I have been listening to the upcoming Johnny Hickman (Cracker, Hickman-Dalton Gang) release Tilting and I am still not sure if I am more excited by how great the album is or by the fact that Cary Morin played pedal steel on it.

*photo by Brenda Yamen

There are so many awesome tracks on this it is hard to know where to start.

My favorites are Resurrection Train, with its cool blues harp, the beautiful guitars on Destiny Misspent, and Not Enough, a social and political protest song disguised as a honky tonk tune.

(Jackson Browne had a song out a few years back called ‘The Drums of War’ and while the songs don’t sound anything alike they both convey the same ‘in your face’ feel.)

Hands down the best song on the album is Whittled Down.  And no, not just because I have a thing for songs about being ‘on the road’ but also because it is sad and painful and so very gorgeous.

The nights make you restless the days make you numb

The memories that tear you in half when they come

So you push them back down with your words and your chords

Down those free drinks drag your gear out the door…”

I also like the title track, Measure of a Man. You all can listen to it below and if you like it you can pop over to Johnny’s page on Reverbnation and download a free copy.

Okay, I’m all ‘yes, this is a cool set of sounds…go…preorder…buy…have fun’ but as always you guys need to listen to the music and decide for yourselves.

You all can click here to preview the rest of Tilting over on Amazon.

Check out the first vid from the album here or on you tube –

Tilting releases tomorrow, July 3, 2012. You can find Johnny on his website or over on his Facebook page.

- Kit

One final thing – If you like the album enough to want it, please BUY it from Hickman’s website, iTunes, Amazon or other reputable retailers. Some jerk has already bootlegged the album and I don’t have enough words to describe how uncool that is. If you -need- the album but don’t have the money go d/l the free track, then pick up the rest of the songs over time from amazon at a buck a pop. Hickman is a working musician and like most of the bands I review and play on the blog he is not backed by one of the mega-recording companies. He has bills to pay and food to buy just like all of us and when you snag that bootleg copy you are stealing from Hickman, not some faceless corporation.