Back with a new album, hairy Southern rockers Robert Jon and the Wreck are continuing to build on an impressive live reputation that has seen them support everyone from Joe Bonamassa and Buddy Guy to Walter Trout and Black Stone Cherry. Light On The Highway is the sixth studio album from the quintet (alongside numerous Eps and live releases), and it shows them in fine form, aided by a strong mix and master courtesy of Jeff Frickman and Mike Fossenkemper respectively.
The album opens with recent single Oh Miss Carolina, a Stones-y, pop rock groove that sets the pace for the ensuing album. Backed by 504 horns, out of New Orleans, Work It Out has a classic soul vibe and builds nicely to its final, ebullient chorus. In contrast, the gritty riff of Can’t Stand It sounds like it just can’t wait to explode. It comes to life in the soulful chorus, of course, as layered harmonies come into play and everything points towards the harmonised guitar solos that run wild over the final bars. A slower blues emerges in the slide-drenched Tired Of Drinking Alone, which features some lovely guitar work, whilst the twin leads of Do You Remember tip a nod towards Thin Lizzy, although the vocals cleave closer to the likes of Creedence with their sense of longing for a careless youth and summer days long passed.
Side two kicks off with the gentle yearning of This Time Around, a song that speaks of the regret that only comes after the same mistake has been repeated many times (and is likely to continue if forgiveness is offered). Based around Warren Murrel’s throbbing bass and nailed by Andrew Espantman’s taut rhythms, it’s a strong choice for a single, even if the lead character’s promise of being “a better man this time around” rings hollow as the beer glass into which he’s staring despondently. A tougher sound emerges on the heavy-duty slide of Don’t Let Me Go, a cracking Southern rocker with plenty of guts, a sweet guitar tone and a gargantuan chorus that sees the whole band engaged in delivering the vocal. An album highlight, if you check out one track from the disc, make it this one. The pace slows on the late-night ballad, One Last Time, a track which makes good use of Steve Maggiora’s keys to add a touch of melancholy to the piece. And yet, just as you think you’ve got a handle on things, Henry James unleashes an absolute monster of a solo that comes from out of nowhere, scorches the earth for miles around and then disappears, as suddenly as it came. It gives way to another slow-paced ballad in the form of Gold. In and of itself it’s a fine song, but the sequencing here feels a little off, coming off the back of another track that is predominantly mid-tempo and leading into a lengthy, two-part prog epic. Nevertheless, the finale is worth its weight in gold. Last Light On The Highway (part 1) recalls nothing so much as English prog-rocker Steve Thorne, its sparse arrangement leading to the inevitable grandstanding of Last Light On The Highway (Part Two), which opts for a sumptuous, Floyd-esque arrangement and epic guitars. It’s a superb conclusion to the album and, on the second part, it’s a close tie between Henry and Steve, both of whom dig deep to deliver exceptional performances on their respective instruments.
Last Light On The Highway is a strong album that starts off in a familiar Southern Rock vein, before taking a number of digressions along the way to its epic finale. The recording is pristine – full of depth and warmth, and the album itself has a number of highlights, not least the heroic solo that rips through One last Time and heavy-duty slide of Don’t Let Me Go. If things do dip occasionally, it’s more to do with the sequencing, and Gold particularly, feels like it causes the album to pause for breath when it should be nearing the endgame; but this is a minor criticism of an album that is proud to wear its heart on its sleeve. Great musicianship, plenty of memorable tunes and the perfect soundtrack to a road trip, Last Light On The Highway is an impressive outing indeed. 8.5
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