Shoot Out at the OK Chinese Restaurant

Grade:

A

There was a time in the music industry when music was about music. Before nearly every song became available on the Internet; before MTV made "stars" out of pretty, talentless, singers; even before people purchased albums based on the opinion of wannabe music critics: Musicians were the voices of the people.

Ramsey Midwood sends the listener back to those days with Shoot Out at the OK Chinese Restaurant. This album is an old-fashioned bluegrass/folk album that, with needle scratches barely audible during the beginning and end of the songs, sounds as if you're listening to an old 33 or 45 instead of a CD.

In addition to having that old-fashioned feel, the album is plain and simply good. Every song delivers exactly what it is intended to. From the lament of things lost of "Spinnin' on this Rock" to the love that is just around the corner in "Feed My Monkey," Midwood's lyrics and music have a playful quality that make it nearly impossible to not tap your feet.

Chinese Restaurant is the type of album that true music lovers should own. Regardless of your genre preference, it will improve the quality of your collection markedly.

But, it probably doesn't matter to Midwood if you like the album or not. As he says so eloquently in "Monster Truck," "If you don't like it, you can kiss my ass cause I drive a monster truck."