“The Rockfords”

The Rockfords

Although the odds are good that anyone from a band who takes time off to do a side project will end up rehashing the same old sound, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready defies these odds.

Joining with members of Goodness and Jodie Watts, McCready brings his guitar genius into the fold and ends up producing some original sounding music.

Interestingly, McCready is returning to his beginnings. He grew up with drummer Chris Friel, bassist Rick Friel and guitarist Danny Newcomb. In the late ’70s the four formed the band Warrior and played around the Seattle area for a few years before moving on to other projects.

When McCready saw his friends playing together in Goodness over 10 years later, he was awestruck by lead vocalist Carrie Akre and knew right then he wanted to work with the band.

The end result was a wholesome rock album that amazingly sounds nothing like Pearl Jam, despite McCready’s heavy guitar influence. A good example of his ability is “Flashes,” which features a flaring guitar solo precluded by a monstrous scream from Akre.

“The Rockfords” represents McCready’s first time writing lyrics. Besides “Flashes,” he also penned “Distress,” “Spiral” and “Windows.”

“Distress” is a soft acoustic ballad that allows for Akre to show off her singing talent, whereas “Spiral” is a major contrast with its opening riff that captures all the emptiness and rage of which the song speaks.

What makes “Windows” work so well is how it ticks like clockwork before breaking down into an eclectic summation of each individual instrument before building to an explosive closing.

The first single, “Silver Lining,” bobs along at an easy pace while Akre croons with sincere affections. Perhaps the best part about this song is how it ends with a powerfully calm interplay of violins.

“Silver Lining” may be a quiet tune, but “Sureshot” jumps out of the gates with a caustic display of the band’s raw energy. Both Newcomb and McCready showcase a host of talents on their guitars making it obvious the pair grew up together and learned from each other.

“Riverwide” features Heart’s Nancy Wilson acting as guest vocalist. Though the song starts out sounding like Heart, it quickly transforms into a reverie with intricate guitar play.

McCready couldn’t have picked a better group of musicians to work with, and thankfully, he doesn’t bring a heavy Pearl Jam influence into the Rockfords’ style, opting instead for an original sound.

3 1/2 Stars