by\u00a0Janet Goodman<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Returning to his Long Island hometown plus reuniting with his old band equals music magic for Maier, whose boyish joy can be heard throughout this little gem of a southern rock recording. It opens with back-to-back nods to those glory days (\u201cStompin,\u201d \u201cIn The Front Door\u201d), where rootsy electric slide and smoking lead guitar by bandmate Joe Leonard help paint a youthful soundscape. Catchy, classic-Maier love song \u201cLet Me Know,\u201d mandolin-wistful \u201cStoned\u201d and The Mavericks-inspired \u201cBreak My Heart\u201d are rich in melodic hooks.<\/p>\n Maier could be described as a songwriter\u2019s songwriter, and there\u2019s nary a song here not worth a generous listen. \u201cHate My Life\u201d is surprisingly a love song replete with peeves (yet somehow chokes me up), and in wild romp \u201cCold Day In Memphis\u201d (co-written by Renee Wahl), he clears up any confusion as to the direction they\u2019re traveling: \u201cJimmy Swaggart on the radio\/Telling us where to go\/We went the other way.\u201d<\/p>\n Showing solid, story-telling chops as well as tender artistry on stand-out \u201cAnywhere,\u201d Maier delivers arguably his best emotional performance on the so pretty \u201cThe Sound of Goodbye\u201d (another Maier\/Wahl collaboration), where he sadly realizes, \u201cThat empty promise in your kiss\/Those words that never leave your lips\/There\u2019s nothing left to say or do but cry\u2026\u201d Dynamic playing is everywhere; even the lush, 2-1\/4 minute south-of-the-border outro on final track \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up On Me Yet\u201d needs to be recognized for its tight musicianship. Looks like after all these years, Maier and his band still have the knack for making unbridled-rock- \u2018n\u2019- roll kind of fun.<\/p>\n Visit the artist\u2019s website\u00a0www.tengallonfat.com<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/span>\u00a0comments<\/p>\n![\"bill-maier_campfire-all-stars_self-titled\"](\"http:\/\/www.musicnewsnashville.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/bill-maier_campfire-all-stars_self-titled-300x276.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cTwenty years after our last record, and almost ten years since I moved south, this project was a long overdue excuse to spend some time with ya\u2019ll. (And eat some real pizza),\u201d writes Nashville singer\/songwriter Bill Maier, addressing his bandmates in the liner notes of their new album, \u201cBill Maier & The Campfire All Stars.\u201d Produced by Maier and the band, these 13 tracks (8 self-penned, 5 co-written) were recorded during the summer of 2014, mostly in the exact Roslyn Heights, NY studio where, many years earlier, they recorded their first project.<\/p>\nComments<\/h3>\n