Walt Cronin's release of California I Gotta Run, his third album, follows 2005's The Gousters and 2008's somewhat redundantly titled Walt Cronin - The Gousters. As with the previous records, California I Gotta Run features a spectrum of Americana/folk influences: Walt proudly emulates the tradition of his heroes such as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, John Prine, Rodney Crowell Emmy Lou Harris, Jerry Jeff Walker and Steve Earle. As an artist, Walt came into his own at the tender age of 50. A lifetime of experiences (including a stint as a medic during the Vietnam War and a subsequent semi-nomadic life) provide ample inspiration for subject matter in the numerous songs in his repertoire.
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Walt Cronin - California I Gotta Run
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All the songs, whether whimsical, heartfelt or laced with grim regret, are woven with the care of Walt's quality story-telling and songwriting and are beautifully arranged and produced with friend Martin Beal. Listeners will be entranced listening to Walt's stories on California I Gotta Run.
Walt Cronin California I Gotta R
Walt Cronin's release of California I Gotta Run, his third album, follows 2005's The
Gousters and 2008's somewhat redundantly titled Walt Cronin - The Gousters. As with
the previous records, California I Gotta Run features a spectrum of Americana/folk
influences: Walt proudly emulates the tradition of his heroes such as Pete Seeger, Bob
Dylan, The Byrds, John Prine and Steve Earle. As an artist, Walt came into his own at
the tender age of 50. A lifetime of experiences (including a stint as a medic during the
Vietnam War and a subsequent semi-nomadic life) provide ample inspiration for subject
matter in the numerous songs in his repertoire.
Walt spent over a year writing and crafting songs for California I Gotta Run before
bringing them to his producer, Martin Beal of The Racket Room in Santa Ana, CA. Walt
and Martin spent several months on and off in the studio fine tuning and enhancing the
13 songs. Walt's goal was to reflect the sincerity of folk music history while placing the
songs in a contemporary setting. The collaborators achieved their aims with Martin
providing detailed arrangements and a fine editing ear while playing a myriad of
instruments (guitars, keyboards, bass, mandolin, melodica, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy,
percussion, as well as performing all drum programming).
The songs on the new album deal with a range of very personal, introspective issues,
some dark and troubled (relationships tainted by substance abuse), some benevolent
and almost fatherly (respectful, heartfelt advice to today's returning war veterans from
someone who has been there), some whimsical (a 1950s-flavored teenage love story).
Overall, the album is largely formed by the hope Walt has found by facing the persistent
demons from his wartime experience.
"Awake In A Dream" is an ethereal voyage of the mind and heart, soaring the listener
into an almost transcendental state. Walt's long time love for his wife shows in other
beautiful songs such as "Together We'll Be," and "Shining Through." "Angel Wings" is
inspired by his Grandfather's philosophy of life. "A Boy Of Purest Wonder" is the story of
a young man reaching for his dreams in a time long past. "California I Gotta Run" is
about fulfilling a dream of rural simplicity. All the songs, whether whimsical, heartfelt or
laced with grim regret, are woven with the care of Walt's quality story-telling and
songwriting and are beautifully arranged and produced with friend Martin Beal. Listeners
will be entranced listening to Walt's stories on California I Gotta Run.
"The success of my first CD, The Gousters, as an independent release was incredibly
gratifying." says Walt. Walt made all 13 songs on The Gousters available for free
downloading on www.thegousters.com. It has remained a favorite on the independent
folk radio circuit with songs such as "Make Me A Kinder Man" and "Only Eighteen", a
memoir of his time in Vietnam. The Gousters remained in the top 50 for 60 weeks on
Roots Music Report.
Walt's second album, Walt Cronin - The Gousters, garnered flattering reviews from
Beeb Ashcroft of Indie-music.com and Sharon Lunsford of The Back Porch News.
"Tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is
becoming quite rare." said Ashcroft.
Walt's third independent release shows a significant growth in Walt's songwriting gifts.
" I think this is my best work yet, " quotes Walt. "I hope you'll feel the same," he adds.
