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When a lead guitarist makes the transition from a band to a solo career, there are always many questions to be asked and answered. Former Femme Fatele and The Sharks guitarist Michael J. Downey’s third acoustic/pop/rock solo release america unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired.

After leaving Femme Fatele a few years back, Michael decided to start his solo career and tour around the world to create a “cultural bridge through his music, and through his non-profit organization.” While I can respect his goals and aspirations, the fact that the music he creates is subpar seriously hampers the chances that I’ll ever buy into them.

First of all, the vocals – provided by Downey himself – are way below average, and the backup vocals – provided by Christina Rasch – are ill-timed and don’t add much to the music as a whole. Next, the guitar playing is all over the place. For some reason, Downey concentrated more on vocals in this album, which seriously hampers the guitar part of his duties. The sloppy guitar playing combined with an average backup band makes this a very unfulfilling listen.

While I’m not a fan of Downey’s solo music, I feel compelled to point out that his first single, america, reached number 6 on the Adult Contemporary charts at FMQB.

This album may become relatively popular with some fans of the AC genre, but any other fans no interested in slow, untimely music should steer clear of this very average release from Downey.