Reviews of West End (STR-715)
West End was listed as one of the CDs of the Month in the August/September 2020 issue of InHard magazine in Germany and was given 4 out of 5 stars! Here is the accompanying review.
West End is a five-piece band from Nashville that formed 40 years ago. Kirk Beasley (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar) and Bobby Ogdin (keyboards) from the original line-up are supported by Tom Shinny (guitars), Bruce Dees (guitars, background vocals) and Jason Duffy (drums). Their 10-song CD consists exclusively of songs they wrote themselves. The listener can expect a successful mix of West Coast Rock, Country, Folk Rock and Rock 'n Roll. We recommend listening to the easy-to-listen country rock anthem "West End".
The following review appeared in RockTimes on 25 May 2020. It can be read in the original German here, or in English below.
The history of the band West End goes back forty years, even if there was a big long break. Because around 1980 the current producer Kirk Beasley recruited selected musicians to record a handful of songs he wrote or co-composed. What initially turned out to be a very short story was at least the cornerstone for the friendship between Beasley and keyboardist Bobby Ogdin that lasted for decades. The two still work together today as producer and musical director for the label Spare Time Records, which they co-founded [along with Chief Engineer Travis Turk]. In 2018 there was suddenly a desire to let it rip again and what takes a long time will finally be good: The West End debut album of the same name is now available.
Some of these ten tracks are said to originate from the sessions at that time, but were freshly recorded in order to meet today's sound standards. And what the five musicians pull off here is a cool mix of Americana, Roots Rock and a bit of West Coast. The Americans do not go on a fabric softener course, even if the opening number "West End" with multi-part vocals, but nice guitars, gazes towards California. Especially the two guitarists Tom Shinny and Bruce Dees don't seem to have adjectives like 'shallow' or 'boring' in their vocabulary and enrich the pieces that actually sound a bit dated ("Dodge City") immensely. But the third new band member, namely Jason Duffy on drums, knows how to sound the alarm when the song demands it.
The somewhat melancholic "Western Avenue", for example, is really great, but the guitars always seem to kick in the very least when the title threatens to be worn. Another good example from this mix of old (the songs) and new (the fellow musicians who are significantly younger along with Beasley and Ogdin) is "Welcome To ... Lil 'LA", but with a very powerful Grateful Dead from their acoustic albums ("Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty", both 1970) squint around the corner before a rock guitar suddenly takes over after two and a half minutes. The track remains in the fairway, but still maintains a straight line. With "Thin Soup" the rocker of the disc is finally ignited. Kirk Beasley is mentioned as the only lead singer on the cover, but there are big differences in the different songs. Or did the boys actually use some old vocal tracks here?
Ultimately, West End made a sparkling clean album with their debut. Certainly not one that will take the world by storm or occupy the top ranks on any annual charts, but if you like the genres mentioned, you should definitely risk an ear here. My favorites are the numbers already mentioned above, but with "West End" you don't run the risk of finding anything deficient here. After this first work, one can hope that Messrs Beasley and Ogdin (hopefully with the same support team) will once again feel the time and desire for another album after earning their main bread with Spare Time Records.
This review appeared in MuzikZirkus-Magazin on 26 June 2020.
After the album "Reno Nevada" by Irish singer Griselda, the self-titled debut album by the US band +West End+ is the second release on the new label Spare Time Records. The history of +West End+, a project by producer Kirk Beasley, who is also one of the founders of Spare Time Records, goes back more than 40 years.
More than four decades ago, Beasley recruited a number of talented friends in Nashville to record a number of songs. Beasley had written these with Ray Perkins and other songwriters. At the time, the core of the band included Beasley, Bobby Ogdin, Jon Goin and David Humphreys. However, only two of the recorded songs were mixed. It stayed that way.
In 2018, original band members Kirk Beasley and Bobby Ogdin, and original engineer Travis Turk, teamed up with Bruce Dees, Tom Shinny and others to play rock and roll and have a little fun. The result is a harmonious mixture of country rock, West Coast excursions and down-to-earth rock and roll. In addition to the newly recorded songs, "Play It by Ear" and "Thin Soup" are two songs from the original sessions on the album.
