Bobby Stevens makes his home in the city of Oberlin, Ohio. The singer-songwriter has been making music for several years now. The first thing that becomes obvious when listening to Bobby Stevens are his coarse vocals that would remind you of Bruce Springsteen. That coarseness in his vocals makes Stevens sound like he was born to perform Rock And Roll music. And with his Roots Rock/Rhythm & Blues style of music, Stevens sounds like he should be from the early era of Rock & Roll. It is this roots rock style of that appears on Stevens’ newest release called Come One, Come All.
To bring Bobby Stevens’ music to life, Stevens brought together several musicians that helped shape that roots rock sound. Together with people like vocalist Haley Antell, guitarist/drummer Andy Cook, Guitarist Ben Ryant, bassist Garyn Jones, keys player Matt Umland and drummer Matt O’Conke, Bobby Stevens brings to life his rock and roll music.
Come One, Come All from Bobby Stevens begins with the song “Alive”. This song has a sound that might remind you of a combination of early Bruce Springsteen and The Lovin’ Spoonful. The combination comes with Springsteen- style lyrics and vocals and Lovin’ Spoonful music.
The roots rock sound really comes alive on the track “Rain on My Wheels”. The barely two-minute song brings back the early days of the “rock singles” that were created to allow more music to be played per hour. Take equal parts equal parts Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis and you get some idea of what this track sounds like.
With the track “Stone Cold Habits,” the sound of the music changes directions. While the preceding tracks have a more rockin’ feel, “Stone Cold Habits” bring to mind the country music that existed back at the time of the first roots rock singers. And while this track features Bobby Stevens on the lead vocals (with Haley Antell in the supporting singer role); the song sounds as if it would have been perfect for the likes of Patsy Cline.
The album slows down on the track “Uncle Walt”. Taking a simple approach to the song, Stevens performs the slow-paced song with just his guitar. The song has a very intimate feel as you get to hear Stevens and his guitar without any other instruments adding to the music of the track.
“State Route 58 (Revisited)” is a track that mixes Rock and Roll and Folk to create a track that is just as rockin’ as it is laidback in its style. This track features a full band that helps to bring a little bit of John Mellencamp to the music of Bobby Stevens’ music. The song also has a feel that brings to mind that of a hit single. “State Route 58 (Revisited)” is one of the strongest tracks on the Come One, Come All album.
“Circles” once again slows the Come One, Come All album down. The song feels as if it were the “lost track” from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle from Bruce Springsteen; in fact, Stevens and the rest of the musicians on that track seem to emulate the E Street Band at that point in their careers.
Come One, Come All from Bobby Stevens comes to an end with the final track of “Travelin’ Show”. The final song of the album pairs Bobby Stevens with singer Haley Antell in a duet as they sing a song that seems like the continuation of Springsteen’s song “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. The pairing of the two voices of Stevens and Antell with only a guitar creates a quiet and simple track that brings the album to a close on a soft note.
Bobby Stevens created an album that keeps the memory of roots rock alive with his new release Come One, Come All. The different styles that make up the release fit together well and show that Stevens is a talented singer-songwriter. This new album is just a glimpse at his talent.
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