Roger Street Friedman sings, plays and writes like a man who’s done and seen a lot the earthy things of life. He’s got a door-hinged rusty voice that sounds like its worked many a late night, and he makes it work well on this compositions of his along with a core team of Frank Ferara/g, Matt Schneider/b, Jim Toscano/dr, Amy Helm/voc and a guest horn team to add to the atmosphere.
The team can get New Orleans jumpy on the funky “Puffs of Smoke,” and Eleanor Mastersn’s violin creates a Cajun atmosphere on “Paradise.” Most of the time, however, Friedman uses his acoustic rhythm guitar with the band to create steady grooves with a street wise “Hideaway” and the thoughtful “Nothin’s Worth Nothin’.” The joint gets jumping on the title track with horns and Jason Cassidy’s keyboards, while the album ends on a reflective note on “Wonder (For Jonathan).” Hints of Jackson Brown or Jim Croce abound on this blue jeaned release.