State Cows hail from Sweden but you would never know it. Close your eye and listen and you think: L.A. The band, consisting of Stefan Olofsson and Daniel Andersson instantly reminded me of predecessors Mr. Mister, the band Pages, Toto (ironically, The Seventh One era) and Jay Graydon. Clearly not bad company to keep.
Furthermore, for their sophomore release under the moniker State Cows, Olofsson and Andersson call on L.A. buddies Jay Graydon, Michael Landau, Bill Champlin among others. The result is a finely crafted outing that will please most fans of the genre.
Kicking the album off is the up tempo song “This Time.” Think Jay Graydon’s Airplay CD. Crisp drumming and a funky synth bass along with effective chorus guitar sounds and a finely crafted solo (which sounds like it may be Mr. Graydon himself) gets the ball rolling on the album, and the pace continues from most of the ten tracks.
Singer/Guitarist Daniel Andersson delivers another vocal performance from the L.A.school with the next track, “In The City.” The song does feature Graydon delivering an expertly played solo. Peter Friestedt delivers another guitar solo on the funky track, “Mister White.” Other standout tracks include the piano driven “I Got Myself Together” (which also features a guitar solo from Ian Bairson of Alan Parsons fame) and “Finally Fair and Balanced” with Stefan Olofsson’s funky clavinet-like keyboard sound and Bill Champlin’s soulful presence on backing vocals.
If you like this genre of music, you can’t go wrong with State Cows’ The Second One.
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Visit State Cows’ website for more info.
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