Alastair Greene - Through The Rain (2011)

Alastair Greene’s career path has taken some interesting turns over the last couple of years. Between accepting the enviable job as lead guitarist for The Alan Parsons Live Project in 2010, and being the only unsigned act invited to play the 2010 Sonora Blues Festival, Greene has been performing a wide variety of music on stages the world over. Greene also recently signed to LeRoi Record to release his newest recorded offering. THROUGH THE RAIN may come as a bit of a shock to those who only became aware of Greene’s music via his Blues-based live band and previous CD releases. If his 2009 record WALKING IN CIRCLES was a musical tribute to Greene’s Blues heroes, then THROUGH THE RAIN would be his tribute to his hard rock upbringing.

From the Led Zeppelin-style riffing of the title track, to the Hendrix-meets-Pearl Jam of closer ‘You Will Remember’, Greene spends the majority of his new release in old-school hard rocking territory. THROUGH THE RAIN is even more eclectic than his 2002 debut A LITTLE WISER. ‘Take Me With You’ conjures up laid back Americana sounds that will be familiar to fans of The Black Crowes, while ‘The Real You’ mines a deep Funk Rock groove with extended solos reminiscent of heavier jam bands such as Gov’t Mule. Greene has not abandoned his love for the Blues and its early Rock n’ Roll off shoots, as up-tempo barnburner ‘T’other Way’ and the mid-tempo retro-rocker ‘Stoneroller’ prove. THROUGH THE RAIN also touches on a wide variety of lyrical themes, including stories of love lost and won, songs that question political motives, and introspective topics such as what happens after this life is over.

“My goal for this record was to combine my love of Blues with my Hard Rock influences and make a record that pushes the boundaries and challenges the perceptions of what is considered Blues Rock.” – Alastair Greene

The musician line-up on THROUGH THE RAIN gives the album a wide variety of feels and grooves. The drumming is split between long time Alastair Greene Band drummer Tom Lackner (who has been touring with Jeff Bridges) and former Dishwalla drummer George Pendergast. AGB bassist Jim Rankin, former Summercamp bassist Misha Feldmann and Greene himself share bass duties. As a special treat for guitar fans, Ty Tabor (guitarist for the legendary King’s X) engages in a guitar solo trade-off with Greene on the first single from the record ‘By The Way’.

“Alastair should be playing with the biggest bands in the world. I believe it’s just a matter of time.” – Alan Parsons