Myles Kennedy - The Ides of March

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I have the absolute honour today of reviewing the brand new solo album for a man who is considered one of the modern day greats and that is MYLES KENNEDY. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he started out with a band known as THE MAYFIELD FOUR, then went on and rose to stardom with forming the mighty ALTER BRIDGE which had many huge albums and massive world tours. MYLES KENNEDY for a while even sang for SLASH (GUNS N ROSES) with his solo band and made more great albums and big tours. There was even a moment back in 2008 where he had a jam session with the members of LED ZEPPELIN (but to date nothing has ever come of it or even demon’s released). MYLES KENNEDY is a big deal and an incredible talent both with vocals and guitar skills. After the success of his first solo album, “Year of the Tiger”, a second solo album was then released on May 14^th 2021 titled “The Ides of March”.

The album opens with the track “Get Along” and right from the start it has a very country rock vibe to it. The verse hits with some acoustic guitars and great vocals. Complete with a sing along chorus a really cool guitar solo and lyrics talking about the 1992 Los Angeles riots and how that translates these modern day issues. This is a great song to open the album. Next up is the song “A Thousand Words” Which is a very rock n roll song. It is a very personal song judging by the lyrics which take a look back into ones past. The other instruments in this one like the banjo, lap steel and mandolin are very subtle but noticeable. With the guitars they add lots of melody to the track and the vocals really nail the emotion in the song.

The song “In Stride” is a really fun tune that really gets you moving. The song is about someone preparing for the end of the world. It is a very co try rock type of song and the vocals really carry the song. A beautiful finger picked acoustic melody and some soft vocals opens the song “Love Rain Down”. An electric guitar lead line plays over with drums coming un after the first chorus. The songs lyrical themes are looking for answers with a bleak outlook of who we are. This is a really brilliant song with a soft melodic approach to tackle a heavy subject. After that one we have “Tell Me Like It Is” which is a very blues rock song that really gets you moving. The track builds through out and makes for this to be a really fun tune. Lyrics are about having enough and standing up to peoples bull shit.

The song “Moonshot” opens with lots of melody and switches to acoustic with vocals that are very heart felt. A big chorus then hits to really get you to sing along. The lyrics address missing being out on tour with your band (which I’m sure a lot of bands right now are feeling the same way). The middle section really strips down only for it to build right back up again to that big chorus once more.
Last song on the album and we have “Worried Mind”. The music here really gives of these blues vibes but mixed with some soft vocals to open. Through out then the song builds to something big with some great guitar work and a soft guitar solo with lots of feel to it. You can really hear the bass lines underneath this one as the vocals really do just nail it through out.

As a musician MYLES KENNEDY is very versatile and has just so much talent with a big vocal range to his singing. Through out “The Ides of March” the album has many different styles all blended together perfectly, but you do mostly hear you try mixes with rock. The lyrics here are really personal and you can hear that they come from the heart as the vocal delivery really lifts that emotion in the lyrics and is really touching to hear. MYLEA KENNEDY is an amazing talent and this is a brilliant album.

Songwriting: 10
Memorability: 10
Musicianship: 10
Production: 10