G.Burton

G. BURTON
Cobaltwestsoutherntrancemusic
G. Burton has been kicking around the local scene for a few years, including some time with the promising alt-country-rock band called Solstice that featured ex-Uncle Six members. Nothing he’s done comes close to this solo album.
Son of local country-pop singer Danny Burton, Greg wisely enlisted his father and some of the best and most versatile local session players. With violinist Paul Patterson, steel player Kenny Holycross, Bassist Michael Sharfe and drummer Mike Hodges, along with Burton’s younger band Hyde Park Outrage, Cobaltwestsoutherntrancemusic sounds as good as it’s title is bad.
Burton’s brand of alt-country isn’t the punk-styled honkey tonking of Uncle Tupelo or Hank III. Instead, the 10 songs hearken back to the mellow ‘70’s sounds of Pure Prairie League and Jesse Colin Young.
The C.D opens with “Shake the petals”, which is colored by haunting fiddle and lyrical word play (e.g., rhyming “Pigeon Forge with Curious George”). “Out F From Under” is a playful love song with a tropical lilt. “Red Line Ticks” is an edgier tune, swinging between HPO’s Clint Zimmerman’s harmonica and the classical sound of Sharfe’s bowed bass.
“So” showcases pedal steel, giving a country edge to Burton’s likable tenor voice and sweet pop songwriting. Twangy Dobro serves that purpose on the even poppier “Trailer Park Ways,” which, in better radio days, would have been a local hit. “Cadillac Song” takes things in a bluesy direction with Zimmerman’s harp and some gospel-flavored female backup vocals. “A. Moment” is an acoustic ballad given wings by stellar interplay between the Dobro, fiddle, and mandolin. “Cold Hand Warm Thigh” shifts directions again; taking an R&B detour that finds Burton singing in a Prince like falsetto.
It’s all good and a fine debut by a talented singer/songwriter and his world-class band. Tonight, G. Burton & Hyde Park Outrage play R.P. McMurphy’s in Oakley; Saturday, they’re at Shady O’Grady’s in Remington.
Larry Nager
The Cincinnati enquirer
- The Cincinnati enquirer