Kenny Stahl's Back to School Album

A local musician, Kenny Stahl (previous post) has released an album last year called Back to School. The albums begins with a title track, that sings about the fantastic years of high school and how he being only 20 begins to miss those years and how quickly they pass. I so understand this song, realizing how the years are going so fast. The next song, "Only the Brave" and it includes a fantastic hook-- musically and lyrically with "I don't want to be there when the planes and ships collide, into one another, to one another," it just sticks in your head with the pop melody and guitars that make this record something to smile about and the CD isn't even halfway through. "Colossus" proceeds and it is a quieter love song, that is filled with a general sweetness. "Lonely City" is one of the quieter tracks on and it lives up to the title. It is filled with great musical composition. Oh, if there was a "Perfect World" "we'd be together all of the time," a classic rock subject-- love, or loss of love. This Beatles inspired musician definitely brings his many influences into his songs. The song, "Make a Man Out of Me" reminds me of classic country, or a pop-folk inspired song. I don't know what artist Kenny reminds me of-- I know Sondre Lerche, but there's something there that has something there-- a true singer-songwriter quality. "Story Time" is a very story singer-songwriter song, that seems to be a guy and his guitar...simple, yet so beautiful. If you haven't figured it out, I like a "troubadour" quality to music. The next song moves to a slower beat, "Wait Till You See" is an acoustic pop song, and it has a Beatles quality to it...with Kenny's own spin, of course. I love that in Kenny's recordings you can most definitely hear his influences, but they never directly sound like one another. A little bit of Beatles, Sondre, and Elliot Smith, and some other influences, it's great. Kenny is a hard-working musician, who with the "Woes of a Working Musician" that is an anthem for all striving bands and artists. Filled with humor and honesty is part of what makes this song great, especially hearing it live in a local coffee shop. "Parkview" then plays along, and it is a cute love song that no girl can help but smile to. :) There's no denying it. It's so sweet and sincere. During the conclusion of the song, Kenny experiments with using more electronical instruments, which help into the beginning of the last song, "Jupiter" which sounds like your going into outer space and has a electronica/techno vibe to it. All around a great record from an up-and-coming artist, who has a ton of passion and potential. Can't wait to see what will come from this artist later!
Check out his myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/kennystahl