Kevn Kinney Albums (7)
'Down Out Law'
Release Date 12/15/2009
Tracks 13
Label Mammoth Records
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What The Critics Say
With less instrumentation than his first solo outing, this makes for a tough listen for those not completely appreciative of Kinney's unique Southern rock voice or the solo folk/blues idiom. The title cut is outstanding, as is "Shindig With the Lord"; the song recalls the excitement of a revival tent set up on the outskirts of town as it winds up and down. It's a sight often seen in the rural South, but as in his other songs, the sight seems to be taken from Kinney's fertile imagination, delivered with his usual urbanity. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The sophomore release from Kevn Kinney's Sun Tangled Angel Revival finds the Drivin' N' Cryin' frontman continuing to craft acoustic-based, but not entirely unplugged, Southern folk-rock. Less aggressive than his work with Drivin' N' Cryin', this is still tough, uncompromising music, and since D N' C's output of new material seems to have dried up (the band's last album of original songs was released in 1997), the more roots-oriented approach likely reflects Kinney's current direction. His voice is shot from years of overuse, but that just gives the raw quality he injects in songs like "Covered by an Underground Umbrella" more intensity. The folk angle Kinney has emphasized on his solo albums is in evidence with the strummy "Sometimes I Wish I Didn't Care" and the ragged "40 Miles of Mountain Road." The latter starts with acoustic guitar and builds gradually as locomotive-styled brushed drums and a second guitar are added. Kinney unplugged is as, well, driving as his electric work with his mates in Drivin' N' Cryin'. He goes bluesy on the swampy "Blues on Top of Blues" and the humorously titled "Chattahoochie Cootchie Man," a track that reworks the John Lee Hooker/ZZ Top "La Grange" boogie riff with crackling results. Most of these tracks could be rearranged into plugged-in additions to the Drivin' N' Cryin' catalog, but work just as well in this more acoustically oriented format. Kinney is totally involved throughout, straining his already torn and frayed voice as he delivers these songs with staggering honesty and passion. With pros behind the board such as Rodney Mills (who mixed the project) and John Nielsen (who recorded it and sadly died soon afterward), this has a professional yet far from slick sound. Although, as of this album's release in 2006 Kinney was still touring with Drivin', his solo work seems more inspired and heartfelt than the often overwrought Southern hard rock of his more famous group. But they reflect two distinctive sides to one very talented musician and, short of a new D N' C release, Comin' Round Again shows Kinney is improving with age. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Kevn Kinney's Sun Tangled Angel Revival'
Release Date 9/21/2004
Tracks 9
Label Compadre
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What The Critics Say
On his fifth solo album (for his fifth label), Atlanta's on-again/off-again Drivin' N' Cryin' frontman edges closer to combining the ragged country and raging hard rock of his band into a more unified whole. "Welcome to the sun tangled angel revival," he sings appropriately on the opening track, both introducing the listener to his new outfit and to a mix that encompasses his Southern rock, blues and country roots. The band sizzles regardless of what style of music Kinney throws them, but revels in a mid-tempo Stonesy rock & roll somewhat similar to the Georgia Satellites, Gov't Mule and, not surprisingly, his own Drivin' N' Cryin'. As of this album's 2004 release, he is 14 years into a sporadic solo career and nearly 20 as a professional musician. That road-hardened experience adds a jagged edge to Kinney's already high-pitched, croaking voice. But his torn, nasal vocals -- admittedly an acquired taste -- bring an honesty and world weary quality to these songs of Southern discontent. It's an everyman sound, both proud and tired and without it the gutsy music, played loose but crackling by his tough, talented band, wouldn't resonate nearly as effectively. The gospel hinted at by the album's title takes flight in the acoustic "In the Land of Plenty," a dusty Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan-styled ballad that plays off his acoustic and religious roots without sounding like either. The country-ish tale of "This Train Don't Stop at the Millworks Anymore" also recalls Guthrie, but with an updated slant about outsourcing jobs, highlighted by crying pedal steel guitar and perceptive short-story styled lyrics. Like Dylan's best work, it is detailed yet universal and is the albums literary centerpiece. Ballads such as the yearning "Everything's So Different Now" combine sweeping Beatles-ish pop and harmonies with a more rootsy, Americana earthiness that never seems affected. The one-two punch of the instrumental "The Great North Myrtle Beach Pancake Massacre" which fades into the raging Gov't Mule blues-rock of "Madmen Blues" provides a nearly ten-minute stranglehold of swirling Southern rock as swampy, rocking and raw as anything from Drive-By Truckers. The primarily spoken word, seemingly free-form poetry of "Epilogue Epitaph in A Minor" also finds its Dylan-ish heart to close out this album of flinty, boozy but thought-provoking American folk-blues-rock from one of the genre's most creative and under-sung heroes. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Broken Hearts and Auto Parts'
Release Date 3/26/2002
Tracks 11
Label Evil Teen
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What The Critics Say
Lo-tech almost to the point of affectation, Broken Hearts and Auto Parts wears its rough edges like insignia of street credibility. Yet there's a naturalness to Kinney's writing and delivery that rings true. His songs speak with an artless eloquence over spare and simple backup tracks, with homespun imagery woven into lyrics like "Dialing down the radio/Trying to find a song about you." For all its imperceptible breaks, limited range, dubious pitch, and raggedy timbre, Kinney's voice communicates beautifully and thus leaps the greatest hurdle confronting every singer; it's a perfect match for the spirited, yet languid and less-than-precise backup provided by his colleagues in the contemporary lineup of Drivin' N' Cryin', along with deadpan but convincing harmony support from the daughter of Arlo Guthrie -- as pedigreed as accompaniment can get. There is, in fact, something charming and disingenuous in this music, similar in kind to Guthrie's best work. Through the easy flow of his songs and their performance, Kinney achieves a timelessness on Broken Hearts and Auto Parts that may make it as appealing to future generations as it is to graybeard Americana aficionados. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide
'Main Street Featuring Kevn Kinney'
Release Date 9/26/2000
Tracks 13
Label Terminus
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'The Flower & the Knife'
Release Date 5/2/2000
Tracks 13
Label Capricorn
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What The Critics Say
Drivin' n' Cryin's Kevn Kinney joins the folk fray with a stunning solo acoustic debut backed by the band and producer Peter Buck. The classic case of a brilliant songwriter stuck within the confines of an okay band, Kinney came bursting forth as a great new talent on the new folk scene with songs like the emotional "Not Afraid to Die" and lilting "The House Above Tina's Grocery." This release was mostly unheard by those who might have appreciated Kinney's unique spin on Southern culture. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
