and the backing band (The Groove) have re-imagined these tunes. The arrangements are familiar, but not too familiar. In fact when they stretch the tunes furthest is when they’re most successful, like in their version of Changing of the Guard. (Think Tom Waits meets the Chieftains.)

There are neat touches throughout, Sammy Smith’s tender work in Simple Twist of Fate, and piano flourishes by Jason Flegel in Every Grain of Sand. Drummer Sam Seawell patters out a neat double-time feel on Love Minus Zero, working against the progression of the guitars; yet, it fits!

I imagine Bob would be pleased with these results. Lerner’s phrasing, like his arranging, reinvent the songs, shining light on the tunes in completely different ways.

The CD can be ordered at Lerner’s website, For a Dylan fan, this CD is a revelation. To hear Bob’s work stripped apart and then re-invigorated is always thrilling.

The artwork and design are first rate. Lerner writes to us on the back of the CD: “A good cover version…has to walk a thin line, expanding the dimensions of the song witout betraying the essence.” I’d say he’s done that and more.

“Unreservedly recommended…and the tape of Dylan covers is one of the best I’ve heard”

“…excellent Dylan covers…Lerner’s original music is easily as good as anything John Hiatt has done…High Praise”

“Inspired songwriting…Lerner sings with sincere emotion”

Vanishing Moon – Perseverance. Authenticity. Love of music.

Joy in the opportunity to speak through music. These outstanding qualities characterize The Groove of Greensboro, North Carolina, and have come together to create their terrific, even astonishing, new 2004 album, Vanishing Moon. V. Moon sounds like exactly what it is: five lifetimes of listening to and making good music blended and meshed together under the leadership of a visionary songwriter and singer/front man (Rich Lerner) with a charge of inexplicably youthful energy that successfully gets across where we, the band, and you, the listeners, are, and how we feel about it, right now.

“From the perfect opening track (as though they were saying/echoing ‘Allow us please to introduce ourselves…’) of ‘Who Would Believe It?’ through the anchoring proclamation of identity, ‘Strength of the Will,’ through the haunting, thematic title track, up to the marvelous instrumental summary of it all, ‘It’s Not the Same,’ these five players/singers and their friends speak in the voices of many musics past and deliver a new musical voice to express the present moment so clearly and confidently it seems almost too good to be true and to be coming out of nowhere into our hungry ears today.”