Robin Dean Salmon's forceful new rocking country project titled "Come On Home" provides a window into the soul of a musical journeyman who was born in Durban, South Africa and somehow found his way to his rightful home in the country capital of the world, Nashville, Tennessee. "Come On Home" shows that Robin Dean Salmon has found a signature sound that works.
Robin Dean Salmon has had the kind of life that begs for an autobiography. He survived turmoil in South Africa, trained in karate, helped in his family's safari expedition company and settled in San Antonio on a large horn cattle ranch. The surprise is that these experiences are just the beginning of the complex life of Robin Dean Salmon. But music was always a constant thread in his life, and Robin Dean Salmon's years of practice have paid off with "Come On Home."
The album starts off with the outstanding "Ready Now," which has a sound that is part Billy Joe Shaver and part Reckless Kelly. It is a good mix that succeeds. Another outstanding cut is titled "Arizona Rain." This song is an upbeat declaration of the feelings and experiences of his life and includes many pop culture references. This song could be a country radio hit.
But it is the ethereal "You're The One" where Robin Dean Salmon's star shines the brightest. His passionate delivery and careful instrumentation combined with heartfelt and sincere lyrics make this the best song of the album's 15 cuts. However, "America" and "Tuesday Afternoon" also provide fitting showcases of Robin Dean Salmon's talent.
"Come On Home" is a wonderful country project and an interesting and very satisfying look at the life of Robin Dean Salmon. This is a career-defining album that is pure country music with subtle hints of his well-traveled and interesting life. CountryChart.com
"MUSES MUSE"CD Review: Making a solid contribution to the Americana genre, is singer-songwriter and guitarist Robin Dean Salmon, with his seventh album "Gasoline". Recorded in Nashville by Eric Fritch, and produced by the artist himself, they manage to get the most out of every tune, as almost every track sounds like it would sit comfortably on country radio.
The album "Houston Kid" by Rodney Crowell (who sings on the CD's first single "Maybe I Do"), was a major instigator in Salmon's latest musical direction, and he clearly draws well on those lessons. There's a good mix of rockers and ballads, with strong playing and cool instrumentation throughout, most notably the pedal steel of Al Perkins, who wisely gets frequently featured. However, what Salmon tends to do, and quite effectively, is combine instruments to create a sound that is sympathetic to the song. This is illustrated on the CD's strongest cut, "When You Have it All", where fiddle and pedal steel work together to flesh out the ache of lost brotherhood, matched by Salmon's voice in a John Prine shade.
While most of "Gasoline" rests on the pop side of country, some more traditional country flavor comes out on the songs "Draw the Line", the fiddle blazing "Plane, Train" and the sweet-picking workout of "Still in Love with You".
The CD may lack a bona fide blockbuster type single, the title-track being the most likely suspect, but Robin Dean Salmon's "Gasoline" starts out strong and doesn't let up.
REVIEW "MELODIC MAG"
Sometimes the simple way of doin´ things the best ... As in this case, in which Robin Dean Salmon delivers fifteen songs from the American South. The style is not country, it is not alt-country and it is not common traditional wide-legged singer songwriter rock. Nah, the music fall somewhere between these styles, and he does it damn good. Listen to the second song ´Arizona Rain, for example. That is an evidence of the qualities this man sits on. A song that Springsteen would be proud to have written. Same thing with the quiet "You´re The One" who would be a song on the disc, I hope Springsteen somewhere in the future will do. A disc where he takes the car 1000 miles south from New Jersey into the American south. This is a really good album.
REVIEW "TODAYS COUNTRY"
It really didn’t surprise me too much to see that not only did Robin Dean Salmon find influence amongst country music icons like Bob Wills and Johnny Cash, but also found bands like The Clash, U2, Sex Pistols to be intriguing as well. He pulls together the punk rock spirit with a traditional brand of rockabilly tinged traditional country on his latest effort “Come On Home” with the best of them. His smoky, rough around the edges vocals beg to be compared to the likes of modern artists like Jack Ingram or Reckless Kelly more often then not and if that’s not enough to peak your interest, his melodies and hooks are catchy and will attract any fan of the Red Dirt Music Scene. His lyrics are a huge selling point for me on this album as he focuses on a lot of easy to relate subjects. Lost love is perfectly displayed on title track “Come On Home” as he asks the one that left to come back, while on “You’re The One,” he displays his more affect ionate side as he talks about the things that are most important in his life but how they are only important because of the woman next to him on the path. But, let’s not put down the whiskey or take off the boots just yet because Robin Dean Salmon is not afraid to rock out either. Just give a listen to “Last Call” or the rockin’ album closer “Daddy Is A Short Man” and you may find yourself wondering when Mike Ness and Brian Setzer got together to write rockin’ country songs. This is a very solid album from start to finish that perfectly puts Salmon’s wide range of influences on display allowing him offer something a tad different, but similar enough to what we are hearing from the country market these days to attract the modern country fans.
