There’s just something special about rediscovery. That feeling you get when you find that special part of your past you lost somewhere along lifes way. Usually, you don’t even know cause you just move on with life. Today, I dove straight back to some of the best music I remember from the 90s as Mike Farris, frontman for the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, puts out his new release, The Sound of Muscle Shoals.
Let’s go ahead and backup to those 90s I was referring to. I was in my early Microsoft days as a phone support guru and after hours we’d jam. LOUD. A friend of mine had some cool music going on and it was just a funk type fun you can get wrapped up in.
Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies.
I mean, how do you NOT love that?
The years dragged into decades and the song that I always carried from those days was Grace (Write Me a Letter). In many ways, that is a personal favorite song of all time.
Yea, ALL TIME – that’s some serious love for a song.
Now, I may never really know exactly what that song is about, but as usual with great music, you find your own meaning in the songs. Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies did that a lot for me and time just faded a lot of that.
But the fade makes the “rediscovery” that much more special.
With The Sound of Muscle Shoals, (Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where recorded) out today, I get to step back to those times with brand new music. These trips can hit either range of the emotional scale from best left forgotten to how did I ever let you get away??
And I had to admit, I was nervous about this one. A lot has changed since those days, and I would hate to lose such an insane musical memory.
So, let’s go. Let’s see what it sounds like down there in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
I’m 3 songs in and I’m already looking at tour dates to Muscle Shoals. Nope, but the tour is starting to support this release and I’ll be there. I’ve GOT to see this live!
The 3rd song in question is Swingin’.
Move over, Grace. You got company.
It’s not often I can’t get past a song. In Swingin’, the gambit of emotions is strong, and the gritty blues vocals steal the show lyric after lyric. The story will reach into your own heart for your own reasons. Isn’t that what music is supposed to do?
The soulful blues tones and simple straight-ahead music hit you, song after song. Steel guitars will come and go as the moods shift around in country, blues, americana and yea, gospel come together in Farris’ latest release.
The question now is, while I quickly found a new Mike Farris favorite today in Swingin’, did I find more favorites?
Yea, I did. It’s called The Sound of Muscle Shoals. It’s all great.
And this is what rediscovery is all about. Coming home musically and finding all you used to know and so much more, yet so brand new. Destined to be one of the top releases of 2025, Mike Farris has it all together in The Sound of Muscle Shoals.
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