John Cowan's
Always Take Me Back is layered with the slick sheen of production. The former
New Grass Revival bassist/vocalist is in fine form vocally, though the material feels a little cluttered. The emotionally raw "18 Years," for example, is covered by a thick gloss. What should be snapping drums and penetrating acoustic guitars are filtered through a variety of shiny doublings.
Cowan makes up for this somewhat with his wailiing, plaintive vocals. ~ Jesse Jarnow