author: Minor 7th Webzine
Clevelander Joe Rohan shakes off the grit from that rough-edged Ohio torn with a smooth country-based debut, "Walk Along." The well-traveled drummer takes easily to the spotlight, adding lead vocals, acoustic guitar and dobro to his stix licks. He teams with Tom Prebish (bass), Dan Rose (guitar), Bill Lestock (guitar), Austin Charanghat (guitar) and Tim Longfellow (piano) on this 11-track effort. Vicki Chew and Jen Podulka provide backing vocals. Rohan shows off a fine country tenor as he croons through seven of his own compositions. Though some songs approach country pop, his lyrical approach is more folk-oriented than rock, with tales of love lost, love missed, wistful regrets and cautious hope. He also covers Rickie Lee Jones' "The Horses," a bit of a stretch, with, not surprisingly, mixed results. Still, Rohan displays a knack for crafting a pleasant-enough country song, and ably presenting it. Clearly, he has a lot of stories to share -- though one hopes some shadings of that Cleveland edginess will manifest itself in subsequent efforts.
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a stand out folk rock album
author: Score! Music Magazine
Joe Rohan is a Cleveland-based singer/songwriter whose music combines an almost country swing vibe with a folk rock sensibility. The ten tracks on this CD spotlight Rohan’s throaty vocal delivery and his abilities as a songwriter. While his music is fairly derivative, it is his vocal inflection and his obvious passion that make this a stand out folk rock album. This is by far the best effort by a Cleveland-based singer/songwriter that I’ve heard since Alex Bevan's heyday. Whatever happened to him, anyway?
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author: Diana
The sincere, poetic lyrics and rhythmic melodies of Walk Along has made it a permanent fixture in my car CD player for the past 100 miles. Every listen gives one a deeper personal connection to the lyrics and a stronger appreciation for Joe's musical genius. I can't wait for the next CD, and if you listen to Walk Along, I know you'll feel the same.
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Excellent
author: Ewen
Another new star on the Americana scene. Lovely dobro work. Great version of Rickie Lee Jones- Horses. Not a bad track on the whole cd. Harmonies on some tracks resemble CSN. All in all an excellent solo debut. Can't wait for the next.
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