Bill has a way with words, melody and musicianship. The songwriting is steller! He vocals are real and moving, this is the best CD I've heard in years. The song, Crown Of Thorns, is a sure hit if I've ever heard one. Why Bill isn't signed to a mojor label just shows you how bad the record industry is. It's no wonder they're not selling CD's anymore, when they don't have this kind of talent on their label. Stationary Poets is a must have for every real music lover. The stories, the melodies are the backbone of this masterpiece. The musicianship is fantastic to say the least. Do yourself a favor and by this CD. You won't regret a single minute of this wonderful album.

Let's just say that as I hit the road on a long trip I popped in my new Stationary Poets CD, and three hours later, it was still playing! I couldn't bring myself to change the disc! Yes, the touchstones are Dylan, Petty, the Wallflowers, maybe even a touch of Matchbox 20, but when you roll it all together you get one unique sound that is very, very special. Oh, and for me, as an old rock 'n' roller, I wouldn't say it's Dylan-esque...it's what I wish Dylan were today.

This band is excelent and it is almost a criminal mistake that none the biggest Cds stores have it in stock. I live in Brasil, and I knew this band from the Pandora station. When I went to USA I tried to find this album in Tower, Virgin, etc, but I did not find anywhere. So i wrote to CD BABY, ordered the cd and in just a one week I had my CD delivered in my home in Brasil. Thank you very much!!

If the name of this Virginia roots-rock band is unfamiliar to you, it won’t be for long. The Stationary Poets have the stuff that rock legends are made of, and that is in no way an over-exaggeration. Vocalist Bill Gaunce and guitarist Robin Miller make an impressive bid for being two of the most economical songwriters I’ve ever heard and, in my view that alone makes them masters at crafting the perfect 3-minute tune. Every note, every lyric and every beat is essential and concisely rendered. Absolutely nothing is wasted and not one ounce of creative talent is spared on this inspiring 11-track debut. As Gaunce’s moving harmonica leads the way in the opener, “Greeting Card”, The Stationary Poets get off to a melodically good start. With moody, contemplative songs such as “Waiting on a Train”, “All The Love” and the aforementioned “Greeting Card”, it’s very easy (almost too easy) to make the obvious Dylanesque comparison (Bob or Jakob, take your pick!). But, it is also an apt one, and not such bad company to be in, at all. If you’re from the "Just Like A Woman" school of the father, or the “6th Avenue Heartache” school of the son, The Stationary Poets will have no trouble finding a place in your music-loving soul. This is not to say that this band is purely a revisionistic Dylan construction. Far from it. Robin Miller’s keyboard work is often transcendental (“Don’t Know”,“Can’t Believe”), and the forceful rhythm section, comprised of bassist Charlie Corletto and drummer Mike Trimble, is rounded out by a three-barrel guitar assist (Miller, Gaunce and Billy Kello provide alternating 6-string licks, with Kello stepping up to showcase his skill on slide guitar). The Stationary Poets establish their unique position in the roots-rock hierarchy by expertly blending southern-styled guitar with a hint of groove rock and just a taste of swamp rock to smack their original compositions with vibrant personality, opening up the genre with sparks of elucidating nuance. So, whether coasting down some lonesome highway, in a ’58 convertible with the top down, listening to the Chris Isaac-sounding “Blacktop Lane”, or taking a detour to hear a bar band in some distant, whiskey-soaked dive as “Shiny Paint” plays on, or just kicking back under a cool, cloudy sky while the bluesy, aching refrains of “So Long” rain over you like a lover’s memory, you can take supreme pleasure in the irresistible strains of The Stationary Poets and remember just how comforting good music can be. -Roxanne Blanford- -------------end July 25, 2001