Luna Kafé e-zine  Luna Kafé record review
coverpic flag England - Full Moon 171 - 08/24/10

Pete Molinari
A Train Bound For Glory
Clarksville Recordings/Proper / Playground

A Train Bound For Glory is English singer/songwriter Pete Molinari's third album. His former two albums, Walking Off The Map (2006) and A Virtual Landslide (2008) told of a very talented soulful-Americana singer. A talent that really blooms on this Nashville-recorded third album.

A Train Bound For Glory opens with the classic country tune "Streetcar Named Desire", which is a bit more up-beat than one is used to hear Molinari. And this faster pace becomes his distinct spellbinding voice. But still it is on the more soulful Americana-blues songs that Pete Molinari is most brilliant. Like on the heart-takingly beautiful "To Be Close To (Your Heart's Desire)", "Minus Me" and "For Eliza" that has more of the Mexican than the American moods. And then there is the mesmerizing string-ballad closure "What A Day, What A Night, What A Girl", that makes it very tempting to add 'What A Man', regarding Pete Molinari him-self.

It is easy to hear the legacy from names like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Billie Holliday and other famed classical Americana/folk artists on A Train Bound For Glory. But even so, what you hear the most is Pete Molinari's unique sound. A sound that is filled with, not only the obvious love for those musical days long gone, but also the strength of his own musical craftsmanship.

So, Pete Molinari has with A Train Bound For Glory made an astonishingly beautiful soulful Americana album, that probably is one of this year's best records, regardless of genre.

Copyright © 2010 Aslaug O Klausen e-mail address

© 2011 Luna Kafé