Ace Andres  CD  “Cowboy Hat Blues” 

An Ace Review … Ace Rocks Hard

Don’t let the cowboy part fool you, there ain’t no country anything on this here CD. It’s all straight ahead
Rock'n’Roll with Blues and a couple of slower ballads to off set the frantic pace and high energy contained within.

Released in 2002 and published by Urban Camo Music it features:

Ace Andres on Guitars and Lead  / Background Vocals

Robi Bean--On Drums

Jeff Suits--On Bass   

This CD contains eleven tracks, ten of which were written by Ace himself  and number eleven “California Dreamin’” is self explanatory.

What makes Ace and his band standout are the four things we look for in good music:

 Passion

 Energy

 Honesty

 Talent

What a novel idea to have the title track of a CD in the number one position, as most CD’s by other artists seem to place the title track in the middle of the pack which is nonsense, not Ace, he’s right up front and honest about what he’s doing. 

Tracks:

Kicks off  the CD and sets the pace for what’s to follow. The lyrics indicate he wants to be left alone and he’s down to the bone but the message is clear: don’t write him off or sell him cheap because he’s a survivor. Nice high energy rocker.

Another good rocker with great guitar work and vocals. The rhythm section is behind him all the way and together it’s as good as SRV’s  “When the House is a Rockin’”…in my opinion.

This song reminds me of Bryan Adams meets The Cars with the class of Tom Petty’s first album added to the mix. Don’t let the name dropping confuse you, it’s a nice song and works well for Ace the band. Nice to see the influence of other bands coming through, it shows respect through fun.

           This is one of my favorites, I always look forward to this one. Once again this is where Ace lets
           loose and lets his talent fly. He is free and easy on this song and from the opening riff on it’s all
           out in the open. The story of---“he’s got a real bad woman” and that can’t be good, but then again
           he’s back every payday! The story might be familiar  but trust me the music will rock your socks
           off, it never lets up…and that feels good.

Kind of like track three but I can’t put my finger on exactly where the influence comes from on this one, sounds more pop than rock.

“born in the delta raised up on Mississippi mud I got that Bayou Rhythm” another favorite  that I can’t get enough of, incredible playing and vocals.

Yes, it’s slow blues folks but screaming guitar work by Ace and an emotional backing beat from Robi and Jeff. If you don’t like blues you’ll change your mind after hearing this.

“I’m in love with a beautiful woman but…” Doctor John can help you. This song will stick in your head long after the CD is over, performed live it would make a great twelve minute (or longer) song. Doctor John “took my great, great grand-ma and made her look twenty nine years old” Great song-play it again and again.

OK Ace I give up, why wasn’t the title of this CD called  “Playing to Win”  instead of  “Cowboy Hat Blues”?   “Playing to Win” is in a class all by itself, as it is the only jazz influenced song on this collection and shows the real talent that Ace has. He shows total control of guitar and vocals, it is a moving, swinging yet calm and refreshing piece of work. I feel safe in saying it just may be the best track on the entire CD, as there will be no one who won’t like this song.

Yep, that says it all boys, love lost but who cares anyways, it just may be a good thing she’s gone “I’ve been to hell and back and now I’m free” … “don’t need a woman trying to run my life, no drill instructor  pretending to be my wife” you know the deal and this song goes for the throat, “no one to cry, fuss and fight and stop me from the game on Monday Night! This song is (in my opinion) the updated version of the Ten Years After song called “Woman Trouble” and as such deserves some kind of special recognition and attention. Great job Ace.

No surprise to hear a California Man choosing this song to end the CD with. Home is where the heart is and Ace is right at home with this fairly new CD release. Ace says “ Extra Special Thanks” to his family Corrine, Kyle and Chris, that says a lot.  Ace puts his special touch on this and every song.  

Production on this Recording, from my point of view as a fan:

Part of what makes this music so enjoyable is the sound that blast from the speakers and through my headphones. It’s slick and well produced in some places, clean and pure in others and downright raw in many spots. You can hear the guitar and vocals being increased in some areas, but at the right time and with the right effect but most of all for the right reasons.

What is gained by doing this is you become part of the recording process as a listener and as such become more involved with what Ace is trying to get across.

I don’t consider these little warts as anything negative, in fact the reverse is true, it becomes important parts of the whole effort. There’s nothing worse than over produced music, this ain’t classical music or Gentle Giant or Genesis, we’re talking hot and sweaty get down  Rock N’Roll here people so  if you’re looking for sanitized Rock Fluff your looking in the wrong place because Ace only knows how to “Rock Hard”!   

Review by Dave & Brigitte