We\'ve all done it - heard the hype, jump on cdbaby and buy that hot new album.  You listen to it once or twice, it sounds great, you\'re into it.  Then a funny thing happens... you start skipping tracks, then you take it out of your carousel  \"temporarily\", and before you know it it\'s in that big pile of cd\'s without cases gathering dust in the corner of your entertainment center.

Then there are other albums... they\'re fine on the first listen, then maybe you give it another listen a week later, and then you play it twice in a row and realize you\'re singing along with it.  Pretty soon it\'s all you listen to, you get that little buzz in your chest every time that one guitar lick comes in, and you wonder why you didn\'t hear that on the first go around.

\"Blue Lake California\" is solidly in the latter category.  Portz\'s album is a like an 11-tune road trip, trading stories about travel, love, disappointment, and dreams.  Oh, and Neil Young and Tom Petty are in the back seat, they don\'t talk much but they\'ve got a lot to say.  This album is all about the songwriting.  Portz tells stories, not really the \"once upon a time\" type, more like \"have you ever felt like this?\"  He sets the scenes with traditional tools, ranging from rocking riffs to shuffling, laid back folk  grooves.  The melodies and progressions are simple but solid, keeping you interested without distracting from the unfolding storyline.

Some of the top tracks on this album include \"My Broken Heart,\" an upbeat rocker with catchy guitar licks and a great ending where Portz really shows off his vocal range.  \"Rollercoaster Ride\" is a fun Petty-ish groove, cleverly waxing that \"it\'s getting late and I feel dark.\"  \"You and I\" and \"I Can Hear You\" amble along in that easy Neil Young style, with \"Something That\'s Real\" channeling the melancholy Neil Young.  \"Road Trip\" is just that, and frankly has reinspired me to finally take that cross-country low-budget road trip that I\'ve been talking about but for some reason haven\'t done.  The title track to \"Blue Lake Califormia\" is a combo love-travel story, reminiscent of summer loves and that special feeling when intimacy races ahead of familiarity.  

Buy this album, pop it in your cd player, and give it a few listens.  You won\'t have to worry about changing cd\'s for a while.  And for God\'s sake, clean up your entertainment center.
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