Hailing from Concrete, Texas, but transplanted to beautiful Cayucos, California, Koenig (pronounced kay-nig) released his first solo album earlier this August and sounds like an old pro to the business. With his raw vocals and passionate lyrics, you can hear the truth in his voice in every note of the eight-song CD. A blend of mellow acoustic guitars, lonesome harmonicas and a little bit of gospel, it’s a great listen for a lazy introspective afternoon. He lists his influences as people like Ryan Adams, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper and Amos Lee, and you can definitely hear them all in his music as well as some of that down-home, Texas style thrown in.
The album starts out on a decent note with the song “Woman,” supported by a gospel choir. It’s not my favorite track but it’s a good opening number considering it’s more upbeat than the rest of the record. “Long Time Coming” shows a more sensitive side with Joe slipping out of his gruff-yet-polished vocals into a nice falsetto on the chorus. I don’t really think we see his true talent shine however, until the next few songs.
Track 3, “Outta My Head” is my favorite song on the record and could be a single right now. It chugs along like a slow train blowing it’s harmonica horn at a steady pace. It’s got a great country sound and you can really hear those Texas roots come out. Koenig’s vocals shine as you can feel the passion behind his lyrics, especially at the end of the song. It’s the perfect segue into “Colors,” a gospel-infused, Ben Harper-style track that left me wanting even more. I could imagine the choir really kicking in and taking over as Joe takes it up a notch for an even more dramatic chorus, but that wouldn’t really be his style. He is the humble unassuming singer/songwriter in an industry filled with more self-indulgent types.
The second half of the album definitely has a more introspective tone than the first. “Winters” somberly tells a tale of longing with the heartfelt chorus, “I’m half a man, when you’re not around.” That sound continues in “Look For Me,” a track that lags a little in the beginning, but features a great chorus. I especially like the line, “on those crowded streets up above, you might bump into my forgiveness.” The imagery it conveys really sticks with me and gets me thinking more about eternity.
The highlight of the second half for me is “Attack of The Hand.” It’s a simple tune about simple times: growing up, fishing, and camping while hanging out with family. You can hear the reminiscence in his voice as he sings and remembers days long gone. It’s a much more positive track than the rest of the album and I would love to hear more like it on future CDs. “Ride it Out” basically does just that until the end of the album. You can tell Koenig loves the song and it’s very close to him, but I don’t think it’s a great closer for the CD.
Overall, I am very impressed by “Somethin’ Concrete” and I only wish it were longer. I love CDs where you can feel something through the music and the artist is able to convey exactly what they’re going through. Throw a little “Texas Soul” into the equation and you have yourself a great listen.�
October 31st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Joe Koenig’s Cd is the best Cd I have heard in a long time, and his live performance is even more captivating. He is so talented, and every time I pop in “Somethin’ Concrete” I am more impressed with his talent and ability to put emotion into words. Thank you for highlighting this new talent. He needs to be introduced into everyone’s itunes collection.