Josh Kelley - For The Ride Home

Ride the wave, baby, ride the wave. A&R guys across the nation have been falling all over themselves to sign as many singer/songwriters as possible. Why? To ride the wave of success produced by John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Ryan Adams, and on and on. With so much parity in the genre you really have to look deep to tell one artist from another. And, to succeed now an artist can’t just be a good singer or a good writer, he has to bring something unique to the table. In walks Josh Kelley. So what is unique about him? Well, nothing really. So what is so horrible about him? Well, nothing really. For The Ride Home is thirteen tracks of catchy pop, acoustic rock. Nothing more, nothing less. I won’t say anything bad about the album, because it has a few nice laid-back tunes that the girls will swoon for. But, by the same accord, I won’t praise the album either, because it is just another in a long line of what we have heard a hundred times before. Sorry, Josh. It’s not your fault your album will be lost amongst the crowd, but it just isn’t unique enough to stand out. Average. [www.joshkelley.com]