MICHAEL NITRO BAND

Let me start this one with a quick listing. According to the biography the management sent me with Michael Nitro's CD, he opened up for "Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Eddie Money, The Allman Brothers, Neil Young, REO Speedwagon, Deep Purple, Bonham", etc.Pretty impressive, I'd say. As for his influences he lists The Beatles, The Stones, Lep Zep,Ray
Charles,Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five", etc. This starts getting interesting.

Fortunately, the music is not as eclectic as the influences. It's pure, old, bluesy rock music with a bit of R&B (sometimes even funky!) touches. "Distant Shore" the opening has a definitely funky vibe in it, so do "Get A Life" (track 3) and "I'm Ready" (track 4). Both of them feature very well written horn section that strengthens the funky feel. Though the info in the promo materials is very limited (absolutely no info on the musicians) I'm quite sure those horns are real and not some synth sampler (or in case it is it's damn good and I wanna have something like gear this too! Not that I'd say no to having an own horn section.

The guitar parts are awesome and very diverse all through the album.Mostly they are blues based rock licks with some funky feel, but there's some bluegrass, country feel here and there too and "Catalonia Song" is an awesome piece of acoustic guitar playing.Michael's vocals are confident, perfect in all the heights and have that "so necessary bluesy smoke". The lyrics are also very entertaining and diverse. "Get A Life", "Distant Shore" and "Hell's Train" (a Cinderella kind of rocker with grungy guitar sound) are my favorites. If you are looking for an album of diverse feelings, moods, and musical approach that does not get boring after 10 spins, this one is for you! / Bandi
- Bandi

So what if it sounds like Michael Nitro spends his weekends listening to scratchy old Humble Pie and Faces records. There's nothing wrong with that. It merely proves how timeless those 30-year-old slabs of hard-rocking soul really are.

Nitro is a man who doesn't chase trends, that's for sure. He's a guitarist and, as such, loves to crank it up. But he's also aware of the big picture. Along with his heavy riffs, he distills a little bit of Brother Ray and Little Stevie into his songs. The results are high-powered, unarguably derivative and wholely enjoyable.

This is Nitro's album, but there's a sense of selflessness about the project. His ego's not so big that he can't let another guitarist take a solo. He's also receptive to sweaty horn arrangements, funky retro keyboard fills and soulful female backing vocals.

If he wanted to, Nitro could probably clutter up the stage with big stacks of amplifiers and blast everyone back to the Stone Age. But, thankfully, he's not interested in that. And neither is anyone else, right?

(Available at Tower Records, Virgin Megastore, Zia or online at www.michaelnitro.com.)
- Eric Searleman

After a set by Native Blood, a local metal-type outfit that fits in well at the Jar, the Michael Nitro Group came on the stage. The crowd definitely dug this band's blend of classic rock and blues riffs, which they performed with a lot of good-natured energy. The Nitro group mixed good playing, steady pacing, chatter with the crowd, and the right amount of self-promotion to entertain most everyone in the place. Nitro's guitar work brought to mind Jake E. Lee.

Sometimes Nitro and Co's sound lapsed into a sort of late 80s rock style, but they pulled out of it on the strength of their own good playing. While the lyrics are not incredibly creative, most people can relate to The Boys Are Back In Town lyrical style used on songs like Jersey at Midnight. The band sounded good the whole show, but some of their most entertaining stuff came toward the end, starting with Counting the Days, a catchy number Nitro called "as close to country as I'll ever get." The actual show closer was a fine cover of Honkeytonk Women. The background singing was just right, but a little too soft. By the time the last cries from those barroom honkeytonk beauties faded out, the Nitro group left Tony MacAlpine with a show that would take some work to top.

It turned out to be a good night of music at the Jar. Anyone who had a powerful hankering for some good guitar music before the show, had to have left thouroughly satisfied. MacAlpine is a major talent, but by the time you read this you'll probably have a better chance of catching Michael Nitro live. I'd recommend it.
- Anonymous