I picked this CD up at a Dunn. Bros. show in Nov. 2004 and at $5.00 it was a great deal! I was immediately hooked on the opening track RIVERTOWN with its haunting melody and backwater beat. DANCING LADY is just a tune that grows on you after a while and could be sub-popsy hit if you ask me. The storytelling of LOST LOVE makes this one a great folk epic and YOU BETTER RUN is a song so many can identify with! Do yourself a favor, pick this CD up, get some headphones and escape into the journey that is Steve West's Songs of Love and other Natural Disasters.

Funny man Steve West brings a bit of comic relief to his debut release, “Songs of Love and Other Disasters”. Singing on personal experiences, this singer/songwriter does not pick a certain direction with his music. He’s covered the long, winding highway of jazz, soul, blues, folk and a curve of rock in the release. Each song has it’s own combination of instrumentation, making each song fun & lively. One song not to be missed is Steve’s cover of Bobby Freeman’s “Do you want to Dance”. Steve’s vocals on this track make it purely enjoyable! An excellent CD to relax with, its comfort food for the ears!

Nice toe tappin',finger snappin' music that left me hummin' throughout my days. Fits in nicely between my Jayhawks and John Prine binges.

In my opinion, Steve West represents what Indie music is really all about, because he doesn't have a major label contract, he doesn't have a big glitzy band, he goes out and sings his own songs in places like taverns and coffeehouses, and even puts on shows in his own backyard. He collects cans of food at his appearances to give to charity and donates his proceeds from cd sales and gigs to research to find a cure for breast cancer. He lets his family be a part of the show and lets his 11 year old daughter Emma (who does NOT go to the bars with dad) have her own spotlight songs to sing. Now,what about the album itself? Well, there are nine tracks on it and only one is a cover, of Bobby Freeman's oldies hit, "Do You Want To Dance?". The other 8 are self-penned originals. There are four I would call "really good" songs and another 2 I'd give an "okay" to. I think the best songs are "You Don't Care", "You Better Run", "I'm On A Roll", and "Lonely Man", in that order. The other two I also enjoyed were "Rivertown" and "Lost Love." Like I already mentioned, there isn't a lot of real fancy "glitz" about this album, but it does have a lot of plain good music being played by a bunch of folks who obviously know how to enjoy their work. I would recommend this album to folks who like going around the comfortable chair, laid back, troubadour lounges, those who remember the days of the coffeehouse folk song singers and those who, like me, actually remember the 60's.