# Album Review:  Seattle Musician Rusty Reid’s ‘Head to Heart’

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2019/06/album-review-seattle-musician-rusty-reids-head-to-heart/
- Published: 2019-06-30T23:18:04-04:00
- Author: Max Hammer

Steeped in country music, British pop, surf rock, psychedelic rock, and many other
influences, Seattle musician Rusty Reid grew up on the dusty plains of West Texas,
a region that has produced many revered singer-songwriters.

West Texas is also where the South meets Cajun country, the Wild West, Native, and
Mexican culture and history converge and overlap, mix and mingle as they have for
more than a century. Growing up in such a rich place, Reid had plenty of material
to work with for his new album, _Head to Heart_.

The first song, the album’s title track, is an acoustic country pop song. Reid’s
emotional, crooning-like vocals remind many of Roy Orbison in parts.

In fact, the same is true for other notable songs like “To Find Me” and “El Dorado”–
among two of the strongest tracks from the 15-track album. We love how the guitars
swirl around the chorus followed by melodic guitar solos.

It’s no surprise, perhaps, that Orbison, also a native West Texan, is one of Reid’s
top musical influences. You can hear it on track after track. However, other Orbison-
like songs, such as “Who Do You Think You Are,” miss the mark. The timing and notes
don’t sound right.

Yet he bounces back nicely with songs like, “The Story of Now,” which is more suited
for country pop radio with its bright melodies and jangling guitars.

Then there are more alt. songs, such as the standout, “I Went Searching,” with funk-
like guitars and rhythms wrapped in a dark, yet upbeat, composition. It’s just a
track you have to hear. All things being alternative and indie in the cafe, we prefer
tracks like this.

 1. [I Went Searching](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Rusty-Reid-I-Went-Searching.mp3)

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Another example is the one-minute industrial/punk jam number “Your Tummy” – a totally
different cut from the tone of the rest of the album. But it’s interesting and cool,
and other listeners may also be happy he had the courage to record it and put it
on the album.

We only wished that he made the song a bit longer, and perhaps some really long 
tracks shorter, including wonderful experiments like the nearly eight-minute “Sat
Cit Ananda.”

Satchitananda, or Sacchidānanda, represents “existence, consciousness, and bliss”
or “truth, consciousness, bliss”, is an epithet and description for the subjective
experience of the ultimate, unchanging reality in Hinduism called Brahma.

The use of the bongos and sitar set the scene perfectly for a trip back 50 years
when Eastern music was regularly mixed with pop and rock music. Other tracks like
the psych folk-oriented, “Ancient Stones,” also sound like they beckon the hippie
era.

Reid dives into his activist and humanitarian side on other parts of the album, 
speaking out against injustice and oppression (as he has since he was a youth). 
These include tracks like the interesting organ-meets-Spanish-guitar instrumentation
of “Too Many Poor Theme” and the immersive “The Meaning of Life.”

 1. [Eldorado](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Rusty-Reid-Eldorado.mp3)

“There Is A Pleasure in the Pathless Woods” is a folk crossed with a country song
that is one of the quieter, lazier songs on the album. The most pop-rock-oriented
song on the album is “Passion For Fashion.” It sounds like 80s rock and almost reminds
us a bit of The Kinks in far as song structure and sound.

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Unlike many albums sent to us, the production level is solid here. But it is also
noteworthy that Reid wrote, played and recorded all instruments by himself.

Throughout the album, the listeners can clearly hear the influences of the deep,
western south, where many different roads of music genres intersect and intertwine,
and have for nearly a century. And yet there are unexpected influences like indie,
punk, funk and Eastern music.

There are enough interestingly, different and strong songs on here to make _Head
to Heart_ a worthy listen. There are other songs that could have been left off to
make the album shorter; 15 songs is a big commitment for listeners nowadays.

Reid has a long record as a musician and singer-songwriter living and performing
around the country, including cities like Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, and Seattle.