A Wonderfully Classic Record from Rick Hart

A new album released by Rick Hart brings out a vintage country and Americana soundscape that is mended into a more current feel and brings elements of folk, singer-songwriter, and so much more into the mix with incredibly lush instrumentation and just this aesthetic that feels like you've been listening to these songs on the radio for years now.

The In the Midnight Sky Alone album is bursting with these social deliveries and classic vocal approaches that give you the feeling he's not only influenced by classic country but also by classic rock itself and these influences have different ways of showing face throughout the record not just vocally but musically at times as well.

Now that country swing and twang is really strong with this release and the energy that's portrayed throughout the record feels like some of the songs were just recorded live as if everyone involved with feeding off of each other the whole time and that makes you want to go see this performed on stage because if the energy is captured this well on a recording, then seeing it live must just be unreal.

You get violins, banjo, piano, pedal steel, and just an immense array of instruments that give these songs such a full-bodied soundscape and it lets everything feel alive and breathing in its own way.

Although the instruments and performances are Stellar, what really grabs at you is the character that's delivered throughout this record by Rick himself and that is something that stands true throughout the whole thing.

Some of these songs are like chapters in his life While others are telling stories from an outside point of view but either way you really getting this almost rustic undertone that makes everything so authentic lyrically and musically that you just keep wanting more and more.

Sometimes the backing organ makes a ballad feel more impactful while other times a lap steel adds at atmosphere to a song, and you get these little surprises throughout the record as you listen so the whole thing is like an escape that you can just fall into and forget about your surroundings for a while.

This is one of those albums that you listen to from beginning to end because if you don't, you're missing some of the stories and the character that is given throughout the record but more importantly by listening to only one or two songs you're getting nowhere near the full spectrum of what this album contains and is delivered.

I understand that we live in a single-based society and believe me, there are quite a few singles on this record that would stand out to me but having gone through the whole record it's so much more fulfilling.

The whole thing was beautifully constructed and woven with this wonderful heart that shows face and every single song and a lot of these tracks come through with a beautiful warmth to them that feels welcoming.

This was quite a record to swim through and if you're a fan of any level or any subgenre of country music in general, there are plenty of songs for you on this record as he does his thing.

Certainly check this out when you can and again, try and do the whole record because it's well worth it.

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