Kirk Beasley says the following about the band name: “I grew up in Nashville on West End Avenue, about halfway between Vanderbilt University and Belle Meade. In 1979, I was looking for a place to stay after returning to Nashville from Cincinnati. My friend (and co-author of ‘Dodge City’) Graham Fuqua lived in a residential building on 32nd Avenue South and West End Avenue. It turned out that the owner of the building was the director of Epic Records in Nashville, the great Billy Sherrill. He was not only a producer of George Jones, Tammy Wynette and many others, but also a friend of the family. I moved into an apartment here. I sat there night after night, writing songs with a view of the West End and the city skyline.”
The album opens with the song "West End." The catchy, four-minute song shows itself in a mixture of country, rock and folk. A very nice title that catches the eye quickly. A rhythm that is reminiscent of Indian dances underlines "At the End of the World" with beautiful sentence vocals, in which Griselda can be heard on the microphone. In terms of style, it sounds a bit like The Electric Family.
In “Western Avenue” there is another country feeling, which is paired with rock and roll. This moves +West End+ around the Traveling Wilburys. More rock and roll is then offered on the song "Play It by Ear." Although the track is already so old, it does not look dusty and fits perfectly into the overall picture of the album.
The West Coast song "Art of Living" exudes Tom Petty flair, while "Welcome to ... Li'l L.A." is clearly located in the country and is transformed into a rock song in the second half. The 2:19 minute "Thin Soup" is a rock and roll song, which reminds a little of the beat era and because of its age and sound is a bit different from the other songs. "Dodge City" with its pounding beat, the driving "Business As Usual" and the Beatles-esque "Surreality" complete the album.
With the self-titled album, the American band +West End+ released a successful mix of country rock, folk and rock and roll, in which they also demonstrate stylistic similarities to, among others, bands like The Traveling Wilburys, Tom Petty or The Beatles.
— Stephan Schelle, May 2020
This review appeared in Gaesteliste: Internet-MusikMagazin on 11 June 2020.
The fact that the songs on this album sound as if they were recorded during the high times of the classic Schweinerock phase of the 80s is due to the fact that some of them were created during this period. About 40 years ago, Kirk Beasley — producer and now the founding father of the Spare Time Records label — gathered a number of friends in Nashville under the project name + West End + to record a few songs together. In 2018 there was a reunion of the old warriors and the result is now the present disc, on which the boys indulge in the old hobby again and unrestrainedly devote themselves to classic guitar rock opulence. Embedded in country, southern rock and west coast sounds, the album is such a playground for guitar excesses of all kinds and colors. It is astonishing and commendable, however, that the focus is in no way an end in itself, but rather the songs themselves, the vocal harmonies and the sophisticated and lovingly detailed arrangements. It is not surprising, however, that the two included bonus tracks from the original sessions differ only in terms of sound, but not stylistically, from the current recordings.
This review appeared in Musikanisch on 5 June 2020.
The band name West End comes from West End Avenue, where band (and label) founder Kirk Beasley grew up and later lived when he returned from Cincinatti to Nashville, but still gives an indication of the stylistic location the band that released their debut as a second album on the newly founded Spare Time Label.
A distinct West Coast impact gives the melodic AOR [album-oriented rock] from West End a pleasing appearance. The sparkling pop opener with which the band introduces itself by name goes straight to the ear and is certainly good food for mainstream rock broadcasters.
The "new" West End is the revival of a group that was already active at the beginning of the 80s, but did not release anything at that time. Two bonus tracks come from sessions in the early years, the promo note reveals. (But either they are not included on my 10-track promo, or it just won't tell which two they are.)
West End never drifts too far towards the two West Coast pillars, even if "Welcome to ... Li'l L.A." has a stronger country sound and "Thin Soup" is boiled up a little rockier. There are trips to wavier areas ("Play it by Ear"). "At the End of the World" is appropriately reminiscent of the Australian Midnight Oil, while "Western Avenue" can also pass as Bryan Ferry number with some imagination. Very entertaining album by a band that still needs to work on their own identity!
— Norbert von Fransecky
The following review appeared in Jolly Joker’s Ohrenbalsam on 27 April 2020, translated here into English.
WEST END's debut album of the same name will be released on June 5, 2020 [by Spare Time Records]. The band is from Nashville and offers the finest, handmade melodic rock with a healthy mix of country rock, west coast excursions and rock'n'roll. The 10 songs that were mixed loud to be played are fun.