Canyon Lights – Breathe Easy
Sgt. Honeyeater Records
12 tracks – 40 minutes
Canyon Lights brings two former GA-20 members together in a united vision of music that appealed to them – Pat Faherty on vocals, guitar and bass and Tim Carman on drums, percussion and backing vocals. While they loved the blues that they played with their former band, the two discovered they had a mutual love of 70’s rock ‘n’ roll bands like Mountain, The James Gang and Thin Lizzy. Pat revealed he had been working on some songs and Tim also advised that he had some lyrics that he had been holding onto. The two realized that this was a new direction and decided to test the waters with the recording of their debut album.
“Seventh Son” gets things rocking immediately with Pat’s vocals immediately reminding of Steve Miller. Pat asks “Won’t you let me heal your mind, soothe away all your woes?” “Late To the Ball” keeps things rocking as he proclaims, “I am a certified starry-eyed stature of a man”. ” I want to be in love”. On “Song Behind Those Tears” he tells her “You can face your fears”.
He begs her to “Let Me In” “we’ll have a good time”. Johnny Stachela, who played in the Allman Betts Band, guests on guitar with Dave Brophy on percussion on “Drivin’ Me”. Pat sings “it gives me no pleasure to cause you this pain…and it gives me no pleasure to leave you this way”. “Got the cocaine blues and feeling fine.” A quieter song in a slightly bluesier vein follows as he offers “My father once said the best time of the day is the first thing in the morning when no mistakes have been made”. “Tequila’s on the night- stand” “Codeine and Caffeine” will cover up the pain”. “Tomorrow I will remember how to love again'”
They move back into a rocking tune as he declares “I’ve let my head out “Running Wild”. On “Movin’ Down”, Pat exclaims ” I love you, yes, it’s true. I need you so get “Movin’ Down”. He begs her to “Love Me Sweetly” and drops in a nice guitar solo.
“Blood Red Moon” shifts things into a quieter, acoustic number with his electric guitar sliding underneath. Pat advises that “the damage is already done. “Take Care” is a short snippet that sounds like something that came from a 1940’s movie. They close with “Breathe Easy” as “the walls are closing in”.
The release notes the songs on the album are very personal relating to “Spending 200 days a year on the road, struggling with separation and loss, the thrill of living out of a suitcase…a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this album”. As first noted, their intent, which they certainly accomplished, was to provide a 70’s sounding rock album. The duo works well together, but as they take the music on the road, they have added Nashville musician Heather Gillis to the band on bass. Heather has toured with Butch Trucks and her own band, Wolf Twin.
