Ned Hill writes good, insightful songs with some of the funniest damn lyrics I ever did hear. Some of his songs are pop, some are a bit countryish, and others are the chic Americana brand. If you have a problem with that potpourri, I cannot imagine you would like this CD. It has been my experience that this cross-genre-breeding can create diamonds and coal in equal measure. I am pleased to report that Rain, Trains, and The Lord Almighty is a diamond.

The band is journeyman-level and you’ll be treated to a variety of sounds – dobro, pedal steel, clavinet, trombone, viola, and trumpet, just for starters. The overall production in a word is “equilibrium”. This CD shows off their quality instrumentation, fancy harmonies, and witted one-liners. Ned Van Go is living proof that Nashville is secretly so much more than crappy commercialized country.

Note the sound of an old film projector that leads into a ragtime piano that leads into the southern-pop tune “Back Home”. The roadhouse stopper is “Hold Down Mary” with a nice rolling piano intro and a hard driving backbeat that keeps the guitar play on task. We all know that the preacher’s daughter is trouble...and now they have an anthem. “Laid” is a fun, irreverent song that tells the brutal truth about why guys really learn to play guitar. “Love Her Anyway” is a comical look at how a “body made in California” can turn a smart man dumb. “Sweet Rebecca” is the harsh reality, broken-hearted love song and “Ma Janet” is the dreamy, warm-hearted love song. “Interstate”, “Lonely Town”, and “Fade Out” are thought-provocative and a bit more serious.

This is not a themed CD from what I can tell and there is no reason for the track-list order. The overall presentation is simply an eclectic combination of musical flavors. That’s a good thing in this case because the songs need no support system – they hold up on their own. A few of these songs are certifiably radio-friendly pop. If the band had a major label behind them, you’d already know this because you would have heard of them by now.

(Anthony Bates is a guest writer for 2 Walls Webzine and Music Director for Moozikoo.com)