Album: Lookin' Back
Artist: Nick DeMaio
Label: Young Pioneer
Nick DeMaio has been a western swing and country music favorite in Connecticut for many years. For the past fifteen or so years he has been a part of his family band, GUNSMOKE. In the summer of 2004 Gunsmoke traveled to Nashville to appear on the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree. At that time Nick recorded his second CD at Oak valley Sound, featured the great back up work of Buddy Emmons on steel, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Buddy Spicher on fiddle, Pete Wade on guitar,Gene Chrisman on drums, and Larry Marrs on bass. His son, Gunsmoke's gifted steel guitarist, Jeff DeMaio produced the album of ten classics.
The harmony vocalists are Jeff, Bob 'Mac' Macari, Tony Reno and Tony Reno Jr. Nick's older son; Nick DeMaio III joins Nick for one of the real gems of this album, Hank Cochran's A Way to Survive borrowed from the great Ray Price. Also borrowed from Ray Price is Ray Pennington's Tonight Somewhere out in Texas.
The album opens with Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan's When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again. Nick brings back this World War II era classic with a nice 21st century swing. He also does a nice Texas dance hall shuffle, Ray Griff's Step Aside, a Faron Young hit. Cindy Walker is remembered with the Eddy Arnold memory Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me, while also from Arnold is the swinging Anytime. Nick also does a wonderful version of the Darrell McCall standard from Lou Rochelle and Doodle Owens, There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone. Boudleaux Bryant wrote Take Me as I Am and Sonny Throckmorton gave Ray Price I Wish I Was Eighteen Again. The album closes with a really swinging version of the T. Texas Tyler theme Remember Me
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