Camino 84 - The All New Camino 84 (2020)

Welcome to “The All New Camino 84”. Growing up, there were the albums that hit us from the initial listen. As soon as that first track began, you immediately became lost in the music and allowed yourself to fully immerse in the world created by the artist, songwriters, arrangers, session musicians, engineers and producers. Whether it came from the songs played on the radio, the albums played on the record player in my home, or the 8 tracks I heard playing on car trips, there were those songs and records that sparked that immediate reaction. It can range from pure joy to the need to get up and move after that bassline drops and those horns come in at the perfect time, but the bottom line is that the collection of songs speaks to your soul and connects with you on a personal level. “The All New Camino 84” does just that (while grooving simultaneously).

This album is about growth. Rebirth. Reinvention. Feeling more comfortable in your own skin after coming into your own and applying all the lessons you’ve learned from the past to your life and relationships now. When you’ve gone through tribulations and learn all about yourself and how you cope with different situations, you recognize your patterns. Rather than beat yourself up about your shortcomings, you can embrace them and work with it. “The All New Camino 84” is about entering that new phase of your life. Leveling up. Progression. Any creative person can relate to the themes addressed on “The All New Camino 84”… as can anyone who is friends with, loves, or cares for one.

This album instantly transports me back to when I’d hear an album, walk over to the turntable and watch the record as it played, then find the album cover, read the credits and liner notes inside the jacket, while staring at the pictures and the inserts. The music would transport me to another space entirely. That’s what great art does, takes us on a ride that we sometimes don’t want to end. Camino 84’s compositions range from what I’d hear blaring out of apartment windows & car speakers as a kid (“Responsible”, “Mind & Body” & “Dreams II”), the songs I’d record off the radio from WBCN, Kiss 108, WRBB or WILD (“Where You Are”, “Write Me” & “Never Be Alone”) and the songs you’d rewind until you’d have to find a pencil, X-Acto knife & Scotch tape to repair the cassette tape like “Not Much Better Than That”, “Standing Back Up” & “Little Too Late”. The project is perfectly sequenced and allows to listener to just let go & enjoy the ride.

Everything we love about music from the past and present that has endured the test of time, and resonates with the modern audience, is combined into a perfectly soulful, funky, melodic body of work titled “The All New Camino 84”. Ride around with it. Work out to it. Dance to it. Play it while you work. Study with it in the background. However you choose to engage with it? Just enjoy it.