Till Midnight (CD, fra Chuck Ragan

For his new album "Till Midnight", Chuck Ragan has gathered something like a "revival tour" line-up. Among them are guitar player Todd Beene (Lucero), drummer David Hidalgo Jr. (Social Distortion), his long-term companions Jon Gaunt (violin) and Joe Ginsberg (contrabass), guest singer Dave Hause, Jon Snodgrass, Chad Price (Drag the River), Ben Nichols (Lucero) and Jenny O., as well as keyboardist Rami Jaffee (The Wallflowers).

However, "Till Midnight" is a milestone in the songwriter's solo career. Compared to the preceding album "Covering Ground", which dealt almost exclusively with the ups and downs of touring and the lonely hours of "Nomad By Fate", it is now very much about love. What's more, Ragan dares to clearly show other influences on his musical background for the first time in his career. On "Something May Catch Fire" you can find elements which remind you very much of Neil Young. In between, you can discern references to Creedence Clearwater Revival.