Artist:	Big Bob Young
Album:	Hard Way To Make A Dollar
Year:	2008
Label:	Man Around The House
Order-#:	6 34479 83540 7

© 2008 / Bruno Michel

Working Man's Blues is what you could call the songs of Big Bob Young on his debut Hardway To Make A Dollar. After 23 years in Army, Airforce and National Guard, several tragic events and many positive and negative experiences, a person can tell some stories. Young is doing that through his songs. The fact that he's also a multi instrumentalist (Guitar, Bass, Drums) helps him to wrap perfectly fitting melodies around his lyrics.

The words go deep and talk of real life - not the one filled with sunshine and bright lights but the one full of tears, illness, and difficult situations. In Somewhere Tonight parents are worried about the whereabouts of their teens. Hard Way To Make A Dollar tells the working class reality at the example of a waitress. You work your butt off everyday and you still make it barely through the monthly bills. But life is not only filled with darkness. There's sometimes also fun. Young tells this in Green Country Stomp.

The CD booklet contains all the lyrics and - even better - a short note of Young what inspired him to the song. This helps the listener to feel into the story and so there's additional significance. Through the many events in his life, Young is not afraid of expressing his belief in songs as he does in Stand Up.

A CD that's certainly different from the current mass productions and that reminds me of some texan songwriters: Straight forward, honest and sometimes inconvenient. Let's hope that Young gets his well deserved attention. His fanbase is certainly growing with this album.

Info at www.myspace.com/bbuiltonblues oder www.somuchmoore.com