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December 9, 2024


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Kevin Chalfant
Running With The Wind (Clique Records)

By: Alex Steininger

Kevin Chalfant is a rocker. He combines 70's guitar rock with 80's metal to come up with his own blend of rock and roll. He even throws a little country flavor into his music. He plays it all. From fast to slow, he does it. From hard to soft, he does it as well.

The title track kicks off the CD. Not a good way to kick off the CD, as it is a boring arena rock meets country song. The guitar starts out hard, but as the music slows down so does the guitar. But it still keeps its heavy slashes in the background, just toned down a bit. The brief guitar solos even help to bring the song down. "Save Me Tonight" is a bar room rock song. It sounds as if some nobody group is playing in a band at a bar, doing a gig for free beer. Everyone is so plastered, they don't realize the band on the stage has no talent and should have broke up with the 80's. "Anywhere The Wind Blows" actually brings us a decent song. The drummer, pounding on the cymbals, helps to bring out some nice hooks courtesy of the chorus. The vocals lead the hooks, giving this song some ground to stand on. The verse isn't the best, but when the "oh..." hits on the chorus in nice harmony, you start to sing along and enjoy the song. After hearing it once, you'll be a fan of the song. The chorus is what will keep you going, though. Each time you'll listen to the song and ask yourself why you like it, and it will dawn on you it's because of the chorus. Then you'll once again get back into the song and enjoy it. "Wild Thang" starts out with an electronic "bomb" sound. Once again, the verse isn't the best (just some more 80's arena rock type stuff), but when the chorus hits you'll once again be a fan. "If This is Love," is the best song on the CD. A slow, emotional song that actually brings emotions to the surface of your mind. This is the kind of song that could tear up the adult top 40's pop charts. The vocals are soft and sincere, which really helps to push the emotions of the song on to you. The percussion is soft and does a great job of keeping the song on track, but the true heroes of the music are the horns and the keyboard. The horns blow through the song, giving the song a very refreshing spirit. The keyboard flows through the song, giving it a very breezy and relaxing feel to the song. Definitely a well-written song. "Learning To Fly" closes out the CD. A quick sample of a plane taking off, and then the song busts back into it's 80's rock feeling. Seventies guitar solos are also quickly spread into the music.

This CD just seemed very outdated. It seemed as it would fit a lot better in the 80's. If it were the 80's it could probably go platinum (and probably would), but for the 90's it just doesn't work. But there are a few exceptional moments on the CD, and a few good tracks. I'll give this CD a C. The emotions were real, and the music was somewhat fun, but for the most part it just seemed too out of place.

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