Out of the Blue

AMG Review of Out of the Blue

Bob Gottlieb
All Music Guide

The loping bass, punctuating guitar, and drumstick slaps let you know right away that you have an Amazing Rhythm Aces release on your hands. This is the first good release of their material on disc (there was Ride Again, a best-of collection, that didn't quite satisfy) which contains some wonderful quality material. The Aces are purveyors of ock-inflected country music, or countrified ock, and this amalgam is flavored with a healthy dose of lues. The intelligent lyrics are backdropped by instrumentation that perfectly augments the sentiments of the lyrics. The lead voice on most songs is Russell Smith, whose voice has gotten even better and more reflective with the passing of years. The Aces have maintained the excellent lyric content of the songs, and when mixed with their simple but elegant arrangements, they produce simply great songs. Hard to find, but worth the effort.