Walt Cronin
Walt Cronin's release of California I Gotta Run, his third album, follows 2005's The
Gousters and 2008's somewhat redundantly titled Walt Cronin - The Gousters. As with
the previous records, California I Gotta Run features a spectrum of Americana/folk
influences: Walt proudly emulates the tradition of his heroes such as Pete Seeger, Bob
Dylan, The Byrds, John Prine and Steve Earle. As an artist, Walt came into his own at
the tender age of 50. A lifetime of experiences (including a stint as a medic during the
Vietnam War and a subsequent semi-nomadic life) provide ample inspiration for subject
matter in the numerous songs in his repertoire.
Walt spent over a year writing and crafting songs for California I Gotta Run before
bringing them to his producer, Martin Beal of The Racket Room in Santa Ana, CA. Walt
and Martin spent several months on and off in the studio fine tuning and enhancing the
13 songs. Walt's goal was to reflect the sincerity of folk music history while placing the
songs in a contemporary setting. The collaborators achieved their aims with Martin
providing detailed arrangements and a fine editing ear while playing a myriad of
instruments (guitars, keyboards, bass, mandolin, melodica, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy,
percussion, as well as performing all drum programming).
The songs on the new album deal with a range of very personal, introspective issues,
some dark and troubled (relationships tainted by substance abuse), some benevolent
and almost fatherly (respectful, heartfelt advice to today's returning war veterans from
someone who has been there), some whimsical (a 1950s-flavored teenage love story).
Overall, the album is largely formed by the hope Walt has found by facing the persistent
demons from his wartime experience.
"Awake In A Dream" is an ethereal voyage of the mind and heart, soaring the listener
into an almost transcendental state. Walt's long time love for his wife shows in other
beautiful songs such as "Together We'll Be," and "Shining Through." "Angel Wings" is
inspired by his Grandfather's philosophy of life. "A Boy Of Purest Wonder" is the story of
a young man reaching for his dreams in a time long past. "California I Gotta Run" is
about fulfilling a dream of rural simplicity. All the songs, whether whimsical, heartfelt or
laced with grim regret, are woven with the care of Walt's quality story-telling and
songwriting and are beautifully arranged and produced with friend Martin Beal. Listeners
will be entranced listening to Walt's stories on California I Gotta Run.
"The success of my first CD, The Gousters, as an independent release was incredibly
gratifying." says Walt. Walt made all 13 songs on The Gousters available for free
downloading on www.thegousters.com. It has remained a favorite on the independent
folk radio circuit with songs such as "Make Me A Kinder Man" and "Only Eighteen", a
memoir of his time in Vietnam. The Gousters remained in the top 50 for 60 weeks on
Roots Music Report.
Walt's second album, Walt Cronin - The Gousters, garnered flattering reviews from
Beeb Ashcroft of Indie-music.com and Sharon Lunsford of The Back Porch News.
"Tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is
becoming quite rare." said Ashcroft.
Walt's third independent release shows a significant growth in Walt's songwriting gifts.
" I think this is my best work yet, " quotes Walt. "I hope you'll feel the same," he adds.
Reviewed By Indie-Muisc
Quote: "Tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is becoming quite rare."
An engaging collection of folk rock tunes, Walt Cronin's The Gousters is a homespun and charming effort. Warm,
earthy sounds envelope the listener as Cronin delivers work that is solidly written with a compelling sincerity. Many of these songs are about war, often sounding like the contemporary answer to the folk protest songs of 1960s artists like Pete Seeger.
Penned by Vietnam veteran Cronin in relation to his personal experiences, the themes of his music still resonate in today's world. "Flowers In Her Hand" is the story of a young war widow, while "The Rift" narrates Cronin's own inner struggles dealing with his experiences as a Navy Corpsman. Regardless of the listener's personal views, we all acknowledge the human sacrifice that war entails. While there are obviously political themes on here, for the most part these are intimate, personal recollections based on his own life.
The sweet, almost naive sensibilities of the music is juxtaposed to the stories Cronin tells about the aftermath of war; this sad contrast evokes a feeling of innocence lost. But Cronin's underlying optimism and hope is a thread throughout the album - and this is ultimately a story of healing, and of love prevailing. And love does prevail: "You Are The Light" is a gentle, romantic ballad that ends the album on an uplifting note.
These are tender and introspective songs with the kind of realness and authenticity that is becoming quite rare. Cronin shows his craftsmanship for twangy, down-home rock on cuts such as "Like A Day Like Today" and "The Rift," my two favorite cuts from this record. Cronin has a lot of stories to tell, and I will look forward to hearing more of them in the future.
By Bebe Ashcroft