ARTIST: Kevin Gordon
ALBUM: Down to the Well (2000)
This is an awesome roots rock & roll record in the vein of Creedence, Petty & Dave Alvin.
I stumbled on Kevin & his band from Nashville at IOTA (located in DC) one night. They opened for local hero Kevin Johnson & the Linemen. I was immediately drawn to their straight-up classic guitar sound through old Fender tweeds, with the kind of natural grit that makes me drip with excitement (sweat, I mean) so, I bought this, their current album, the night of the show. It's produced by the amazing Bo Ramsey, Gordon & Joe McMahon, who is Kevin's lead guitarist and one of the most tasteful rock & roll guitarists I've seen live in a long time.

An interesting side to this review is that earlier on in the day, before going to IOTA, I was in the famous Southworth Guitars in Bethesda, MD, and these guys came in the store, and I'm thinking to myself, "These dudes look like they are in a band... I wonder where they are playing tonight.", especially after hearing McMahon pick up an electric guitar and rip my ears off with his guitar licks... even though it wasn't plugged in. Lo and behold to my surprise, I fell on a new band to support that evening. That's what you call a "lucky" find, in my book. Anyway, I think Kevin has 2 other earlier albums, and one of them is produced by one of my favorite bass players, Gary Talent, from the E Street Band. http://www.kevingordon.com