Songs from the Rocky Fork Tavern

Album Review

Bill Wence kicks off Songs from the Rocky Fork Tavern with the easy rocking "Angelene," a likable song that captures the tension between true love and the open road. The lyric looks back with regret, with the narrator coming to terms with just what he's lost; the upbeat cadence, however, sounds as free as the open road, revealing just how attractive the myth of the open road remains, even when it turns out to be empty. "What Do You Think About Me and You" follows, and it's a relaxed, Jimmy Buffett-styled love song. Wence had penned most of the material on Songs from the Rocky Fork Tavern and enjoys getting to the emotional heart of the matter. In "Old Rock and Roller" he tells the tale of an aging musician, committed to his lifestyle though he knows that time is no longer on his side. All of these songs are enhanced by Wence's emotive vocals and a sympathetic, gently rocking band. There are ballads dedicated to love lost like "She's Leavin' for Dallas" and more upbeat paeans to misery like David Oxford/Tommy Allen's "Honky Tonk Heartache." Like Buffett and a number of the better singer/songwriters from the early '70s, Wence has a down-to-earth, non-pretentious manner that makes his music easy to like. With solid songs, arrangements, and vocals, Songs from the Rocky Fork Tavern is also easy to recommend. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide